If Not Technology, What?
By Kentaro Toyama
After moving away from Seattle last December, Toyama will be back in town for book talks at Seattle Town Hall on June 22, and University Book Store on June 24. His book, Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology, goes into greater detail about what he writes below.
In India’s famous Hole-in-the-Wall project, ruggedized computers were placed in slums and rural villages for neighborhood children to use. Its founder, Sugata Mitra, claimed that with no supervision, children taught themselves computer literacy, English, and even molecular biology. Back in 2005 before the project became widely known, Mitra came to speak to a group of us about the project. We were a new research team in Bangalore that I had started while at Microsoft, with a mission to explore how digital technology could serve international development.
Inspired by Mitra’s vision of “minimally invasive” education, several of my colleagues started a similar project called Kelsa+ for adults. They installed a PC with broadband in the basement of our offices, and told the low-income service staff – technicians, housekeepers, and security guards – that it was theirs to use as they wished. The expectation was that with free access to the Internet, the staff could gain something of productive value – take an online course, study English, search for better jobs. (Kelsa+ means “work plus” in the south Indian language of Kannada.) Continue Reading
The Global Struggle for LGBT Equality
By Lev Klarnet
AFP: Hoang Dinh Nam, file photo
For far too long, the international development community has seemed to ignore those who do not fit socially prescribed gender and sexual roles, leaving them to endure social and legal persecution. To holistically combat global poverty, development practitioners must address the often violent forms of repression plaguing the LGBT community.
On May 13, the University Of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies, a Global Washington member, collaborated with Crosscut and the World Affairs Council to host a panel on the global struggle for LGBT equality. Global Washington was a promotional partner for the lively discussion. Continue Reading
May 2015 Newsletter
Welcome to the May 2015 issue of the Global Washington newsletter.
IN THIS ISSUE
Letter from our Executive Director
I’ve often said that Washington state is the hub of global development with an amazing concentration of non-profit and for-profit organizations working to improve lives in developing countries. Recently, this point was underscored with a major non-profit moving their headquarters from New York City to Seattle. Malaria No More decided to place its executive team in Seattle to be part of the thriving community of international actors in our region.
Malaria No More’s move also highlights our region’s role in the fight to eradicate malaria. Global Washington members such as PATH, Pilgrim Africa, World Vision, Med25 International and others have played a significant role in decreasing an estimated 500 million cases of malaria since the year 2000, saving an estimated 4 million lives. PATH’s Malaria Vaccine Initiative is determined to find a game changing solution to break the cycle of the disease. In fact, PATH has made malaria prevention one of the main priority areas of its Reach Campaign launched earlier this month. Multiple and relentless interventions are the only way to combat and roll back this disease.
Medical Teams International provides relief in Nepal
In addition to global health, Washington state is also a leader in emergency response to the two earthquakes and multiple aftershocks in Nepal. Several Global Washington members have mobilized staff and resources in the region. NGOs such as Medical Teams International, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, Med25 International and World Vision are providing immediate response efforts, while other GlobalWA members such as Habitat for Humanity are preparing for critical rebuilding. My heart goes out to those who lost staff and loved ones. Global Washington is partnering with Seattle Foundation to provide aggregated information and updates over the next year of relief and development.
From global health, to emergency response, to economic development, Washington state is exporting critical services and represents the charitable ethos of our region. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and the remarkable work being done by non-profit and for-profit organizations based in our state.
Sincerely,
Kristen Dailey
Executive Director
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Question of the Month
GlobalWA will ask you a question every month and synthesize the responses and make available to our member organizations. Please take a moment to respond to the question for this month:
If your organization is responding to the Nepal earthquakes but isn’t listed here, or if your work in the country has changed over the last several weeks, please give us an update.
Please click here to respond.
