09:03, 9 November 2010
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CartONG is a French NGO that provides mapping and information services to the humanitarian aid community, promoting standardisations of data between donors, NGOs and the United Nations. CartONG is currently working on something called
the NOMAD project and is seeking to hear from people regarding their experiences in mobile data collection in humanitarian efforts and post-conflict situations, to gather information to compare paper versus satellite phone/GPS-enabled PDAs.
If you have such experience, please consider filling out
the CartONG survey.
From the web site:
Satellite, mobile phones and GPS-enabled PDA’s have recently become more than just communication devices and have been piloted successfully in humanitarian operations, though few organisations have standard procedures in place and started to use it for all their data needs.
How about your organisation? Have you carried out assessments with satellite phones or GPS-enabled PDA’s? Are you interested in these technologies? Have you embedded this technology into your data analysis and reporting cycles?
Again: if you have such experience, please consider filling out
the CartONG survey.
The NOMAD project is a partnership among
CartONG,
AUVEA,
CNES (the French government space agency),
IMMAP (a nonprofit that applies appropriate information management practices and new information technologies in service to the humanitarian community, enabling them to solve pressing global humanitarian challenges),
MEDES and the
World Food Programme (WFP).
11:08, 4 October 2010
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Even while living abroad for most of the last nine years, I was aware that there was a lot of
misinformation going around in the USA regarding the nonprofit sector, as well as about non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and aid agencies working in developing countries. But I tended not to take it seriously. I certainly never believed it was any kind of anti-NGO
movement. While working at a United Nations agency, I once showed a non-American colleague some of the web sites set up to spread disinformation about the UN as a whole and various individual UN agencies like UNICEF and UNFPA, and she kept saying, "Are you joking? Did you set these sites up yourself to fool me?" We had a laugh, and we moved on.
Now that I am back living in the USA, I have realized that the misinformation isn't limited to fringe groups on the far-right; the
misinformation about nonprofits in the USA, as well as NGOs and international humanitarian agencies abroad, is pervasive and growing. It's very-well organized propaganda, and it is proving very effective: I hear it on mainstream TV, I read about it on various online discussion groups, I hear it from fellow volunteers in community work I do here in rural Oregon... I even heard it from the guy setting up gopher traps at a nearby elementary school (
not this guy): a misguided-yet-strong belief that nonprofits in the USA are tools of nefarious forces on the left bent on doing away with the US Constitution, and NGOs and international agencies abroad are tools of nefarious forces based
somewhere (depends on whom you talk to) bent on doing
something evil (again, what that evil is depends on whom you talk to).
My wake up call that this was something I needed to take more seriously was the widely-report-yet-bogus claims of James O'Keefe, the self-proclaimed independent film-maker who brought down the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a national nonprofit that very-effectively advocated for the needs and rights of low- and moderate-income families in the USA. He used what turned out to be incredibly misleading videos that used heavy edits and staged scenes to paint ACORN as misusing funds, and he has turned out to be not-at-all independent but, in fact,
funded by several heavyweight conservative backers.
After than, the more I read and listened, the more I realized that there are growing, well-funded efforts by many different people and organizations to
spread misinformation about the nonprofit and NGO sector so that they lose their funding -- and their influence.
Yet, go to state or national associations of nonprofits or NGOs and you will find no effort to address these myths. Even the
Myths About Nonprofits by the National Council of Nonprofits is woefully out-of-date -- I could name half a dozen more myths they urgently need to address about nonprofits!
To ignore this misinformation campaign is a huge mistake; it will not only result in less funding from individuals, governments and the corporate sector for the vital work of nonprofits in the USA, as well as NGOs and international humanitarian agencies abroad, it will also:
- further disempower people who do not have the money, connections and other resources to advocate for themselves and their interests against much better funded individuals, organizations and institutions
- take away very important voices of dissent
- remove some of the best sources for innovation and information that benefits people across various demographics (regional, educational, economic levels, etc.)
Countering misinformation, as well as
promptly and honestly addressing criticism are two primary issues issues I work to address with nonprofits, NGOs and the like regarding
communications and
community involvement/volunteer engagement. I'm now following this anti-nonprofit, anti-NGO movement very closely. What about your state association of nonprofits or NGOs? What about your major regional or national conferences? What about your professional association? Will nonprofit and NGO staff let our fears of possibly making a funder angry keep us from addressing this very real, very disturbing misinformation campaign?
08:25, 27 September 2010
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Back in 2001, I had what my colleagues thought was a radical idea: that cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and other hand held electronic technology would become essential tools in projects focused on developing countries and in community improvement projects anywhere.
I got the idea because I was hearing stories about such hand held tech being used in a variety of community and environmental initiatives, often by volunteers. I was working as part of the
United Nations Technology Service (UNITeS) at the time. Since UNITeS was all about volunteers using ICTs as a part of their service, I decided to put together a section on the UNITeS web site that listed all of the instances I could find regarding
cell phones and other hand held tech being used community service/volunteering/advocacy efforts. It presents examples as of 2001 of volunteers/citizens/grass roots advocates using handheld computer/personal digital assistants (PDAs) or phone devices as part of community service/volunteering/advocacy, or examples that could be applied to volunteer settings. It also included some lessons-learned.
I've continued to pay attention to this subject, though I haven't been in a position to do any further in-depth research at all. Some things that have gotten my attention:
A word of caution:
cell phones and other hand held technologies also provide a way to instantly misinform. I touched on this back in 2001:
Hand held technology must be used with great caution, however. Musician and U.S.A. Green Party activist Jello Biafra noted in an article on Zdnet.Uk: "Be careful of the information gossip you get on the Internet, too. For example, late in 1997 I discovered out on the Internet that I was dead."
More about how quickly misinformation can now be spread in this resource:
Folklore, Rumors (or Rumours) and Urban Myths Interfering with Development and Aid/Relief Efforts, and Government Initiatives. Also lists tips on how to address widespread misinformation.
07:11, 22 September 2010
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According to the
World Health Organization, harmful cooking stove smoke is one of the top four health risks in developing countries (just go to the
WHO site and search on the word "stove" for more info).
Three billion people currently lack access to modern energy sources for cooking, causing serious health problems, devastating air quality, using up valuable fossil fuels, and leading to nearly two million deaths. Exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires – the primary means of cooking and heating for nearly three billion people in the developing world – causes 1.9 million premature deaths annually, with women and young children the most affected. Cookstove smoke contributes to a range of chronic illnesses and acute health impacts, and gathering fuel increases pressures on local natural resources and
personal security risks for women and girls.
Cooking stoves that are designed to produce less emissions and perform with greater fuel efficiency not only address the need for action in climate change, they can dramatically improve the health of the women and children exposed to cookstove pollution each day, and keep girls safe. But such stoves are financially out-of-reach for the people that need them most, and unavailable to many of those who could afford them in developing countries.
The
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves "will create a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions." The alliance's goal is to make clean cooking stoves available to 100 million homes by 2020.
06:49, 21 September 2010
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What are Afghan women thinking? What do
they say their lives are like?
The Afghan Women's Writing Project showcases essays by Afghan women about their lives, their hopes and their challenges. Recently, the project featured
an essay by a friend of mine that I hope you will read and comment on. If you
really want to understand the situation in Afghanistan, have a read.
"The Afghan Women’s Writing Project is aimed at allowing Afghan women to have a direct voice in the world, not filtered through male relatives or members of the media... The project reaches out to talented and generous women author/teachers here in the United States and engages them, on a volunteer, rotating basis, to teach Afghan women online from Afghanistan."
Yes that's right:
online volunteers.
Reporters in Afghanistan will often claim the lack of women interviewed in their stories is because of cultural issues, and the military will often claim that the lack of women's feedback is also because of cultural issues. The reality is that they just aren't trying hard enough. Interviewing women
is possible in Afghanistan: it takes building
trust, being
discreet, and
listening for a longer period of time than you would in the USA to someone you are interviewing.
