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 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 13
I stumbled upon an image this weekend showing the digital divide of the world. It graphically shows what parts of the globe have access to digital technology, measured through IP address locations. Showing the layers between high and low-density areas in relation to internet access is powerful. I once heard someone say that Africa is …
Dec 06
MyMela’s model of Social entrepreneurship: combining fair trade and micro finance. I’ve previously written about the social and environmental responsibilities that we have as consumers. It is extremely important to know your products and their stories. As consumers, we have much more impact than what we understand. As we enter the holiday season- where everyone …
Dec 01
The Republic of Myanmar (commonly known as Burma) is not the most tourist-friendly place. That may change soon, however, as the government seeks to capitalize on the benefits of 50 years of heavy tourist restrictions and isolation: beautiful, unspoiled landscapes and culture. For decades the country has faced heavy sanctions because of the oppressive regime …
Nov 29
To begin with, today Tuesday the 29th, the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness opens in Busan, South Korea. The goal of this Forum is to focus on developing efficient ways of giving international aid while working to build stronger partnerships between donor and recipient governments. This is the first time the forum is being …
Nov 28
Every year when Thanksgiving comes around, I come up with a list of all the things I am grateful for, and then I try to give back to charitable organizations in my community or elsewhere. This year, I decided to give back to a non-profit organization called Pencils of Promise. Though it has been around …
Nov 10
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the possibility of including factors besides GDP as measures of development, so I thought today it might be interesting to do a sort of case study on a country that has done just that. I’m sure many of you have heard that Bhutan, that small kingdom …
