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
Last week, I wrote a couple of posts about the security situation and aid organizations in Sudan. One element that factors heavily into both of these issues is water – that most essential of resources. Now that we’re less than a month away from southern Sudan’s secession from Sudan proper, it’s becoming obvious that resources …
Jun 09
On Tuesday, I wrote about foreign aid into Sudan. While I did write a few lines about the security situation there, I didn’t go into much detail about it. I have a tendency to get caught up in the numbers and facts of aid. Sometimes it’s good for me to remind myself of the human …
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 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
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 28
A few months ago, CNN journalists David McKenzie and David Formanek covered the horrific conditions that mental patients in an asylum in Mathari, Kenya face in their documentary “Locked Up and Forgotten.” At Mathari Hospital, patients are injected by tranquilizers, raped by other patients, and locked inside the hospital. They consider themselves to be inmates …
May 23
Charity: water is an nonprofit organization that brings clean water to developing areas by building wells and water sanitation projects. In just four years, charity: water hasraised over $20 million, which is clearly an enormous accomplishment. One of the most impressive things about the organization, and one of the major factors in its success thus far, is …
Apr 28
Over the past decade, public spending on education in sub-Saharan Africa has increased by more than 6 % each year, according to the latest report released by UNESCO. Thereal question however, is not how much money is being spent, rather how exactly it is being distributed. The report showed some promising results. The increase in …
Apr 26
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also know as female circumcision or genital cutting, is a procedure performed for non-medical reasons that is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in four different types: Type I – Partial or complete removal of the clitoris and the clitoral hood. Type II – Partial or complete removal of the …
