This book is about the invaluable contribution of charities and humanitarians in our world, the benevolence of the majority, and the atrocities of a (very small) minority. Mankind's difficulties often stem from natural disasters, including terrible weather conditions creating human misery. The tsunami and the famine in Ethiopia are typical examples. The other difficulties that have beset humanity from time immemorial are man-made, like wars, slavery, and pogroms. We also have dictatorships, pariah states, and police states, which do not seek to serve their people and alienate the international community. The people in these places become outcasts, despite genuine and determined efforts by others to bring them into the fold. In any society, we see the destructive effects of misunderstanding, greed, envy, hatred, and discrimination. Senseless acts of individual barbarism also pose a problem. Governments, democratic or otherwise, are installed with all the natural and human resources, as well as the goodwill of the global community, to serve and, where necessary, manage the difficulties of the people. History and current affairs indicate that no government is capable of delivering utopia to its people - even those unhampered by ideology, political sensitivities, self-interest, and retribution. Mankind's difficulties are ever so complex. Invariably, the void left has to be managed for mankind to have a life worth living. "Nature abhors a vacuum," so says the adage. Political stalwarts like Abraham Lincoln and courageous clergymen William Wilberforce rise to the fore. This pious hegemony is ably supported by charities, humanitarians, and ordinary individuals who have shown courage and compassion and the willingness to save and improve lives. Charities continue to make the difference. The courage and compassion of Lincoln, Wilberforce, Nightingale, and Mother Teresa may be unsurpassed, but Providence will continue to provide heroes and heroines for humanity.

This book is about the invaluable contribution of charities and humanitarians in our world, the benevolence of the majority, and the atrocities of a (very small) minority. Mankind's difficulties often stem from natural disasters, including terrible weather conditions creating human misery. The tsunami and the famine in Ethiopia are typical examples. The other difficulties that have beset humanity from time immemorial are man-made, like wars, slavery, and pogroms. We also have dictatorships, pariah states, and police states, which do not seek to serve their people and alienate the international community. The people in these places become outcasts, despite genuine and determined efforts by others to bring them into the fold. In any society, we see the destructive effects of misunderstanding, greed, envy, hatred, and discrimination. Senseless acts of individual barbarism also pose a problem. Governments, democratic or otherwise, are installed with all the natural and human resources, as well as the goodwill of the global community, to serve and, where necessary, manage the difficulties of the people. History and current affairs indicate that no government is capable of delivering utopia to its people - even those unhampered by ideology, political sensitivities, self-interest, and retribution. Mankind's difficulties are ever so complex. Invariably, the void left has to be managed for mankind to have a life worth living. "Nature abhors a vacuum," so says the adage. Political stalwarts like Abraham Lincoln and courageous clergymen William Wilberforce rise to the fore. This pious hegemony is ably supported by charities, humanitarians, and ordinary individuals who have shown courage and compassion and the willingness to save and improve lives. Charities continue to make the difference. The courage and compassion of Lincoln, Wilberforce, Nightingale, and Mother Teresa may be unsurpassed, but Providence will continue to provide heroes and heroines for humanity.