Tag: social problems

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 …

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A Failing Grade for Standardized Tests

Standardized tests, for years, have been a hot topic for advocates interested in reforming the United States education system.  In fact, recently some of the concerns that education advocates have about standardized tests have manifested themselves across the nation.  Recently, the College Board released the average SAT scores for students across the nation, and the …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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Loss of Innocence: Children in Combat

There are parts of the world, where children don’t worry about how to tell their parents they received a bad grade or convince them to let them go out on a Friday night.  That carefree life is a far reality from the grim existence that many live in throughout the world.  There is a generation …

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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 …

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Learning, Giving, and Having Fun

As most parents and educators know, children are much more receptive to taking part in educational activities when they are associated with the word “fun.”  Normally, learning new vocabulary words or working on geography and art can all be considered boring in a child’s mind.  However, www.freerice.com, a non-profit website operated by the United Nations …

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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, …

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Country Over Party

As a college senior, Areeba’s latest post really resonated with me. My friends and I, at the cusp of graduation, are about to get thrown to the wolves. Hundreds of thousands of us will be vying for jobs with much fewer available positions. Some of us will hide ourselves in grad schools, some may take …

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