Rebecca Birnbaum

Rebecca Birnbaum is graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She completed a double major in Political Science and Anthropology and a minor in Peace and Social Justice. Rebecca’s coursework included policy analysis, negotiation methods, and cultural perspective. As a SISGI Group Program and Research Intern, she focused on sustainable development, nonprofit management, and nonviolent conflict resolution.

Most commented posts

  1. Horn of Africa Crisis Worsens — 2 comments
  2. The Nonprofit Disconnect — 2 comments
  3. What the East Africa Drought Really Means — 2 comments
  4. Spotlight On charity: water — 1 comment
  5. The International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers — 1 comment

Author's posts

Aug 11

Sustainable Stoves

I’ve written a lot about climate change and how future development needs to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. It’s easy to talk about these things like there are simple solutions and unlimited funds to develop sustainable products. In reality, however, it’s an extremely difficult process to create a product that is the perfect intersection between …

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Aug 09

Another Type of Refugee

As I was writing the blog series analyzing the current situation at Dadaab Refugee Camp, I started to think about the need for refugee camps and services in general. A refugee is a person who flees – or who has been displaced – from their home and seeks refuge elsewhere. Many refugees flee in fear …

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Aug 03

A Plan for Dadaab Refugee Camp, Part IV

Yesterday, Ryan wrote the third post in our series discussing the current situation in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. He talked about the need for mental health care and social entrepreneurship services in Dadaab, as they crucial in enabling the refugees to eventually leave the camp and rebuild their lives. Both of these services, along …

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Aug 01

Building Back Better in Pakistan

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the opportunity and need for Haiti to redevelop sustainably after the devastating earthquake in 2010. I also discussed how construction in Bihar, India – after a flood completely washed away the area – could be a model for rebuilding homes in Haiti. Unfortunately, like Haiti and India, Pakistan …

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Jul 29

A Plan for Dadaab Refugee Camp, Part II

On Tuesday, my colleague Ryan wrote the first installment of a blog series he and I are working on about the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. It is the largest refugee camp in the world, built to accommodate about 90,000 people. However, due to the current drought crisis in the Horn of Africa, there are …

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Jul 25

Peace and Climate Change

When I think about climate change, what typically comes to mind is the weather: hot days, droughts, and other severe weather events – but all too often there are other effects of climate change that are greatly underestimated. In fact, some consequences of climate change may not have anything to do with the weather at …

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Jul 21

Horn of Africa Crisis Worsens

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the Horn of Africa is currently experiencing one of the most severe droughts in history. For countries like Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, the drought is forcing families to flee to overcrowded refugee camps and leaving hundreds of thousands of children homeless and malnourished. Unfortunately, conditions in …

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Jul 18

Life-Changing Lamps

In rural areas of Kenya, the overwhelming majority of families live without electricity. More than one third of the population depends on kerosene-powered lamps, which are not only bad for the environment, but they also negatively affect Kenyans in other ways. Toxic fumes, for example, are emitted from the burning lamps and can cause severe …

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Jul 14

People Comprehension Part IV

I’ve written several posts explaining how and why I think people comprehension skills should be taught in the public education system. Developing these skills in elementary school and middle school allows students to have exposure to different types of conflict, foster a greater understanding of opposing viewpoints, and build basic negotiation skills. In high school, it’s time to continue …

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Jul 11

Food Talk

There are currently one billion people around the world who are hungry. With inefficient farming practices, poor distribution, record high food prices, and a global population that’s expected to reach over nine billion by 2050, food security is a huge challenge worldwide. Plain and simple: current methods aren’t working, and changes must be made in …

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