Trapped in desperate poverty as a result of the ongoing conflict that has rendered them homeless, the refugees in Darfur must depend completely on aid workers to assist with access to food, water, healthcare, education and employment.

And almost five years into the Darfur crisis, humanitarian aid workers face increasing challenges in carrying out their mission due to rebel raids on convoys and camps, and the fact that the people they serve are spread out over many miles.

Photo credit: Mercy Corps/Sudan.

Did you know that:

• more than 3 million people in Darfur rely on life-saving food aid every month?
• at least 2 million of those affected by the conflict are children?
• women and girls often must travel outside the camps up to five hours each day, often through violent territory, to collect water?

Since 2004, 12,000 humanitarian workers have been on the ground in Darfur. Global Impact member charities, including Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, American Jewish World Service, Mercy Corps and American Refugee Committee, continue to work to meet immediate needs, providing food, water, medicines and family shelters.

They also foster long-term independence and economic sustainability building latrines, clinics, schools, wells and other vital infrastructure.

Your gift of $100 can can provide 50 collapsible water containers for transporting and storing water, saving women and girls dangerous trips outside the refugee camps.

Global Impact is dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth. Representing more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in giving campaigns across the nation, Global Impact touches more than 400 million lives worldwide through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency.

This guest-post is brought to you by Miranda.

April 22 marks Earth Day. And, in honor of Earth Day, there are several steps you can take to live a life that is less harmful to the earth. One of those ways is to “green” things up around your house. And you can do it using a home equity loan.

Right now, understandably, it can seem like a dubious idea to get into debt with your home in order to make your house more environmentally friendly. But if you take the appropriate steps, you can increase the value of your home, and save money in the long run.

First, be careful! Don’t take the entire amount you might be offered. Instead, only take what you need to complete your projects. Indeed, the more you can pay for up front, the better. You don’t want to end up with negative equity.

Next, evaluate the most pressing changes, and prioritize them. Replacing your windows with energy efficient panes, increasing the insulation in your home and installing solar panels are all upgrades that are more expensive (and have more of an impact). You can slowly change the bulbs in your home over time as well, but a home equity loan isn’t needed for such projects.

Finally, understand that there are some advantages to using a home equity loan to make your house greener. You will get interest that comes with tax benefits, and many states (in addition to the federal government) offer tax credits for going green. Additionally, before you take out your home equity loan, make sure you check for state grants. In many cases, you can have part of your green project paid for.

Miranda Marquit is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance. She writes for Lending Leaves and is an editor at DestroyDebt.com.

Seventy-five percent of all blindness in the developing world is easily treatable or preventable, yet the majority of those suffering from the leading causes of blindness (see below) lack access to the very solutions that could save their sight and their lives.

Photo credit: Helen Keller/International/China.

Did you know that:

• around the world, a child goes blind every minute and an adult every 5 seconds?
• between 250,000 and 500,000 children become blind annually and 70 percent die within 12 months of losing their sight?

The four leading causes of blindness are treatable or preventable:

• Cataract, the leading cause of blindness worldwide, accounts for 48% of all blind adults. A simple surgery removes the cataract.
• Trachoma is an infection caused by lack of adequate sanitation and clean water. Scar tissue curls the eyelid inward; the eyelashes scratch the cornea.
• Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is transmitted by black flies. An annual dose of the drug ivermectin prevents symptoms for one year, but must be given to 65% of community members for 15-20 years to eliminate the disease.
• Vitamin A deficiency causes night blindness and dry eye, which can scar the cornea. Left untreated, the cornea can melt.

Your gift of $100 to Global Impact can help provide 100 children and adults with enough Vitamin A for one year, boosting their immune systems and fighting off sight-robbing infections.

Global Impact is dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth. Representing more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in giving campaigns across the nation, Global Impact touches more than 400 million lives worldwide through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency.