Culture Slap
MANNAGGIA…!!! Cuba is slapping me. Today I got lost. Stuck in a bus so crowded that by the end of the ride I was soaked and smelled like a mix of at least five different people. It was raining, and it was sticky – and it seemed that half of Havana was on the P1 […]
My Cuban Welcome Hug
Less than a month ago, I took a night bus from Sucre to La Paz, Bolivia. The street is curvy and dangerous, the man who blessed the bus before its departure only made me feel more uneasy. Yet what disturbed me the most in that bumpy eight-hour drive was the movie selection: some violent thriller […]
Human Impact
In 2010, I worked with Engineers Without Borders Canada on establishing an agriculture-as-a-business curriculum as a regular activity of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the Kassena-Nankana East District (Upper East Region, Ghana). I trained extension agents in the inner workings of the curriculum, going out to the field to coach them through its implementation and […]
Youth Engagement & Social Media
Kristine Vodon, Industrial Designer http://www.vodondesign.com/ Youth are increasingly spending a lot of time on online social media sites, which many say is leading to a generation of “slacktivists”. This infographic takes a deeper look into youth on social media, and the arguments on whether slacktivism is a bad thing, or just a new way for […]
Intentions…
I have had the privilege over the years to work with the Coady International Institute in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The Coady Institute is a place and space dedicated to bringing together community practitioners from across the world to share best practices, learn and celebrate with one another. In this spirit, we have created a […]
NGO’s have to be flexible and creative
I was working with an NGO in Lagos, Nigeria, fundraising to build a school in Ilage-Bariga, an informal settlement located in the city. Many in the community had been heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who were visibly neglected and not attending school. Although we came up with significant funds to […]
Organizational Gratitude
If I could pick few qualities that I think any organization should be founded on, gratitude would be on the top of my list.
On short term “fly in, fly out” evaluations
Some years ago, I was asked to be the external evaluator on a project involving a small, rural community bordering the Rio Grande river. The community had received funding from the US government to support a goat co-op that would produce products (eg: milk, cheese, meat) that could provide a sustainable livelihood for its members, […]
Whether or not to fight tradition
At the beginning of my career, I was in a remote part of Papua New Guinea treating a villager alongside a traditional local practitioner. Even though the local leader practiced his own methods of healing while I followed my conventional methods, we were not threatened by each other.
Here is to building friendships, networks, community and NGO’s :D
When I was packing my bag to come out here to the Magnify conference I asked my self a lot of things… yes I know that sounds so cheesy but I did. This is an investment in its own, as I will be giving my time, energy and money – I just wanted to be sure. […]