Kiva.org is a great site where you can invest and pool money with other people from around the world to invest in small projects. The key thing is that you invest, not donate. The money is a loan. i consider this to be the most sustainable way to support the world. 

I put $50 into Kiva and split it between two business six months ago. One is half repaid and the other is fully repaid.  

Here is a business I'm investing in;

Céléstine KANGNI, born in 1974 in Aklakou, is married and the mother of a family with four children. Lack the means, she left school very early on, and she began selling cold water to support herself. With the modest savings from this business, she later invested in the sales of generic medicines. Given her 10 years of experience in this domain, she knows how it all works. Now, challenged by a growth in customer demand and lacking the means to increase her business, she is requesting a loan of $1,000 to open a little pharmacy, where she may be able to sell medicines better. The resulting profits will allow her to meet her family's needs with regard to food, clothing, schooling, and leisure. The family can then achieve its full potential. This initiative deserves support and attention.

She's about my age. I feel very very very lucky when I think about the lives of other people on the same planet as me. 

What a good idea Mick... instead of just throwing aid money at causes identified by outsiders.

that's awesome!! A wondeful idea - I'm going to check it out.

Thanks Mick

http://www.kiva.org - it rocks.

I signed up to it ages ago, but couldn't figure out the payment method

Will have to look at it again