Global Voices Online

A charity concert will be held in Vientiane, Laos this Friday to raise funds for the typhoon victims in the southern provinces of Saravane, Sekong and Attapeu.

Updates on the flu situation in Ukraine, at Greetings From Kyiv - here and here, and at Ukrainiana - here.

Scenes From the Sidewalk writes about an encounter with one of Kyiv's many homeless children - and posts photos from actress Olga Kurilenko's visit to a CrossRoads Foundation/ChildRescue's rehabilitation center. Wild World of Sean's Blog reports on a charity visit to a Kyiv hospital for children affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe.

Annasoltan writes about the problem of human trafficking in Turkmenistan against the background of persistent economic hardship, porous borders and the regime's attempts to demur and defer the issue.

Vlad reports that Turkmenistan has taken to barring entry to Peace Corps volunteers, for reasons that remain utterly baffling.

Ella's Blog from the Philippines posts photos of donated goods intended for typhoon victims rotting in government warehouses. The expose has sparked fears that the goods might be misused to support administration candidates in next year's elections. The original site shows a “404 Not Found error” when it is accessed but the contents have been reposted by concerned citizens in blogs and social networks.

“The difference between being charitable and being a philanthropist is having a strategy,” writes Richard Marker in eJewish Philanthropy, explaining why “You Don't Need to Be Rich to be a Philanthropist.”

Arawanski writes that UNESCO is against building of two fountains on the foothills of the Sulaiman Mountain (the southern part of Kyrgyzstan), as it considers they pose a threat to the condition of the sacred mountain.

Elena presents a photo-post about her visit to the community of Luli (or Gypsies, or Roma) on the outskirts of Osh, a town in southern Kyrgyzstan.