Thank you Jackaroodave.
You're quite right in saying that in the West, we have a lot of resources to hand. I've travelled a great deal around West Africa and seen some terrible things due to poverty, disease, civil war etc. (Although it has to be said, corruption in most African states is absolutely rife, and if their greedy politicians took their sticky hands out of the pot, there'd be more or less enough to go round.)

It's true also that no-one can give endlessly to a myriad causes. We have fairly limited financial resources and my husband's enormous family of over 60 people in the compound alone, not to mention his ancestral village of Nafamadougou, are always getting into difficulties. His sister has now contracted TB and we're helping with treatment for her. It's a great pleasure to me to be able to make a small difference to their lives. But this doesn't leave vast amounts for needy people and animals here in UK.

I think the main thing is 'sharing'. Whatever one has, one can share a bit with others. It sounds so cheesy I know, but it's true for me.