10:43, 20 September 2010
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For those looking to network with other humanitarian/development workers, and those who are interested in such, there is a
XIIth Humanitarian Congress, Friday and Saturday, 15 & 16 October 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The subject is: Trauma, Chaos and Politics: Humanitarian Action in Haiti and in other Emergencies
Were I still in Germany, I would most definitely go... if you go, please blog about your experience, and
let me know!
From the web site: "The Humanitarian Congress is an international platform for the exchange of information, experiences and ideas related to humanitarian action. Each year, the Congress brings together leading experts from non-governmental organisations, the medical world, humanitarian and international organisations, politics and the media... More than 70 practitioners and researchers from a multitude of backgrounds will present their experiences and concerns through a series of panel discussions and workshops. Discussion themes include: priorities in earthquake situations; the role of the military in natural disasters; security management; surgery; groups with special needs; sexual violence; and an introduction to humanitarian action. The congress will close with a debate on the shrinking humanitarian space in Afghanistan."
The conference is focused on "Representatives of political institutions, NGO staff, medical workers, psychologists, lawyers, journalists, academics and students are all welcome to attend the Congress. And of course anyone driven to learn more about the humanitarian aid sector."
Information English &
Information in German.
This is a great conference for professional development and networking for potential program partners or for future employment opportunities. Such conferences allow attendees to not only learn from each other, but also for attendees to promote themselves, their work and their areas of expertise.
More about
Finding a Job with the United Nations or Other International Humanitarian or Development Organization.
07:18, 20 September 2010
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My guide to
Basic Fund-Raising for Small NGOs/Civil Society Organizations in the Developing World has been translated into Spanish and Russian. Now, it's about to be translated into two native languages of Sri Lanka - Sinhala and Tamil. Hurrah!
THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT A LIST OF FUNDERS/DONORS. It is, instead, a set of guidelines on how to prepare an organization to be attractive to donors, how to search for potential donors that support organizations in the developing world and how to approach such potential donors.
The document is meant to provide very basic guidelines for
small NGOs in the developing world regarding fund-raising and adhering to the basic principles of good governance, and to point to other resources.
By small NGOs, I mean organizations that may have only one paid staff member, or are run entirely by volunteers; and may or may not have official recognition by the government. These organizations are extremely limited in their resources, and are often in unstable environments and/or serving profoundly poor populations.
This document is NOT written for nonprofits serving the "developed" world -- organizations serving communities in North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Japan, or medium-sized or large NGOs in transitional countries, would probably not find this document particularly helpful, as it has been prepared to make recommendations relevant for
small nonprofits serving in a
developing country.
The document is
super basic, but
super basic seems to be what is needed most; some of the requests are written in all capital letters (which is considered shouting) and many don't follow the very simple criteria required to request the document (criteria that is much, much more simple than that required by donors in fundraising proposals). I'm trying to build capacity with this document among small NGOs/CSOs in the developing world. If you are training NGOs/CSOs regarding governance and transparency, you are welcomed to
contact me about possibly using this document in your workshops.
08:11, 12 August 2010
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It surprises a lot of people to learn that what keeps women and girls out of telecenters/telecentres (free or low-cost public access points for the Internet). It's usually
not cost. Rather,
what keeps women away is often cultural issues and perceptions.
The
Association for Progressive Communications has a Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) that has been used in ICT4D projects to incorporate an aspect that is often overlooked when a project is first designed: the needs of women. Recent use of APC's GEM found that
culture is a bigger barrier to Bangladeshi girls going online than lack of money or computers, and that
women farmers in a rural area of Peru were reluctant to use computers and the internet from a nearby telecenter because they thought they were just for children, no one had told them how they could use them to help their farming be more successful and because there are security issues for women to use public transport to get to the centers. In fact, APC has found that
women over the age of 35 are often times considered “too old” by younger people and men to use ICTs and learn about computer technology.
