This Holiday's Worthy 3rd-World Charities

“Tired of celebrating spiritual holidays with crass commercialism?” writes Nicholas D. Kristof, in full pitchman mode. Have no fear: “Nothing says ‘happy holidays’ like donating in Aunt Tilda’s name to build a composting toilet in Haiti.” A sampling of the New York Times columnist’s list of worthy charities follows:

• Acumen Fund: A fund that invests money in for-profit aid initiatives, reflecting "a growing trend of using business mechanisms to fight poverty."
• BRAC: A Bangladeshi aid group expanding into Afghanistan and Africa that promotes "education, health, and microfinance" by turning "impoverished women into agents of change."

• Developments in Literacy: A group that builds modern schools, not madrassas, in Pakistan. "This is a security issue, for DIL schools can help protect us from terrorism."
• Deworm the World: "One of the most cost-effective ways of getting more children into school appears to be deworming them with one pill a year, for about 50 cents per person reached."
• Sustainable Health Ventures: "A new effort to help women and girls in poor countries to manage menstruation, so that they miss less school and work."

For Kristof's full list, click here.