The Good Samaritans

The software giant Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda and the Irish rocker, Bono are TIME’s Persons of the Year. They are celebrities sharing something in common, rich and famous. They are selected for the Person’s of the Year not because of their wealth and fame but their unreserved effort and influence they put on helping those who suffer in the poor Third World.

Bill and Melinda are co-founders of the world’s wealthiest charitable foundation. Bono makes use of its influence to persuade the world’s leaders to take global poverty on by reducing debt of the Third World.

The plight of people living the poor developing countries may sometimes be overshadowed by media-catching catastrophes such as Tsunami and hurricane Katrina. Malaria kills two African children a minute, round the clock. In that minute a woman dies from complications during pregnancy, nine people get infected with HIV, three people die of TB. A vast host of aid workers, NGOs and governmental organizations have struggled for years to get ahead of the problem but often fell behind. Cultural differences further complicate the problem. In Muslim parts of Ethiopia, aid workers can’t talk to teenage girls about condoms to prevent AIDS; but in Tanzania they are encouraged to. How you cut an umbilical cord can determine whether a baby risks a fatal infection, but every culture has its own traditions. They cut with a coin for luck in Nepal and a stone in Bolivia, where they think if you use a razor blade the child will grow up to be a thief.

There is no one-size-fit-all solution for all countries. Bill’s foundation and Bono’ effort act as a catalyst to pull the politicians, philanthropists and experts at all levels to think globally and act carefully in response to the actual needs of the underprivileged. We desperately need more ‘Good Samaritans’ to bring in social justice and make the world a better place to live for all.