Women's Access to Public Internet Centers in Transitional and Developing Countries is of particular interest to me. In fact, living in rural Oregon has made me concerned about women's access to the Internet in the USA, as I hear women here that are my age (Gen X) or older say something I've never heard in any transitional or developing country: "I don't have an email address. Email my husband/son/daughter and he/she will print the message out for me." Ouch! I may be organizing a series of computer and Internet workshops for women right here in my own village soon... And I have heard 20 somethings right here in the USA say "She can't use a computer. She's too old!" Can you imagine if they had made such a statement about an ethnic group and the outrage that would ensue?
I've updated this web page to encourage ICT-related projects to
think about the needs of women and girls in accessing training and resources. But the resources are definitely
not just for developing countries.
Tags: ICT4D, net2thinktank, NetSquared, access
09:10, 28 July 2010
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78-year-old French aid worker Michel Germaneau has been executed in the last few days by al-Qaida's North African branch, three months after his abduction in Niger. Having retired from the Algerian oil sector, Germaneau ran an aid group called Enmilal that worked in African countries to improve health services and schools. (
story on MSNBC)
The al-Qaida offshoot, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or North Africa, is currently holding two Spanish aid workers, Roque Pascual and Albert Vilalta, who were taken hostage in Mauritania in November.
Earlier this month, a
volunteer American aid worker was killed, along with more than 70 other people were killed, in bomb explosions that ripped through Uganda as fans watched the final match of World Cup soccer at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant in the country's capital of Kampala. Nate Henn was a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and volunteer aid worker for the organization Invisible Children, a group that works to stop the abduction of children in Uganda (who are then forced to be soldiers in militias) and to re-integrate former child soldiers into their communities and families.
Back in February, three foreign aid workers World Vision were among eight people killed when a roadside bomb struck a convoy on its way to a girls' school opening in northwest Pakistan. (
story in NYT)
And in March, an Afghan engineer was killed and nine others wounded after a gunman attacked a group of aid workers in the eastern province of Khost in Afghanistan. The gunman opened fire from a vehicle on a group of German and Afghan aid workers while they were inspecting a high school under renovation.
This is not a list of all of the local and foreign aid workers killed just in 2010. They are merely the deaths that have gotten my attention. I am
yet again blogging about the death of aid workers abroad to remind everyone that many of these people were targeted
specifically because of their role in
aid and development.
A lot of people think that, if they work for a humanitarian agency, or they are a tourist that dresses in local clothing, they are somehow magically-protected from violence in developing countries. I see their comments on various online groups and the denial of the risks is jaw-dropping. The reality is this:
aid workers empower local people. They help local people engage in income-generation activities that sustain their families, the help them access health care, and they help them access education. All of this empowerment of local people undermines the power and influence of both criminal gangs and terrorists, and so, aid workers become targets for violence.
When you are remember people who have made the ultimate sacrifice abroad in the military, I hope you will remember the aid workers as well.
12:12, 12 July 2010
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More than 70 people were killed, and about 70 more were injured, in separate bomb explosions that ripped through Uganda Sunday afternoon as fans watched the final match of World Cup soccer at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant in the country's capital of Kampala.
The synchronized bomb blasts also took the life of American
Nate Henn, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and volunteer aid worker for the organization
Invisible Children, a group that works to stop the abduction of children in Uganda (who are then forced to be soldiers in militias) and to re-integrate former child soldiers into their communities and families. In a Facebook status update Nate Henn made just before his trip to Uganda, he wrote, "Thank you for helping me achieve my dream of getting to Uganda," and while in the country, he wrote home about these being the best days of his life.
So many, many thoughts going through my mind:
- The cruelty of taking advantage of something so joyous and wonderful as the World Cup, an event that is truly global, something that brings the entire world together and appeals across people's religious (or non-religious) beliefs, economic classes, education and cultures... it's so incredibly disturbing.
