My fourteen-year-old brother showed my father and I this really interesting website tonight. It's called Free Rice, and the goal of the website is to feed people in need. The way it works is you go and figure out vocabulary words. Various business sponsors advertise at the bottom of the screen. For every word whose definition you get correct, Free Rice donates 20 grains of rice with funds from their advertisers.
What a great idea. This private organization helps others to learn - raising their understanding of the English language - and helps feed people in need throughout the world at the same time. The site even has a graph of how much rice they've raised since it started in October. I can't think of a more worthwhile cause, or a cooler idea.
So, all you ProgressiveUsers, go to www.FreeRice.com and check it out! I'm warning you though - it's pretty challenging. I've only gotten to level 45 out of 50 and raised about 2500 grains of rice so far.
Happy Blogging!
I'm not a big fan of giving away food in the poorer parts of the world. Often, agriculture is the only segment of the economy that is viable in these countries. But how are these poor hard working farmers supposed to compete with food that is given for free?
They can't and the result is that they go out of business and a country that had one viable economic segment now has no viable economic segments. As a result of well-intentioned charity they become a failed economy and a permanent charity case.
But it is a private charity and it is a free country and their money so I don't get much say in the matter.
I do believe it is an exciting and extremely innovative social/economic model to combine the profit incentive of advertising as an approach to increase philanthropy. And making it a fun and educational game for participants who are the targets of the advertising is even sweeter. That is really smart!
As you noted in a previous blog it is better to teach them how to fish rather than to feed them. I think free tractors would do a lot more good than free rice.
That's a really good point.
It would be interesting if there was a way to distrubute the capital and information required to build rice paddies in the desert. I've always been fascinated by this process, and I think it's an amazing way to feed people and make money.
Although I am all for helping other people, I definitely have to agree with you that it probably would do them better to help with their local businesses and farmers to help their economy, this will do them more good in the long run in becoming a self-sufficient, prosperous country than just giving them rice.
"Don't let anyone ever make you feel like you don't deserve what you want." - 10 things I hate about you
That is cool that every definition you get correct, rice is donated to some parts of the world; so, I'll check out that website!
Read my blog!
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
It sounds like a good idea, but the question is: are you really raising rice or money that could buy rice? Do they have a pie chart showing where their earnings go? The advertising businesses pay in money, not rice. They then use a certain percentage of that money to give rice. The question is, how much?
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
They show you how much rice has been raised.
As a non-profit 501(3)(c) they are required to show their financial records to anyone who asks. I am sure if you emailed them, they would be happy to provide, as this is the law.
And JuliaP raised a good point, too. Before donating or supporting an organization, one really SHOULD look into their reputation, their finances, etc.
Back when the AIDS Ride was sponsored b y Tanqueray and hosted by Pallota industries, they used to promote the ride by saying they'd raised over 10 million dollars, or something huge like that. I worked for one of the beneficiaries, so i knew that the real numbers were more along the lines of several hundred thousand, because Pallota took most of the funds. This would be okay, if Pallota had been paying for the expenses of putting on the ride, but they didn't. The beneficiaries did. Pallota paid for advertising, which I will admit, they did extensively. But the cost of hosting the ride fell on the beneficiaries. People really believed they were raising millions for AIDS research and charities.
Now that Pallota has gone under, the Rides (locally called the Red Ribbon Ride) are much more lucrative for the charities. They don't draw the same crowds, and the funds they raise are not in the multi-millions, but all the money actually goes to research and services for people with HIV/AIDS.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Why is a pie chart needed? No one has any evidence that any money is truely being donated, let alone rice. But, Alenka, it is a fun game! Build your vocab and if it wins some kids a dinner, then all the better.
Nicholas Aden
Self-Promotion
I like to think that any amount is better than nothing, and that I would rather spend my day learning some new vocab and earning some rice than playing on myspace.
Find out everything you need to know about poop here:
http://progressiveu.org/000701-everything-you-need-know-about-poop
I only care a little about the charity part. It's nice, but what really drew me in was the simple challenge to my vocabulary and etymological skillz. Taking on this challenge, I got to level 49! Perhaps one day I'll get to fifty.
Michael Allen Yarbrough (PBUH)
The hard part about international charity is that if you give free food, you hurt the local suppliers (who are often poor to begin with)
if you give money, the corrupt governments (often the cause of the problem) just take it and use it as they wish.
It is a tricky situation, and always sad to see innocents suffer.
hemidemisemiquaver is one I got.
What's it mean?
sixty-fourth note
Yeah, challenging is to say the least, but fun and rather addicting.
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
I could spend hours on that site. I'm not sure whether the rice helps or harms, but I know my vocabulary definitely gets bigger after being on the site all the time.
Find out everything you need to know about poop here:
http://progressiveu.org/000701-everything-you-need-know-about-poop