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In the News
The Fight to End Malaria
By Kaitlin Marshall
James Gathany/CDC
Malaria is an infectious disease that threatens the lives of people worldwide. Transmitted through mosquitoes, symptoms include fever, headache and vomiting. If drugs are not administered quickly after transmission, malaria infection can develop into anemia, hypoglycemia or cerebral malaria. In cerebral malaria, capillaries carrying blood to the brain are blocked which can lead to learning disabilities, coma and even death.
If left untreated, malaria can develop into the severe form of the disease which means organ failure or abnormalities in blood or metabolism. Symptoms of severe malaria include difficulty breathing and convulsions, and approximately one-fifth of these patients die even if they are hospitalized in a timely fashion.
In 2013, there were an estimated 198 million cases of malaria worldwide. Each year, approximately 600,000 lives are lost to the disease with approximately 90% of all deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. Children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable, with 78% of all malaria deaths occurring in children under the age of five. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a child dies from malaria every minute.
Malaria is both a result of and a cause of poverty, preventing adults from working, keeping children out of school, and drying up government funds. Families affected by malaria in rural areas, for example, harvest 60% fewer crops. In some countries, the disease accounts for up to 40% of total health expenditure and 20-50% of hospital admissions. The cost of malaria to Africa alone is an estimated $12.5 billion per year, or 1.3% of GDP.
Between 2001 and 2013, an estimated 4.2 million lives were saved as a result of an increase in malaria interventions. Still, malaria has hindered the achievement of several Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) including improving maternal health, reducing infant mortality rates, and achieving universal access to primary education. Pregnant women, for example, are four times more likely to contract and twice as likely to die from malaria as other adults. In Africa, malaria during pregnancy causes 400,000 cases of severe maternal anemia and 200,000 newborn deaths each year. Young children, especially infants, are more vulnerable to all forms of malaria with repeated infections causing children to miss long periods of school. Malaria also makes children more susceptible to diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia, which can lead to even more time away from school.
Prevention and Treatment
There are a variety of ways to prevent and treat malaria with access to rapid-diagnostic tests expanding in rural areas and artemisinin-based combination therapy drugs (ACTs) being widely used. A full course of ACTs costs just one dollar, and can cure a child in one to three days. While scientists around the world work to accelerate the development of a malaria vaccine, strategies to protect against infection include using mosquito nets to create a protective barrier at night when most transmissions occur, and spraying insecticide in homes to kill mosquitoes. Malaria interventions are available, cost-effective, and have contributed to a 48% global decline in malaria deaths. Continued and sustainable funding, however, is needed. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a GlobalWA member, has set aggressive goals to provide bed nets to every household that needs them. How impactful are bed nets? In Senegal, where 80% of households own a bed net, the number of malaria cases went down 41% in a single year.
The Funding Gap
An estimated $5.1 billion is needed each year to achieve universal access to malaria interventions by 2020. At present, however, less than half of the money needed is available. This $3.5 billion funding gap threatens to slow down progress in the fight against malaria. This is especially worrisome in Africa, where countries with the highest malaria risks are facing some of the highest funding gaps. Without sustained long-term funding, the gains made against malaria could be reversed.
Raising Awareness
World Malaria Day was established in 2007 as a way to mobilize advocates and citizens around the world to help put a stop to the disease. This year’s April 25th World Malaria Day theme is Invest in the future, Defeat malaria, which encourages people to help close the malaria funding gap. 2015 also marks the ten-year anniversary of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). The goal of the PMI was to reduce malaria-related mortality by 50% across fifteen high-burden countries in Sub-Saharan Africa through a rapid scale-up of treatment and prevention. The PMI’s achievements include the procurement of 40 million insecticide treated mosquito nets and 48 million antimalarial treatments.
Recently, the federal government released the PMI’s strategy for 2015-2020 which is “to work with PMI-supported countries and partners to further reduce malaria deaths and substantially decrease malaria morbidity, towards the long-term goal of elimination.” NGO’s are crucial to helping achieve the PMI’s goals.