- Another aid worker killed. Type in aid worker killed in Google and you will see just how many humanitarian workers are killed in developing countries each year (not just Americans). They often face the same risks as people in the military abroad, but don't receive nearly the same recognition when they make the ultimate sacrifice.
- Working in developing countries incurs real risks. So many people who want to volunteer abroad don't really understand that, thinking that their good intentions will somehow protect them or that they will go only to a safe developing country where nothing bad happens to aid workers.
- How many Americans are out there, right now, as volunteers in the PeaceCorps or UN Volunteers or VSO or through a nonprofit organization, or as paid staff in the UN or USAID or an international NGO, willing to put their lives on the line to help other people, because they want others to have the opportunities they've had.
Very sad day.
14:23, 7 July 2010
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Am I against international voluntourism? Do I think it's wrong that people pay to volunteer abroad?
No.
Shocked?
True, I absolutely agree with
VSO, which said
young people are often better off backpacking in developing countries, traveling and getting to know local people simply as paying tourists, rather than paying for most "voluntourism" experiences. VSO's criticisms of paying-to-volunteer companies are absolutely right on:
a lot of young people are exploited by gap-year volunteer charities, being told that they are going to help people when, in reality, the volunteers are just making money for the company by paying for their feel-good experience (and these volunteers could have had just as meaningful experience had they simply
traveled in the country as tourists).
A lot of pay-to-volunteer companies cater to the needs of the voluntourist rather than the local communities they claim volunteers will support. The voluntourist gets a feel good experience, but the local people don't really benefit in any tangible way. These companies can contribute to that old-time colonialist thinking:
we're from the West, and we're here to help you poor, pathetic people. That's not a way of thinking that should be cultivated. And I get anywhere from annoyed to enraged by the attitude by many in the west:
I'm a good person with a big heart and therefore I should be sent to a poor country, housed and fed, and allowed to cuddle orphaned babies and hug disaster survivors.
In addition, some voluntourists -- people who pay for a feel-good experience -- are not properly trained, supervised or supported, and are put in dangerous situations and are permanently injured or even killed in accidents that were
easily preventable. For instance, a
British student was electrocuted while working as a conservation volunteer in Fiji and
a panda cub bit off part of the thumb of an American volunteer who was feeding the animal at a reserve in southwest China.
But with all that said, I also believe that
not all of the pay-to-volunteer companies out there are misguided or exploitative. There
are companies that employ local people in most paid roles with the company, that put the volunteers in positions where the volunteers are learning from local people as much, if not more, than they are teaching/leading/working, that keep volunteers as safe as any tourist to the country can be, and that give volunteers a great (nothing short of great for that amount of money), immersive experience. There
are companies that open the eyes of Westerners about the realities of developing countries and what it
really takes to transform communities, with volunteers knowing up front that their few days or weeks aren't going to make any difference in the lives of local people in the long-run, and learning that its their post-trip actions and new knowledge that
could make a difference for those local people in the long-run.
Involving international volunteers is expensive. Someone has to pay for the volunteer's transportation to the country, transportation in the country, housing, training, staff supervision and support,
work permits from the government, and security. In addition, it's much more beneficial to local, poor or developing communities to use funds to hire local people to serve food, build houses, educate young people, provide medical care, etc., than to use those resources to bring in an outside volunteer for those activities local people want to be paid to do themselves. Therefore, if you want a short-term volunteering assignment, be prepared to pay -- both to cover your costs and to ensure that you aren't taking local jobs.
So, if you want to volunteer abroad on a short-term gig, and are wondering how you are going to pay the two or three thousand dollars to make it happen, see:
Funding Your Volunteering Abroad Trip. And buyer beware: ask the tough questions of the company, and ask to speak with at least two people who have volunteered abroad with the company. How the company reacts to your questions will speak volumes about the quality of the company.
