We can help. *Updated link

It has come to my attention... well...

See, what happened was, today I did this thing...

I opened up my feed reader! Because the last week and a half have been a flood of weird drives, birthdays, anniversaries, and lovely guests from India, I haven't really been in the very important other part of my world, the internet.

But today I resurfaced and opened my feed reader and I found out that my friend Carrien is having a fundraiser.

This is pertinent for many reasons.

1- Carrien and The Charis Project are raising funds to pay off the loan for the land they bought for orphaned refugee children from the hill tribes of Thailand. They are also raising money to finish building on the land. Important. Land is cool, buildings keep us dry.

2- Up to this point, $3,000 of the $10,000 has been raised. Not enough, and they have a time limit.

3- I happen to be in Northern Thailand. Hooray! Chinua and the kids and I will be heading to the children's home, which is the very place the money is being raised for, around the nineteenth of this month. Which is very exciting, and it means I'll be able to tell you all about it.

4- Remember that refugee camp I drove by? The Karen people there were in a very similar situation to these kids, except that they were young adults. These are children, driven from their homes. They're living and thriving because of the life-changing love of people around them, and the generosity of people a world away.

5- The Charis Project has a vision to build children's homes that are self-sustaining. They bought the land to build a bio-intensive farm that will feed and make money for the kids whose lives depend on it.

6- I think we can raise that last $7000. We are all looking for ways that we can really effect the hardships of the world around us. I love it when the perfect opportunity comes, when someone says "I have dedicated people and children to help. I have a plan, I have strong vision. We're planting pineapples, we're planting coffee. All we need is money."

And I can say, "Well, I don't have a lot, but I definitely have $10."

And maybe 700 of us have $10?

Let's help Carrien and Aaron and the Charis Project. I'll be tweeting about this and putting it on facebook. Please join me. And then later Chinua and I, Kid A, YaYa, Leafy and Solo will be there to meet the kids you'll be helping. I'm interested to see how Solo will try to gain the attention of thirty kids. It might be epic.

So here's a wee giveaway. Go and donate, then come back and comment, letting me know you have. I'll give one person who donates, chosen at random, two copies of my soon-to-be-released 2012 calendar. (One to keep and one to share!)  - Also, Carrien is giving away gems at her blog!

Update * The link I was using is broken, so you can head over to Carrien's page and donate from there. The button is at the bottom of the post. Just make sure to come back and tell me that you have!