international development

I have been watching the ripple effects of the allegations of misuse of funds by Three Cups of Tea author and charity founder, Greg Mortensen.  Mr. Mortensen has been accused of spending donor dollars to promote his book, and more importantly that what he says he is promoting is not what is happening on the ground.

With Christmas right around the corner International Aid organizations like World Vision and Oxfam are promoting their "Gift Catalogue" of charitable products like goats, ducks, hens and rabbits.  How effective is buying livestock for someone living on less than a dollar a day?  It depends on the other supports that are provided the family who receives the animal.  It also depends on if that animal is indigenous to the region.

Photo from the Brampton Tanzania Trust. Read more »

What makes good micro-finance?  This is aconversation I had with the Executive Director of Results Canada, Chris Dendys the other day. Read more »

Yup - you read correctly a Mutual Fund of charities.  What is this you ask? Read more »

In a recent article published by McKinsey and Company, "Global Forces: An Introduction," five trends were identified as the new directions for business.  These same five trends can be applied to global charity and philanthropy. Read more »

This is an open letter from Brad Krusky who just returned from Guatemala.  An update on Dentistry for All - Dr. Shane Fisher will be staying in Comi for the next six months to establish a perminent local presence working with Guatemalan dentists and health care practitioners as well as local social service agencies addressing larger issues.  If you would like more information on what is happening on the ground you can . Read more »

The past few posts have been on animal welfare.  Social Justice Mommy - Heather Setka, shared a story about her daughter's latest "social justice learning (and teaching) moment" and picking on someone smaller than she (in this case a dog at the park).  Today we are looking at animal welfare in the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Zanzibar Islands. Read more »

I have another blog post to share now that I am back in Canada, but wanted to get these photos posted (now that I am on a high-speed connection).

It was a wonderful trip!  Guatemala is a beautiful country and I look forward to going back again sometime.

Enjoy the images!

  Read more »

I sit on several boards for a variety of charities and non-profit organizations. One of the groups that I am involved with is ChristmasFuture. What I like about them is how they collaborate with others and support the activities of organizations who are addressing some of the systemic social problems around poverty in the developing world.

The slideshow at the bottom of this post is about ChristmasFuture and Jay Baydala, their Executive Director. I share it with you for a couple of reasons, the most obvious is because I am personal engaged in the work that they do. The other reason is that this slide show is a great use of technology bridging the gap between the donor and the organization. For sure, without question this is a marketing tool. But, it is also an educational piece and an interactive storyboard. Viewers can comment, vote, share and connect with others who agree and disagree with the content and the process.

Societal fabric is created through storytelling. This is one story of many.

Enjoy the show!

Let's Talk Poverty

The 12 for 12K Challenge is using social media to change the world.  Unlike other giving circle models - this one is global and is part of a societal change that is fast-paced with huge potential.  I am not sure of the process for selecting the charities (criteria and who is reviewing selections).  They will be updating the site every month with the new charities they have selected.

Another social media phenom is Charity:Water and Twestival.  Today, Charity:Water drilled their first water-well in Ethiopia.  This fundraiser brought together thousands of people from Twitter to different events around the world with proceeds going to this one charity.  During the course of the evening they raised over $240,000 as people twittered about their various events. 

Generating social capital is not just about raising the funds for societal projects.  It's also about bringing people together to generate greater impact with those funds.  The Twestival experience is just one of those opportunities.

Here is the video of the well being drilled in Northern Ethiopia:

Twestival Well Drilling - Day 1 from Ethiopia - charity: water from charity: water on Vimeo.

One of the questions that I posed to them on Twitter, was to find out how they are teaching the community about water sanitation so as to avoid contamination of the new water source.