If you want to volunteer long-term (six months - two years) in a program that does NOT require you to pay (PeaceCorps, VSO, UNV, etc.), and you are highly-skilled (you speak another language in addition to English, you are a successful professional or business owner who can train others in some areas of your expertise, you have volunteered or worked extensively locally, in your own community, in capacity-building activities, etc.),
see this resource. If you aren't highly-skilled but want to engage in activities over the next few years that will make you a more viable candidate for long-term volunteering programs,
this same resource will also help you.
11:02, 29 June 2010
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If you're interested in the issues faced by sexual minorities abroad, culturally sensitive travel tips for LGBT people, or how individuals adapt to a radically different set of values, or if you are a person that wants to work abroad but is worried about other cultures that are often less than tolerant of people who are lesbian or gay, consider attending "
Have Rainbow, Will Travel: The LGBT Experience in the Peace Corps," an online seminar hosted by the PeaceCorps.
The seminar is Wednesday, June 30th from 6 to 7 p.m. PST (9 to 10 EST). Registration required (
contact Kate Kuykendall to register).
Attendees will learn how volunteers balance their desire to be "true" to themselves with the need to be respectful of the host country and culture -- and to be successful Peace Corps volunteers.
07:05, 23 June 2010
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More than 115 million widows live in devastating poverty.
This is all according to the report "Invisible Forgotten Sufferers: The Plight of Widows around the World," commissioned by the
Loomba Foundation. It was launched Tuesday by Cherie Blair, wife of the former British prime minister.
"Across the world, widows suffer dreadful discrimination and abuse," Blair said. "In too many cases they're pushed to the very margins of society, trapped in poverty and left vulnerable to abuse and exploitation." She said many of these women are cheated out of their husbands' assets and property and expelled from their family home, and since they have no money, they can't support their children, "so misery is heaped on grief." Blair noted that women become widows when their husbands are killed in conflicts, die of diseases including HIV/AIDS, or are killed because they work in dangerous conditions, the only jobs available to many poor men. When their husbands die, she said, some women are required to be "cleansed," some are erroneously accused of murder or witchcraft, some are required to marry another member of the family, many are disinherited and forced out of their homes and many are raped.
The most dire consequences are faced by 2 million Afghan widows and at least 740,000 Iraqi widows who lost their husbands as a result of the ongoing conflicts by widows and their children evicted from their family homes in sub-Saharan Africa; by elderly widows caring for grandchildren orphaned by the HIV/AIDS crisis, and by child widows aged 7 to 17 in developing countries.
The report stressed that persecution against widows and their children is not limited to the developing world, noting that large numbers of widows are also found in Europe and Central Asia.
According to the report, the countries with the highest number of widows in 2010 were China with 43 million, India with 42.4 million, the United States with 13.6 million, Indonesia with 9.4 million, Japan with 7.4 million, Russia with 7.1 million, Brazil with 5.6 million, Germany with 5.1 million, and Bangladesh and Vietnam with about 4.7 million each.
Here's the AP story about this report.
Also see
Empowering Women Everywhere - Essential to Development Success, a long list of resources that show women are disproportionately affected by poverty
So, development agencies: what are YOU doing to address the plight of women in poverty, especially widows?
16:00, 21 June 2010
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Peacecorps accepts applications 365 days a year.
However, if you would like to be overseas by September 2011, PeaceCorps highly recommends that you submit your application by July 1, 2010 for consideration (and note that the PeaceCorps has a competitive application process; not everyone who applies gets to go!).
Go to
the PeaceCorps web site to learn more or finish your application.
More information, in general, about
volunteering overseas here (my own web site).
08:16, 21 June 2010
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Here's a tip for the news media and various bloggers regarding Afghanistan:
if you do an interview with a supposed expert regarding Afghanistan, and that expert never once mentions the importance of women in ensuring the country's prosperity and security, then that's no expert.
I was reminded of this once again while listening to yet another
interview with Rory Stewart, this time with NPR, talking about "the way forward in Afghanistan." Not once did he mention women. NOT ONCE. And don't say, "Well, maybe the reporter didn't ask about the women." If the interviewer was asking what will work in Afghanistan to make it more stable, then any real expert regarding the country would always -- ALWAYS -- at least mention WOMEN.
