I landed tonight and was welcomed by the thousands of people rushing through the airport, the smell and of course the monsoons. I definitely forgot what monsoon really meant until tonight.
Our first assignment is to review and discuss the following websites: Kiva, Global Giving, Samhita and the Global India Fund. These websites share similar mission spaces. Each of these organizations focus on funding projects in developing nations. These websites have portals that empower donors to contribute to organizations (with as little as $10) that have been identified as credible, integral, and key to social change.
Kiya empowers individuals around the world through loans, in hopes to alleviate poverty – a broad mission, however, critical in providing safe and affordable capital to those in need. Global Giving is a portal that allows users to donate their time on projects. The homepage focuses on key events going on the world so that the end user has an understanding of what part of the world that moment may need the most help. If that doesn’t interest the person, you can also search projects by topic (education, health, human rights, etc) or by the region in which you want to donate. It also shows how little money takes a person, a village and a country so far. For example, $14 vaccinates four cows against disease in Ethiopia and $24 provides 4 severely malnourished children in Ethiopia with 4 servings of fortified food.
Samhita and the Global India Fund (GIF) work in concert with each other. These organizations have done the due diligence necessary to ensure that donors are contributing to credible organizations. A many know, India is home to over 2 million NGOs, making it challenging for international donors to donate if they are unsure which of these organizations are accountable and reputable. Samhita and GIF provide that information so these NGOs can be self-sustained, make social impact, and change the world for hundreds of thousands of individuals in India living in poverty, famish and economic restraints.
India is just fascinating. Coming for probably the 30th time now, its different this time. It's different because for the first time in 30 years I am using a different lens to see, understand and explore a country full of love, color, surprises, success and hope. My time previous to this trip was mainly focused on shopping, seeing family and spending time with family members I never knew I had. Although my previous trips have been fun, I am excited about this trip and this wonderful adventure we are about to begin. This journey is part of the class, Social Entrepreneurship, a class empowering us to become leaders of a world that contributes to supporting and improving social and economic conditions. I am looking forward to the next 12 days.
For now, I must sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day, trekking through East Andheri Slums and working alongside a mobile medical unit.
No comments:
Post a Comment