A case for the cause

This week for me is about charity. The world is turning in on itself in the form of natural disasters, war, uprising, tyranny & desensitisation.

It's easy to complain about the rain, the cold; the Tory government, Obama or the SNP's; crap food, missing a bus, feeling ill, broadband failing, computer crashing, phone dying, working 12 hour days in a cozy office in front of a computer; venting on Twitter.

It's easy to forget that people are living on the streets in freezing temperatures, soaked to the bone, having lost their mother, father, sister, brother or child and having to pick themselves up and try to help others.

It's easy to think that the five-year olds carrying machine guns, living in dirt huts, smoking & snorting coke is just something you see in a film. That their mothers weren't raped & shot in front of them & their fathers, who survived, weren't forced into slavery & tortured.

We are very VERY lucky to even have the ability and the rights to choose how we live our lives, in comfort, with clean water, sick days, pubs, tv & wifi. And we've been lucky that a natural disaster hasn't hit us; yet.

This isn't a lecture, so I will follow on to a promise from myself: I will make more of a conscious effort to keep my first world problems in context, be thankful daily for what I have & make the point of helping others.

Starter for six:

It's Red Nose Day this week - one of my favourite charity events (and things the UK offers - it's amazing!). You can donate a number of ways, do something funny for money and get a night full of laughs on your cozy couch on Friday.

The official Red Nose Day donation page

We have the people in Japan, possibly 10s of thousands missing/dead. No food, electricity, water. Help them get back on their feet and through this insanely difficult time - where it is only going to get worse before it gets better.

The official Red Cross UK Japan Tsunami donation page

Want something a bit closer to home? It's the time of year again for Twestival's all over the world, and Edinburgh is no exception. This year the charity is St. Columbia's Hospice. You can donate directly here and buy tickets to the event on the 24th of March on the Edinburgh Twestival site.

Lastly, here is a great story about Apple helping staff & their families in Japan. (Via Kevin Rose & Adam Russell/BlackPlastic)