GlobalWA Members on the Front Lines
- Malaria No More: Malaria No More is helping to eradicate malaria by engaging leaders, rallying the public, and delivering lifesaving tools and education to families across Africa. Rallying U.S. political leaders to provide funding and to support policies that will help eliminate the disease, Malaria No More also conducts campaigns abroad that encourage citizens to take steps to protect themselves. These campaigns frequently employ local celebrities, and focus on such topics as reminding people to use their mosquito nets.
- MED25 International: Providing individuals in rural African communities with quality, culturally appropriate, and affordable health care, Med25 serves the larger Mbita District of Kenya which is home to over 118,000 residents from farming villages and fishing communities. MED25 runs a comprehensive care clinic that provides services to prevent and treat an array of diseases, including malaria. The clinic brings medicine to people who would otherwise not have access to treatment.
- Medical Teams International (MTI): MTI responds to disasters worldwide and supports long-term global health initiatives. They provide medical supplies to communities that need them most but that lack access to life-saving resources. In 2014, for example, MTI volunteers took mosquito nets to communities in Uganda and showed families how to properly hang them. Widespread use of mosquito nets help slow the spread of malaria by preventing bites from disease carrying mosquitos.
- PATH: PATH is dedicated to creating sustainable solutions that enable communities around the world to break longstanding cycles of poor health. PATH attacks malaria from all sides — treatment, prevention and elimination. To help those suffering from malaria, PATH provides a stable supply of the best malaria drugs available. PATH also supports countries in controlling the parasite with innovative methods such as new approaches to diagnose the disease, as well as provides scientific expertise to drive the development of the world’s first malaria vaccine.
- Pilgrim Africa: Pilgrim Africa is dedicated to creating a malaria-free Uganda. Of every dollar spent on malaria in their budget, about 10 cents goes to education and awareness. They also do district-wide demonstrations of effective malaria control, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, in order to show how malaria transmission can be reduced dramatically, and at scale. And, their Move on Malaria projects save lives, prevent disease, serve as direct and important operational research for national scale-up plans, and will further increase attention, awareness and hope within Uganda that malaria can be defeated.
- PSI: PSI focuses on a variety of interventions to improve the availability, affordability and use of effective malaria treatment. PSI supports Ministries of Health in 38 countries and is the largest distributor of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in the world. Interventions include rapid diagnostic tests and quality medicines to effectively treat the disease. PSI collaborates with national malaria control programs to develop strategies that suit each country’s needs.
- World Vision: With projects in nearly 100 countries, World Vision is dedicated to working with children, families and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. Focusing on child and maternal health, World Vision provides medicines, supplies and interventions to prevent and treat malaria. To date, 3,330,313 people have been protected from malaria by distributions of long-lasting insecticidal nets with the support of World Vision donors.
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Featured Organization
Malaria No More
By Kaitlin Marshall
Esther Havens Photography
While malaria was eradicated in the United States in 1951, it remains a menacing threat to 3.3 billion people worldwide. Each year, approximately 584,000 people die from the disease with 78% of all malaria deaths occurring in children under the age of five. That means a child dies from malaria every minute. The parasite keeps more African kids out of school than any other disease and costs Africa an estimated $12 billion per year in lost productivity.
The good news is that statistics prove that investments in malaria prevention pay off. Since 2000, an estimated 670 million cases of malaria have been averted and 4.3 million lives saved due to the work of organizations including Global Washington member Malaria No More (MNM). In the words of CEO Martin Edlund, MNM exists “To help ensure nobody dies from mosquito bites and, ultimately, that we eradicate the disease.” MNM works to accomplish its mission by engaging global leaders, mobilizing existing resources and launching innovative advocacy programs in endemic countries.
Rapid-diagnostic tests, successful drug treatments and cost-effective prevention techniques like mosquito nets have all helped reduce the child malaria mortality rate by 58% in Africa. What allows malaria to wreak such havoc, though, is that not everyone who needs treatment and prevention methods has access to them. As Edlund explains, “You need great analysis of needs on the ground, quantification of needs. You need the entire supply chain and delivery mechanisms to be in place and to be managed very, very well. Then, at the end of the day, you need both the caregiver and the patient to administer the test or treatment appropriately.” MNM is working to mobilize resources and tools to ensure that all of the pieces are in place for everyone to get the lifesaving testing, treatment and prevention they need. To date, MNM has covered more than 5 million people in 17 African countries with mosquito nets that protect people at night, when mosquitoes are most active and most likely to transmit malaria.
