I am in a bit of a unique circumstance while writing this blog as I am sitting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia preparing to leave for a five-day trip to where more than 64 million Ethiopians live- in rural poverty. So, the implication of being a change agent for me- and thus, my answer to this [...]
The following article was written by Olivia Khalili of the Cause Capitalism blog. The concept is simple and brilliant. When I came across Living Goods, my stomach flipped with the potential impact of the organization’s work. The mechanisms, intent and appeal match that of blockbuster social enterprises Kiva and charity: water. Living Goods replicates Avon’s [...]
The following post is from the beautifully articulated TBD email by All Day Buffet. New digital tools like Chatroulette, Twitter, and Foursquare are incredible new ways to connect people, but sharing info like location and identity can compromise safety – even landing you in jail (or worse) in countries that restrict free expression. Nonetheless, the [...]
Although I thoroughly enjoy my fair trade coffee, the real day I’m waiting for is when I can fill up with fair trade gasoline. Oxfam and other humanitarian organizations are receiving a lot of glitter over the Haiti crisis, but I think it’s important to recognize some of the other campaigns they have been working [...]
The social entrepreneurship crew generally likes to poo poo traditional development. And why not? It is an easy target given the widely held belief that aid doesn’t work and evidence showing the wholesale ineffectiveness of many development projects. We are increasingly convinced that aid donors – institutional and individual – have dumped incalculable sums down [...]
The fact that I’m finding it difficult to begin this post pales in comparison to the difficulty aid workers are facing on how to begin the relief effort in Haiti. As we all know by now, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday, just south of the nation’s capital, Port au Prince. It was [...]
Kenyan social entrepreneur Teddy Warria, founder of Common Vocabulary and New Horizons Initiative, visits the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday (Dec. 3) to share his vision for addressing two critical challenges facing Africa on its path to sustainable development – improving public health and expanding access to private capital markets. The [...]
Hundreds of thousands of concerned global citizens will join the call to fight AIDS on December 1, World AIDS Day, as Camfed (the Campaign for Female Education) hosts an interactive discussion following the premiere of an award-winning documentary that unveils the effects of AIDS on African women and girls. Where the Water Meets the Sky, [...]
About three weeks ago, I was flipping through the channels and landed on PBS. If you know me, I spend about an average of 1 hour per week by the television, and it’s usually to catch the most recent episode of The Office. However, this particular night, PBS caught my attention. What I saw on [...]
It is hard to remember the sharper edge of reality when wrapped in the warm cocoon of living abroad. For the better part of each day, I am granted reprieve from having to think about anything except “what shall I have for lunch today?” and “what concerts are on tonight?” The weekends are reserved for [...]
If you’ve listened to the news in any capacity over the previous few months, you’ve probably heard something about healthcare. In fact, you’re probably becoming a bit tired of these monotone healthcare debates which seem to produce no useful outcomes whatsoever. Well perhaps a new and upcoming conference may help change our iterative healthcare debates [...]
Introducing NextAid Imagine taking the power of music, the conviction of environmentally sustainable process, and the commitment to the children of Africa and combining them all to reach those infected with and orphaned by the HIV/AIDS virus. If you throw in strong local non-profit organization partnerships and a small team of passionate people, you’ve got [...]
Sometimes, the help you need really does come down from the heavens and just because you might not see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Since 1982, ORBIS – a global non-profit organization that fights blindness in developing countries – has been operating the world’s first and only flying eye hospital. A product of the [...]