Most every time a US military leader or politician, including the current President of the USA, is interviewed regarding Afghanistan, they never mention women. Can you imagine these same people talking about South Africa in the 1980s and
never mentioning apartheid, or saying that the racial discrimination in the country wasn't the key factor in the country's problems at that time?
The condition of females in Afghanistan must be a part of every conversation regarding peace, development and security in that country, because
Afghanistan will never improve without women's empowerment. Empowering women everywhere is essential to development success.
By empowerment, I mean:
- primary and secondary education
- vocational training
- access to basic health services
- equal rights to men (property ownership, wages, leadership roles, etc.)
- safety to engage in all of the above activities
No country has ever recovered from war without women playing a key role, even the primary role, in the rebuilding. Look up a country's history after World War II, for example, and look at the role of women in literally rebuilding houses and other structures, let alone producing food. Women play a key role in creating the conditions that allow fledgling governments and shattered societies to rebuild and thrive.
Journalist Sally Armstrong has been talking for many years about
the fundamental importance of women in a country's recovery regarding both Afghanistan and Democratic Republic of Congo, as has the International Finance Corporation in its publication
Rebuilding Nations: Women Entrepreneurs in Post-Conflict Societies. I'm
continually compiling a list of other resources that explain this importance as well (and welcome additional sources). The evidence is not only over-whelming, it's something that every development agency, large and small, has embraced.
And it's something every so-called expert regarding Afghanistan should at least mention in
every interview about how to help the country be prosperous and peaceful.
If YOU want to hear from a variety of Afghan women about what's happening in Afghanistan and their own views about the situation there, join the
Afghan Women's Rights Facebook page; Vic Getz regularly links to material produced by, or about, Afghan women.
17:52, 4 June 2010
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If you have ever paid to volunteer abroad, consider posting about your experience on Yelp, probably the most popular web site for customer reviews of businesses. Actually, you could use any of the web sites for customer reviews out there.
Some of the most frequently asked questions on online groups, such as
YahooAnswers or
The Thorn Tree, are regarding experiences with fee-based volunteering abroad programs. People ask, "Has anyone heard of such-and-such organization, and is it a good idea to use them to go to Africa to volunteer?" You could help others make the right choices by reviewing the company that sent you abroad, on
Yelp or any other customer review site.
Finding organizations you can pay in order to participate in a short-term, feel good volunteering experience abroad is easy; finding out if they are credible is much harder. This situation will improve only if people who have paid to volunteer review the organizations they worked with in a public forum like
Yelp, or on a blog of their own.
More on volunteering abroad.
And on a related note,
I'll be presenting in Portland with Erin Barnhart of Idealist about volunteering abroad, including Voluntourism, for the Portland, Oregon hostels in just a few days!:
Monday, June 7th, 7 p.m.
Hawthorne Hostel
3031 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Monday June 14th, 7 p.m.
Northwest Portland International Hostel & Guesthouse
425 NW 18th Avenue (& Glisan Street)
It will be fun! Really hope to see you there!
08:55, 10 May 2010
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The Gender Training Community of Practice's Virtual Dialogue on Gender Training for Humanitarian Aid is happening now until May 21, 2010. The project, focused on Participatory Development of Resources for Gender Training in Humanitarian Assistance, is presented in cooperation with OXFAM Canada.
In this discussion the GT CoP is reflecting upon the gender training and capacity building processes necessary to mainstream gender in Humanitarian Aid in general and also look more closely at the situation in Haiti, trying to make useful recommendations for humanitarian aid workers. The aim of this dialogue is to analyze gender training in humanitarian action, including methodologies and resources, as well as collecting systematic information about the integration of a gender perspective in humanitarian action in different emergency and post emergency situations and their implications for gender training, including humanitarian action currently taking place in Haiti after the earthquake on January 12, 2010.
Download the Instructions to participate in the Virtual Dialogue and the Concept Note in English and Spanish!