While fewer people die from malaria each year, MNM will not slow down the fight. “The reality of malaria is, if you take your foot off the gas, [malaria] comes roaring back. There have been 75 documented cases of resurgence in the last 85 years. Almost all of them were as a result of success,” explains Edlund. “We saw the malaria burden fall, and then countries shifted money away from malaria control, and malaria came back in a big way.” In short, malaria will continue to pose a threat until the disease is eliminated.
There is an extensive community of organizations in Seattle dedicated to combatting malaria, and MNM wanted to be in proximity to this network. That’s why they recently opened an office in Seattle where their executive team will be housed. “Seattle is the first city in the malaria fight,” says Edlund. “There’s really no other place on the planet where so many innovative elements of this campaign are coexisting in this way. I’m convinced that when the history of this disease is written, Seattle is going to be a big part of it.”
Distributing medical interventions to at-risk populations is just one piece of MNM’s game plan to ultimately eradicate malaria. They are currently well situated to carry out another important aspect of the organization’s mission — advocacy campaigns. “What we are trying to do is show people a way forward, have people recognize that there is an endgame for this disease, and that continued investment is the only way to get us there,” explains Edlund. MNM has helped grow global funding for malaria to more than $3 billion per year.
Esther Havens Photography
Edlund is also a huge proponent of using innovations in data and mobile phones to battle malaria. Cell phones have allowed for better disease surveillance and increased engagement of at-risk populations, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where 90% of all malaria deaths occur. In Cameroon, for example, MNM supported the SMS for Life Program. This program allows health workers to send texts with important, lifesaving daily reports about their malaria patients in areas where landlines aren’t available. MNM has also teamed up with local celebrities in places like Senegal to conduct campaigns to remind people to use their mosquito nets to protect themselves at night.
We know the fight to eradicate malaria is complex and demanding. But through the dedication of organizations like MNM, it can be won. “I think there is an opportunity for this generation to do what was once thought impossible — to eradicate malaria from the face of the globe,” says Edlund. “What we do in the next five years is going to determine whether or not we put ourselves on a path towards achieving that goal.” With continued investment and advocacy, it’s possible that one day no child will die from a mosquito bite ever again.
To learn more about malaria and how you can help keep the cause on the world’s agenda, visit malarianomore.org or 1billionnets.org.
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Changemaker
Ashley Birkett, PhD, Director, PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative
By Kaitlin Marshall
Ashley Birkett, the director of the Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) at Global Washington member PATH, has known since his school days that he wanted to utilize his interest in science to help people. “I’ve always been interested in the application of science,” said Birkett. “At a young age, I recognized the power of vaccines and what they can do for global health.”
Birkett completed his undergraduate degree in applied biological sciences in Bristol in the United Kingdom. His undergrad education included a year-long stay in the United States, where he later returned to complete his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics in Virginia. After receiving his PhD, Birkett began working on vaccine development for a company in San Diego. He worked for for-profit companies for over ten years until, seven-and-a-half years ago, he accepted the opportunity to join PATH and MVI.
“The for-profit companies were a great opportunity to learn about product development,” said Birkett. The challenge he felt, however, was that he couldn’t always focus on innovations that would have the biggest health impact. Working on products that are going to drive a stock price or be of interest to investors can be limiting. When he joined PATH, Birkett was ready to apply his skills to a project where he would have the flexibility to aim for generating the highest impact on global health. “At an organization like PATH you can do the right thing, be absolutely data driven, and really focus on what is working; further, we have access via our partners to a very powerful array of tools to apply to achieving our mission. This is critical to our success in overcoming the greatest infectious disease threats that mankind faces.” At PATH, Birkett is sharply focused on finding the best approach to developing malaria vaccines that will protect countless people, living in some of the poorest regions of the world, from the deadly parasitic disease.
