Mar 01
Read this post in English. La semana pasada, de una manera media esporádica, decidí que me voy a Dharamsala, India en junio (lo pueden llamar un regalo de graduación para mi misma). Para que todos sepa, Dharamsala se encuentra al norte de la India por el Himalaya y al sur del Tíbet. Además del voluntariado …
Feb 28
So last week I sort-of sporadically decided that I’m going to Dharamsala, India in June (you can call it a graduation gift to myself). To let everyone, know Dharamsala is in northern India by the Himalayas and south of Tibet. Besides the community service I’ll be doing there, one of the most important reasons I …
Feb 01
We observe our environment through all of our senses. Right now, as I feel the keys on my keyboard fall under the pressure of my fingers, I also watch the screen as the letters appear in front of me. I can hear the faint noise of the cars passing outside, and taste the spearmint gum …
Jan 26
Last night, U.S. Special Forces conducted a rescue mission in Somalia. Their mission? Rescue American Jessica Buchanan and Danish citizen, Poul Thisted. The aid workers were employed by Denmark’s Refugee Council’s de-mining unit. Jessica a regional education adviser on landmine clearing and Poul, a community safety manager, were kidnapped on October 25th of last year. …
Jan 26
Several months ago I wrote a post about the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which, to refresh your memory, operates on the basis of gross national happiness, or GNH. GNH replaced GDP and GNP (gross domestic product and gross national product) as the measure of development for the country in 1972 when then King Jigme …
Jan 23
A few years ago, my friend introduced me to a new author she really enjoyed, Dave Eggers. I first read his work You Shall Know My Velocity, then moved on to his autobiographical book Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius. Not only did I love his writing, but also when I read his life story, …
Jan 20
Two years ago when a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, nearly everyone there suffered for it. In the two years of recovery efforts since then, women continue to suffer. Although health issues such as cholera and poor housing conditions impact many of the half million people living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP), women are …
Jan 12
When was the last time you thought about Haiti? If you’re anything like me, it was probably a long time ago. It’s been almost exactly two years since the devastating earthquake that brought Haiti to the forefront of the international consciousness, and a lot of things have happened since then. Kim Jong-Il’s death, the Arab …
Dec 20
On Friday of last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill approving the foreign aid budget for 2012. Anticipating that the Senate will pass the bill this week, the winners and losers of the proposed budget allocations becomes clear. Foreign aid has become a big target in this economic recession, with government more hesitant …
Dec 01
I have learned a lot over the past 7 months. The lesson that sticks out the most coincides with the name of this blog – that wanting to “do good” is not enough. Good intentions can only solve a problem to some degree. We need to develop sustainable solutions to efficiently make things better. I …
