And so this is Christmas...yet the world is so wrong?

As Christmas approaches, we Americans are getting excited about family gatherings, holiday food, Christmas trees, and of course, lots of presents.  So while we start to gain our holiday pounds, chew on this:

• If you live on more than $10 a day, you are in the top 20% wealthiest people on earth.
• 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.
• 40 million people are living with AIDS/HIV.
• 15 million children are orphaned due to AIDS/HIV.
• Each year, more people die from indoor air pollution (due to the poor's burning of solid fuels) than malaria and tuberculosis combined.
• 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to water.
• There are 2.2 billion children in the world. 1 billion of these children are living in poverty.
• $12 billion a year goes to the worldwide human trafficking industry--and yes, wealthy world leaders and politicians are responsible for much of this.
• Less than 1% of what the world spends every year on weapons could have been used to put every child into school by the year 2000.
  
   If these stunning facts don't strike a chord with you, then maybe this video will. I don't ever hide the ugliness of the world, so if these images disturb you...well, maybe that's a good thing.
  
   So how can we fight back?
  First of all, I don't think that literally "fighting" is the answer, so the Peace Corps really has my respect. They don't represent one political view, religion, or people group. They're just doing good in the name of peace. I'll be donating to the Corps this holiday season.
  
  But, here are more specific charities that may capture your heart:
  
  
  Charities, foundations, and organizations that are taking donations or gifts to fight world poverty:
  Compassion (sponsor a child in a developing nation)
  United Nations Children's Fund (more widely known as UNICEF)
  The Hunger Site (give monetary gifts)
  World Vision's Haiti Mission (sponsor a child in Haiti)
  Somaly Mam (an organization to stop human trafficking and sex slavery)
  
  FREE ways to fight the cruelty of the world:
  Free Rice (play games for free to donate rice to hungry people)
  The Hunger Site  (click the big yellow button and sponsors will donate food, sign petitions, and register with the site to donate food)
  NeoAid Search Engine (surf the web and rack up donations at no cost to you)
  Campbell's Chunky Click for Cans (vote for your favorite football team to donate cans of soup)
  End Homelessness (click and sponsors will give money)
  
  Get your Christmas shopping done AND give back at these retail sites:
  Toms Shoes (buy a pair of shoes [the most comfortable shoes ever, I might add] and they will donate a pair to a child in need)
  Survivor Empowerment Store (scarves, jewelry, and books--proceeds go to Somaly Mam and survivors of human trafficking)
  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital  (clothing, jewelry, toys, accessories, and more to benefit St. Jude [finding cures for sick children, even if families cannot afford medical care])
  (Red) (tons of popular products including Apple, Converse, Starbucks, Dell, Gap, etc...50% of proceeds go to AIDS/HIV programs in Africa)
  
  And so this is Christmas, for weak and for strong, for rich and the poor ones. The world is so wrong. And so happy Christmas, for black and for white, for yellow and red ones. Let's stop all the fight! A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let's hope it's a good one without any fear.
  (War is over, if you want it!)
  (John Lennon and Yoko Ono)