In 1999, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded an initial $50 million grant to create MVI. At the time, as is the case today, there was very little commercial incentive to create a malaria vaccine and therefore a chronic lack of funding to support product development. The investment from the Gates Foundation provided much needed financial support to accelerate vaccine development efforts. Since then, MVI has terminated dozens of unsuccessful approaches to ensure precious resources are targeted to the few successful ones. While remaining committed to their mission to accelerate the development of malaria vaccines and catalyze timely access in endemic countries, recent years have seen a shift to a focus primarily on developing vaccines to accelerate malaria elimination.
Prior to Birkett being named MVI’s director in October 2013, he led Research and Development for close to six years. As R&D Director, Birkett worked on building a portfolio of projects and generating data to determine which were worth pursuing. “I really knew the business, I knew the funders, I knew the partners and I knew the team,” said Birkett. Becoming the head of MVI, therefore, was a natural transition for him.
Birkett’s responsibilities include overseeing a staff of 40, as well as pursuing and maintaining the initiative’s strategic relationships. “Thanks to the investment strategy of our funders, we have a very flexible approach to achieving a very specific set of goals in malaria vaccine development,” said Birkett. “We bring the full suite of tools and expertise that you need to accelerate the development of a vaccine project. We are sort of the glue that holds things together and drives things forward.”
John-Michael Maas/Darby Films
Though much progress has been made in controlling malaria over the past ten years, over 200 million new cases of malaria continue to be diagnosed each year, across 100 countries. “We’ve reduced malaria deaths from over a million per year to half a million per year and even eliminated the parasite from some countries. That’s massive progress.” said Birkett. “But, still, half a million deaths per year, mostly kids under five — it’s just not acceptable.” A malaria vaccine would be a game changer for the global fight to eradicate the parasite that causes the disease. Vaccines have the potential to break the cycle of malaria transmission in which the parasite goes from mosquito to human, and then back to mosquito.
MVI is focused on two primary types of vaccines. One of these two vaccines would protect humans from mosquitoes, and the other would protect mosquitoes from humans. Preventing the disease from transmitting back to mosquitoes will help stop the parasite from spreading through communities so that, ultimately, malaria causing parasites are eliminated from communities. “We have strong biological evidence that we can do it,” said Birkett. “In product development, having that knowledge is really empowering and gives you a great amount of confidence and hope that you’ll be successful.”
Lifecycle of the malaria parasite: PATH MVI
When asked about challenges he faces as director of MVI, Birkett responded that he doesn’t get hung up on challenges. “I remind myself how privileged we are to be able to do this type of work and get paid for it. It’s such an honor, really, to apply your skills to a cause like this, as part of an organization like PATH.”
Birkett will continue working to strengthen MVI’s project portfolio, pursuing what works and finding new projects to replace those that don’t to edge closer to the ultimate goal of a highly effective vaccine. “It’s very easy to remain motivated and driven when you see what you’re dealing with — a healthy little kid plays outside, gets bitten by a mosquito, and dies within weeks. That’s not acceptable.”
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Welcome New Members
Please welcome our newest Global Washington members. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with their work and consider opportunities for support and collaboration!