11:29, 22 April 2010
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Webmail is great... if you always have great (fast and constant) access to the Internet, and bandwidth is no issue for your ISP. Otherwise, it's a nightmare: there will be many times when you won't be able to access messages, or send or reply to messages.
I travel a lot for work, and there are frequently times I'm in a place where I do not have fast nor constant access to the Internet. That means using a desktop email client programme (in my case,
Thunderbird) is my best option, allowing me to use my brief windows of Net access to download and send email, and then offline, to take all the time I need to read and write responses.
This isn't just a consideration for international consultants; it's also a consideration for organizations working in the developing world.
The nonprofit organization
Aptivate, based in Cambridge (in the UK), has produced an
article on the growing use of web-based email and its effects on developing world institutions. It explores answers to the questions: "Is webmail appropriate when bandwidth is expensive and limited? How does it compare to the alternatives?" It talks about a range of options to ensure your staff has access to email -- something that's essential these days. If you are an organization based in or working in the developing world,
this article is a must-read.
08:33, 21 April 2010
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Times are tough for people in the USA. So many people jobless, or under-employed. Much less extra income -- maybe no extra income. The media and business leaders are talking about a recovery that's happening, but most of us are NOT seeing it. Scary! I
really understand (wow, do I ever understand...).
But
I hope you will consider donating just $15 (just $15!) to one man's effort to start a cleaning company in Kabul, Afghanistan.
I've been
volunteering with BPEACE for a while now, and my most recent effort was to help mentor a Kabul man --
Sherzai -- in starting a cleaning company in Afghanistan. Working online with a cleaning company in St. Louis, Missouri, I prepared a detailed guide to help Sherzai know all that starting a cleaning company would entail, what "green cleaning" is and if it was realistic for him to pursue such with his company, how to budget for his start up, etc. A colleague in Afghanistan then donated her precious time to translate our materials into his native language (Dari).
A cleaning company in Afghanistan might not sound that vital or exciting, but it is hugely important. Homes and work places must be clean in order to keep people healthy and to attract foreign investments. Sherzai's effort has the potential to employ hundreds of people and set a standard that could encourage others.
Please consider
donating just $15 to Sherzai's effort (it makes me sad to see him at the bottom of the leader board). Or
donate to one of the other Afghan or Rwandan entrepreneurs wanting to start or expand a business in their home countries (each job has the potential to employ several dozen, even hundreds, of people). Or
donate to BPEACE in general, to help all the entrepreneurs.
02:26, 23 March 2010
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This isn't your usual nonprofit/charity online popularity contest -- because, as you know,
I loathe nonprofit/charity online popularity contests.
As many of you know,
I volunteer with Bpeace, a nonprofit organization focused on helping entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda. Each year, Bpeace chooses six promising entrepreneurs with a dream and a fledgling business plan, and Bpeace matches those entrepreneurs with American experts online to more fully develop those plans to better ensure success. They started with 250 applicants back in August 2009 and, through various means, six have now been chosen as having the most potential to create several hundred jobs.
If you go to voting page, you will see the six Afghan and Rwandan Race to Innovation Finalists, their "pitch" videos and why their business is important to their community.
BPEACE wants to raise $10,000 for
each Finalist through the
"vote for hope" campaign. 100% of the funds raised will transfer to the Finalists for them to buy the equipment and rent the space they need. Yes,
Bpeace is charging you to vote. But that's how money will be raised for these finalists. The minimum amount required to vote is just $15!
Though I have, indeed, been the primary volunteer for one of the entrepreneurs and, therefore, have strong feelings for such, I'm not going to ask you to vote for that person
just because I'm helping. Instead, I'm asking you to
go to the voting site and
judge for yourself who you think you want to invest in. No popularity contest -- instead, a real vote based purely on your opinion. For the record: yes, I've voted (and it was more than $15!). Here's more about
my volunteering with Bpeace.
Please
let me know you voted, and who you voted for!
