Many people have a soft spot when it comes to Africa. Well known as one of the poorest nations in the world, Africa is riddled with AIDS, starvation, war and suffering. It may seem overwhelming to even think of all those problems so where do you start when picking a charity?

Usually the first Charities people think of are the child sponsorship kind. One thing that charities need help with is awareness. Promotional pens would be one way to spread word about charities in Africa. WorldVision and Compassion International are two programs that have sponsorship opportunities in all the countries in Africa. For less that $40 a month you can give a child the gift of education, food and water and health care.

If you want to do something that reaches more people at one time then the Solar Cooker Project may be for you. In the refugee camps in Darfur, women and girls spend most of the day collecting firewood to make their daily meals. Sadly, whenever they leave the safety of the camp they are subject to extreme violence and possibly death by the militias that are always fighting. Sponsored by Solar Cooker International, this project not only supplies women with the cooker itself, women are also taught to make the Cookers so that others can benefit. Such a small bit of technology can mean life and death to these displaced women and girls. A small donation of $15 provides one family with everything they need to cook their meals in camp, using Africa’s most abundant resource…the sun.

If you are the kind of person who would rather make an investment that helps someone to help themselves then you might be interested in Micro Loans. These are very small loans, around $25 that helps a poor but industrious individual to start a business of their own. Sometimes a group of people, usually women, get together to form the business. Through sites like Kiva and Microplace, you can decide who you want to invest in and as they pay their loan off, you will collect interest. You can then reinvest the earning or withdraw them.

The site www.endfistula.org tells about UNFPA, very specific charity that helps African women who have suffered a devastating injury during childbirth. Due to lack of care during and after childbirth these women who suffer from fistula are abandoned by their husband and families. They are left to fend for themselves in any way they can. A simple surgery can restore their health and their life.

One of my favorite charities is called heifer international. You can actually pick a type of animal that will be sent to a poor family. It is fun to look at the catalog with the bunnies, alpacas, chickens and goats. After you pick the animal, the family chosen will be educated in how to care for the animal and when she gives birth, the gift will be passed on to another needy family. Between the sustenance the animal provides the family, selling the products made from the animal often transforms an entire village.

There is a multitude of charities to help in whatever way appeals to you. No matter how you decide to help, rest assured that your support will be most appreciated. Be sure to check around on the internet to find out more information about promoting charities.

African Safari tours can be an amazing experience. Picture yourself moving silently through the bush in a caravan led by highly skilled native trackers and witnessing the interaction of wild animals in their natural habitat that most people only see on television. If you want to drive your own vehicle on a safari, you would need to pass a special driving test. The sight of majestic beasts gliding across the savannah. The sounds of the prey herding their young and the predators signaling each other and tearing into raw flesh. The smell of life and death, birth and fear. The feel of the heat and the wind. The knowledge that if you are not careful you too can become prey for the lions, leopards, cheetah and wild dogs that are stalking the wildebeest, gazelle, elephants, giraffe and their young as they make their way to their watering holes and breeding grounds. It is exhilarating! But deciding which African safari tour to take can be more difficult than avoiding a top notch predator!

Africa offers a myriad of opportunities to go on safari. One can follow the Great Migration across the Masai Mara and throughout East Africa. One can also move silently down the Congo River in search of the rare okapi, the endangered mountain gorilla or the snakes like vipers, mambas and pythons. Some may want to take a safari into one of the world’s largest desert, the Sahara, on camel back for the chance to see rare animals, amazing landscapes and examples of ancient desert societies. The truly adventurous may even want to take a safari to South Africa’s national parks where animals wild, ferocious, graceful, beautiful and deadly interact in an age-old dance of life, death, reproduction and survival. Still others may want to take safaris to the African coast to see pink dolphins, right whales and Jackass seals or rare coastal birds like the African black oyster, white fronted plovers, Caspian terns and sandpipers.

People interested in safari tours not only have to decide where in Africa to go on safari they must also decide what type of safari to take. Some dream of canoe safaris that take them across deep lakes or down wild rivers under the canopies of giant trees. Walking safaris are intriguing to others who want to feel the African soil under their feet as they explore the vast continent the way ancient man did. Horseback safaris are what some demand. Horses allow them to be in contact with the land or quickly race across the savannah while feeling the sun on their face and the wind in their hair. Some want honeymoon safaris in rustic lodges located in the wild but offering all the creature comforts, while others want family safaris where their spouse and their children can experience the vastness, beauty and danger of life on safari together.

Safaris can be as unique as the person or group that wants to take them. African safaris can be tailored to the needs and desires of anyone. The safaris can allow one to sleep in the wild under African skies and go about armed with a high powered rifle or a long lens camera. The choice is yours. Africa has many unique plants, animals, plains and mountains. Close your eyes and dream of a unique safari that will satisfy your soul then take a trip to Africa and make that African safari dream a reality!