Adamant Strategies: Adamant Strategies helps clients succeed abroad by delivering trustworthy information, best tools, and the right people – on short notice, anywhere on the planet. They have built successful enterprises from the ground up in some of the world’s most complicated neighborhoods. www.adamantstrategies.com
Malaria No More: Malaria No More is determined to end deaths from malaria by engaging leaders, rallying the public, developing innovative new approaches and delivering life-saving tools and education to families across Africa. Founded in 2006 by business leaders Ray Chambers and Peter Chernin, Malaria No More is working to create a world in which no one dies from a mosquito bite. www.malarianomore.org
Pilgrim Africa: Pilgrim Africa was founded in 2001 as an indigenous faith-based response to the plight of more than 1.5 million internally displaced people in war-torn Northern Uganda. By providing health services, education, trauma-counseling and agricultural training, Pilgrim Africa has gained a national reputation for catalyzing local solutions into widespread, social change. Its mission is to challenge despair, love boldly, and help African people create a future of sustainable prosperity and health. www.pilgrimafrica.org
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Member Events
May 21: Oxfam America // Nepal Fundraiser for Oxfam’s Relief Work
May 28: Shoreline Community College // Brazil’s Metamorphosis
May 30: Women’s Enterprises International // Walk for Water 2015
June 11-12: Trade Development Alliance // Complying with U.S. Export Controls
June 13: Medical Teams International // Field of Dreams Dinner & Auction
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Career Center
Highlighted Positions
Operations Manager – Global Visionaries
Business Development and Fundraising Lead – Mona Foundation
ONW Coordinator – Oikocredit Northwest
Director of Development – PeaceTrees Vietnam
For more jobs and resources, visit https://globalwa.org/resources/careers-in-development/
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GlobalWA Events
May 20: New Member Orientation
May 21: Networking Happy Hour with Friends of GlobalWA, Humanosphere and World Affairs Council
May 22: Executive Director Roundtable
June 9: Impactful Innovation – A Panel Discussion
December 10: GlobalWA 7th Annual Conference
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Nepal Snapshot: After Quake, Orphans Return Outside
By Tyler Graf, Medical Teams International
Nepal is a country on edge.
For the second time in less than three weeks, people have taken to the streets to sleep. Buildings have been destroyed. People have died.
Tuesday’s 7.4-magnitude quake dashed hopes that the aftershocks were over and that Nepal could rebuild in earnest. People remain nervous about where and how to live – whether they should gamble on returning inside, or brave the elements outside.
Many of Nepal’s young people, however, are trying to make the best out of a tense situation.
At the ROKPA Children’s Home, an orphanage in Kathmandu, the kids have shown amazing resolve in the face of a difficult situation. The orphanage is run by a nonprofit organization that also runs the guesthouse that serves as Medical Teams International’s in-country base.
The orphans of ROKPA Chidren’s Home camp outside following Tuesday’s quake in Nepal.
After Tuesday’s quake, the children were rushed from next door to ROKPA Guesthouse’s backyard, where tents and cooking stations were quickly arranged. This was a repeat of what happened after the April 25 earthquake, when the kids were forced to do the same thing.
Continue Reading
Nepal Earthquake: Washington State Organizations React Quickly to Provide Relief
By Lev Klarnet
On April 25, a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck 50 miles outside of Nepal’s densely populated capital city of Kathmandu and the government quickly declared a state of emergency. Washington state responded quickly with a number of Global Washington members rushing to help victims of the quake by providing lifesaving supplies and services, medical assistance and shelter.
The World Health Organization estimates that for every 10,000 people in Nepal there are only two physicians and 50 hospital beds. Three GlobalWA groups — The Adara Group, Medical Teams International and UNICEF — are staffing mobile health units which are traveling the treacherous mountain terrain to provide pivotal healthcare to people in remote parts of the country. Continue Reading
Earthquake Disaster 2015 in Nepal
This Situation and Response Report was submitted by Rotary District 3292, Rotary Club of Dhulikhel and the Community Development and Relief Agency Nepal on May 4, 2015. It details current conditions and on-the-ground relief efforts throughout areas in Nepal devastated by the recent earthquake.
Download the full report.
Adara Team Swings into Action with a Mobile Medical Camp to Affected Areas
Posted on April 29, 2015.
By Susan Burns, General Counsel, Adara Group Director, Adara Development (Australia) and Adara Development (Uganda)
Adara Development is a Global Washington member.
