Jun 21
Southern Sudan’s wildlife could provide it with an opportunity to develop a vibrant tourism industry July 9th is fast approaching. This is the day when south Sudan is scheduled to secede from the north and become an independent nation – something many of us have been eagerly waiting for. Violence has plagued the build up …
Jun 20
On May 31st USAID announced a partnership with IBM and CDC Development Solutions, an NGO that focuses on international corporate volunteerism (ICV), which USAID believes will make ICV more effective and sustainable. The partnership spawned a new agency: The Center of Excellence for International Corporate Volunteerism (CEICV), which will be funded by USAID, IBM, and …
Jun 15
Putting Innovative Thinking into Action Last night I had an experience that is sure to be a memorable one—I got to see President Barack Obama speak to an intimately filled room of supporters. I must say that his speech left quite an impression on me. Sure he focused on the usual topics of increasing jobs, …
Jun 14
In a world that is run by various forms of financing and spending, countries are continuously dependent on institutions that provide for their ability to develop. And in a reality where even highly developed countries like the US, UK, and Germany are millions of dollars in debt, is it really surprising that developing countries are …
Jun 08
This is a follow up of my last post where I discussed the Millenium Villages. In the last one I discussed the problem of sustainability (is it a good project in the long run?). Here I am going to discuss the problem of scaling up the project. I feel like the project is too ambitious …
Jun 07
Many of my posts this past month discussed the impacts and strategies of foreign aid. The more that I’ve researched projects undertaken by aid organizations, the more I’ve seen what commonly works and what doesn’t work. If we take a look at these commonalities, incorporate lessons learned from them and use them to inform current …
Jun 03
The Millennium Villages project offers a bold, innovative model for helping rural African communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty. To date, the Millennium Villages project has reached nearly 400,000 people in 79 villages. The villages are in 10 African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda), and are located …
May 31
Many of the posts I’ve written thus far have mentioned the recent uprisings and governmental overhauls taking place in the Middle East. These events are bringing incredible amounts of change to archaic systems and have the potential to completely reshape the Arab world, a source of great excitement to people living in the region. To …
May 31
When the “Arab Spring” began in mid-December, 2010, most of the news coverage was quite hopeful. North Africa would soon become democratic, which would be beneficial for the US, and life would rapidly improve for citizens who had been oppressed by dictators like Gaddafi and Mubarak. But it didn’t quite happen like that. Gaddafi still …
May 31
Leer la versión en Español In an effort to decrease drug trafficking, many countries have resorted to a forced eradication of illicit crops. There are two main methods in which crop eradication takes place: aerial spraying of toxic chemicals and forced manual eradication. It is assumed that the eradication of the crops will stop and …
