Sunshine

A few good friends work with a group called Sunshine, which works to provide medical assistance and other support for familes with disabled members. The group is legit and 100% of the people are volunteers, so there is alittle overhead.

One of the sad things about life in modern China is that the social safety net is shrinking, and looks pretty threadbare. Medical coverage is far from universal, and people do die because they can't afford treatment. My experiences have been positive, but that's in part because foreigners are assumed to be able to pay. If i have no money, presumably someone else will pay. Chinese are not afforded that same concern.

Anyway, I think I'll be more active with that group soon. It's about $30 a month (something over $300 a year) to sponsor a disabled person, which provides better medical care and basic foodstuffs. I don't plan on harping on it here, but if anyone would like to help out, please let me know (billbarlo at gmail.com).

And again, my thanks for those who sent e-mails asking about me (and others. ) here after the recent earthquake. We didn't notice it at all here. I was in more danger from hurricane katrina in Chicago than I was from the Qinghai earthquake here. No one needed to dig me out, and I didn't need to scramble for food or water. That said, some people did. While I tend to send money to the AFSC, the Red Cross is one of the things that makes me think there's hope for humanity. With the planet falling apart, help us third worlders out.