I was on the phone to my sister when I saw the email arrive – Nepal had been hit by a massive earthquake. As the next few hours unfolded, I could not believe the images that were rolling in. Kathmandu, the beautiful city I had visited just one week earlier, had been ravaged, and thousands of Nepalis were feared dead. The devastation to the people and cultural heritage of an incredible nation has just been heartbreaking to watch. Continue Reading
Why I Volunteer as a CEO
Posted on April 23, 2015.
By Mark Horoszowski, co-founder of GlobalWA member MovingWorlds.org, a global platform connecting people who want to volunteer their skills with social impact organizations around the world.
Why do I do volunteer for others when I should be focused on growing my business? Because I’m selfish.
This past week, I dedicated one day of work, and half my weekend, to speak at an American Cancer Society event in Wyoming. Over the year, I’ll commit at least one workday a month, plus additional evening and weekend hours to volunteer activities like this with the American Cancer Society, as well as supporting a volunteer-led symphony that supports Seattle Children’s Hospital. And I’ve been doing this for years.
Read the full article here.
World Malaria Day: April 25
Posted on April 23, 2015.
World Malaria Day was established in 2007 as a way to mobilize advocates and citizens around the world to help put a stop to the disease. This year’s theme is Invest in the future, Defeat malaria, which encourages people to help close the malaria funding gap. 2015 also marks the ten-year anniversary of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). The goal of the PMI was to reduce malaria-related mortality by 50% across fifteen high-burden countries in Sub-Saharan Africa through a rapid scale-up of treatment and prevention. The PMI’s achievements include the procurement of 40 million insecticide treated mosquito nets and 48 million antimalarial treatments. Continue Reading
April 2015 Newsletter
Posted on April 21, 2015.
Welcome to the April 2015 issue of the Global Washington newsletter.
IN THIS ISSUE
Letter from our Executive Director
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual expo. It’s no surprise that the SCAA gathered in Seattle; Seattleites consume more coffee than citizens of any other American city. We are home to Starbucks, have 35 coffee shops for every 100,000 residents, and spend an average of $36 per person, per month on coffee.
Seattle is also known for being the epicenter of international development and, given that 90% of the coffee grown around the world comes from developing countries, it’s no surprise that several Global Washington members work with coffee growers to make a more equitable, sustainable value chain. Coffee serves as the economic livelihood for over 25 million people. Challenges facing growers include a lack of access to finance, underdeveloped technical skills to combat disease, volatility of the global market and lack of access to that information, and crop vulnerability due to climate change.
I hope you will take the time to learn more about Global Washington members who are improving lives for those behind each cup of coffee.
Kristen Dailey
Executive Director
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Question of the Month
GlobalWA will ask you a question every month and synthesize the responses and make available to our member organizations. Please take a moment to respond to the question for this month:
Is your organization participating in GiveBIG on May 5?
Please click here to respond.
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Coffee In the News
The Role and Impact of Coffee in Global Development
Earlier this month, Seattle played host to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) whose annual exposition took place at the Washington State Convention Center April 9-12. Featuring a full schedule of events to promote coffee’s unique history and taste to the world, our city welcomed approximately 12,000 coffee growers, retailers, importers, exporters, NGOs, companies and government trade ministries from around the globe.
It is no surprise that the SCAA returned to Washington state, after holding their 2014 annual event in Seattle. Home to a thriving coffee culture and some of the industry’s most recognized brands, the Daily Beast recently concluded that Seattleites consume more coffee than citizens of any other American city. We have 35 coffee shops for every 100,000 residents, and we spend an average of $36 per month on coffee.
Furthermore, Seattle-based organizations continue to lead in the creation of a sustainable value chain that leads to a world-class coffee experience. As we recognize Seattle’s influence on the future of coffee, Global Washington is exploring the role of coffee in international development and looking at how GlobalWA members contribute to sustainable economic growth through innovative programs in coffee communities worldwide.
