Tag: International Aid

So is Voluntourism the Road Better Traveled?

Voluntourism, as discussed in a previous blog, To Go Or Not To Go, provides a unique impact and scope compared to traditional donations.  The second part of the series seeks to uncover the road of donations as compared to voluntourism in terms of reaching the destination, community impact, and the values of overhead.  The analysis …

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To Go or Not To Go: Voluntourism

With the advent of global media and an increasingly connected world, the average citizen is drastically more informed and aware than yesteryear’s counterpart.  This media saturation combined with man’s natural tendency to travel has produced a budding practice coined voluntourism, where socially conscious travelers are able to incorporate humanistic ambitions with new and exciting experiences …

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Focusing on the bigger picture to further girls education

“They take it for granted that if you work for an NGO you are funded by the west, that you are trying to change local traditions and customs, you are doing something that is secular. They no longer expect to get any public support, so no effort is being made to win hearts and minds. …

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Extreme Poverty in Lao PDR

Lao PDR has one of the highest growth rates in Southeast Asia with 6% increase every year in the last decade. Even the level of poverty has been declining. However, the country is still one of the least developed in Southeast Asia and the level of poverty is still largely apparent in this economy. Laos …

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Myanmar in the Balance

Regular readers of this blog will know that Myanmar has long been one of my favorite topics.  I’ve written many times, often quite hopefully, about what the future may hold for this isolated country as it begins to open up economically and socially.  New president Thein Sein has made serious moves towards reforming the military-ruled country, …

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Mozambique under water…Again!

In late January disaster struck Mozambique. The Limpopo River which arcs across 4 countries burst its banks. Around 140 000 people woke up to severe flooding, and in an instant they had lost everything. The death toll currently stands at 105, with 250 000 people directly affected. UNICEF Mozambique estimates that $30 million is still …

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The Global Tobacco Epidemic

Did you know that at least one billion people are expected to die from tobacco use in the 21st century? We all know the horrible consequences of using any type of tobacco. Tobacco can increase a person’s risk for various types of cancer, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Despite all the risks, tobacco is not …

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Missionary Work?

When people hear the words donating to Africa, or missionary work in Africa, it is often associated with doing “good”. However, this is not the case in Uganda. Some extremist American Evangelicals are spending their “missionary time” and “donations” supporting the antigay sentiment sweeping Uganda . Their “missionary time” is spent asking Parliament to speed up …

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Just The Tip of The Horn

It’s the start of a new year, and a new beginning. A renewed hope for something better for all, yet a crisis still looms and has been around for far too long. I am referring to the food crisis, in the Horn of Africa. So why hasn’t the problem been resolved, after so many decades? …

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Brand Name Disaster Relief

The lives of Haitians are threadbare and there is little in the way of relief funds. How is this possible? When international donations totaling more than $10 billion were donated to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake . The disparity in the suffering of the Haitian people and the astronomical amount of money donated …

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