On a daily basis, the news will report on cases of labor exploitation in restaurants, sweatshops or agricultural fields in urban and rural America. In more severe cases, we hear of people being enslaved and forced to work against their will as victims of human trafficking. People migrate to escape hardship back home. Poverty and …
Category: Lessons Learned from…
Sep 21
Social Good Summit Recap – Day 2
So day two of the Social Good Summit, was another jam packed day of speakers and social media. Key Takeaway- Empowerment of women is more important than ever Geena Davis, actor and advocate, shared a startling statistic that the United States is responsible for 80% of all media, so we are in fact exporting many …
Sep 20
Social Good Summit Recap – Day One
I walked into the 92Y building just a few minutes before the program was scheduled to start. I was attending the Social Good Summit presented by Mashable, the UN Foundation, 92nd Street Y and sponsored by Ericsson, which is a four day event starting September 19th during UN week. I scanned the room looking for …
Sep 19
Volunteerism in Kenya
A few weeks ago, I went on a journey to Kenya and Tanzania. As you may know from reading this blog, I spent a decent amount of time this summer investigating what was happening in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, near the border with Somalia. My colleague Rebecca and I took a look at …
Sep 16
Seeking Refuge in South Florida
I once met with a refugee who was days away from graduating from college. He was proud of this accomplishment, not only because he was the first member of his family to achieve such a feat, but also because he was proof that his family had made it in America. He was the first member …
Sep 16
Greenpeace 40 year Anniversary: How Much Has Been done?
Today, I was forwarded a Youtube clip from a friend only titled “Greenpeace”. While I was expecting a video of protesters waving signs on a dingy boat out in the Aleutian Islands, I instead got a cacophony of foul language and brief clips of international people on telephones. I had no idea what where it …
Sep 16
Becoming Limitless
I recently watched Neil Burger’s movie Limitless. It started by depicting the main character Eddie Morra as an intelligent writer who struggled in finding inspiration to finish his novel and could not find an appropriate balance between his work and his relationship. This depressing beginning reminded me that so many people, for various reasons, squander …
Sep 13
Post 9/11 Development Aid: A change of focus?
Being a current student in New York City, it been hard to avoid all of the attention being paid to the 10-year anniversary of September 11th this last weekend. While I was not here when the attacks took place, I can’t help but be drawn in to the debates of where the city is now …
Sep 13
Mexico’s Rural Migrations
In Mexico, it is calculated that a little over 50% of the population is urban. Since the 1940’s, the urban population began to grow exponentially because of the lack of economic support for the rural population. In the last 50 years there have been important political and economic decisions that have given people large incentives …
Sep 12
Here’s to Silver Linings
I woke up giddy yesterday. My clock read 12:25, and my heart started to pound in anticipation. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. After nine months of waiting, I’d finally woken up to an onslaught of NFL games. I turned on NFL on Fox theme music as I changed to pump me up, …