The Rice Bucket And "Bucket of Compassion" Challenges

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In the wake of over a million people dousing themselves with buckets of ice water to raise money for Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), there's now a new movement in India called the "rice bucket challenge".

In that country, more than 100 million people lack access to clean drinking water, so Manju Kalanidhi, a 38-year-old journalist from Hyderabad, came up with a different idea. Since a third of her people live on less that $1.25 a day, and two pounds of rice costs over half that amount, she proposed the rice bucket challenge, which works like this:

1. Fill a bucket of rice.

2. Give it to a needy individual or family nearby.

3. Post a picture on Facebook with the hashtag #RiceBucketChallenge.

Thousands of people worldwide have already responded, and tons of rice or other foods have been donated as a result.

Or here's another idea: In light of the ever worsening situation experienced by the now three million Syrian refugees alone, let's challenge ourselves and others to make generous online donations to help alleviate these and other desperate needs around the world. We could call it the Bucket of Compassion Challenge.

Here are some links where we can make donations right now:

CARE

Christian Aid Ministries

Mennonite Central Committee

 Oxfam International

And by the way, the best financial adviser I know suggests we avoid a lot of fanfare when we donate, assuring us that our real rewards will come later and in other ways.