Given coffee’s role in the economies of commodity export-heavy developing countries, a sustainable approach to coffee production and trade is imperative. As the International Coffee Organization and DR Wakefield report address, the coffee industry faces a litany of challenges. The most pressing issues are disease, climate change, urbanization and the loss of farmland, fluctuating prices, an aging workforce and urban migration. The coffee industry has looked at how to address these issues in ways that support the triple bottom line of profits, people and planet.
What is sustainable coffee?
The World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as that which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainable coffee comprises economic, social and environmental components that relate to the challenges facing today’s coffee industry.
Economic sustainability
The coffee industry employs roughly 100 million people worldwide, the majority of whom live in developing countries. Many small-holder farmers lack the business skills necessary to consistently produce quality coffee for the international market. Certifiers and roasters have invested in education programs since improved farming husbandry usually yields better coffee harvests and higher prices from companies looking for a stable and long-term supply of coffee. Farmers then use this money to access education, health care and food supply, thus raising their overall standard of living. Training programs also help farmers diversify their crops in order to weather price fluctuations that have historically hurt communities heavily dependent on one commodity.
Social sustainability
Once coffee production becomes more stable and economically sustainable, it can have positive spillover effects on other areas of society as cooperatives and communities invest in improved facilities, risk management tools and education. Many organizations and cooperatives focus on institutional capacity building, gender-based programs that bring women into the formal economy or microfinance projects that support the local economy as it grows around coffee. These programs provide economic and social opportunities to young people who previously had to migrate to larger cities in search of work.
Environmental sustainability
The coffee industry has been active in the environmental sustainability debate, as changes in climate inevitably affect the quality and taste of your latte. NGOs and companies are creating programs to improve farming practices and post-harvest processing, develop disease and drought-resistant varieties, enhance soil fertility and explore new production models. Whether in regards to deforestation, ocean acidification or drought, the coffee industry is exceptionally aware of the importance of a healthy environment in bringing coffee from bean to cup.
Most industry experts foresee global demand outstripping supply, especially due to growth in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. Much like the cocoa industry, coffee finds itself in a unique position. If we rely on yesterday’s solutions, we may find ourselves enduring the gray Seattle winter with neither cappuccino nor dark chocolate. Luckily, we live in a city with organizations that see coffee’s challenges as opportunities to “do well by doing good.” By strengthening the economic, social and environmental sustainability of coffee, several Global Washington members are building stronger communities along the value chain through innovative partnerships and programs that ensure the future of a product none of us want to go without.
- Bainbridge-Ometepe Sister Island Association (BOSIA) encourages mutual understanding, education, friendship, cultural and peaceful exchanges between the people of Bainbridge Island in Washington and Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. Since 1990, BOSIA has imported coffee from Ometepe. BOSIA’s Café Oro coffee is Fair Traded, shade grown and certified organic, and all of the profits are used for projects suggested by Ometepe communities. More recently, a group of people who have been involved with BOSIA since its inception opened up Tostadores de Ometepe, which is located on the island. The coffee is roasted and sold locally, helping to create jobs and generate income for local communities.
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a variety of partners who are working in the agricultural sector and helping improve the lives of farmers. One of these partners is TechnoServe. With Foundation funding, TechnoServe has helped thousands of East African smallholder farmers enter the supply chain for specialty coffee. Through technical training and the formation of collaborative business partnerships along the coffee supply chain, TechnoServe has reached 195,408 farmers. Thousands of farmers now receive premiums on the coffee they harvest, have significantly higher incomes and have greater access to the global coffee market than ever before.
- Global Partnerships (GP) currently invests in a portfolio of 47 microfinance institutions, social business and cooperatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. One partner of GP is Crediflorida, a rural savings and credit cooperative located in the central, coffee growing region of Peru. Crediflorida provides small coffee farmers with access to tailored credit, crop-focused technical assistance and access to specialty markets. By combining credit with technical assistance, Crediflorida and Global Partnerships ensure that farmers invest in practices that will lead to improved crop quality and increased yield.
- The Grameen Foundation uses mobile technology to improve access to information for the world’s poor. Increased access to information can expand agricultural capacity, support health and food initiatives and enhance the provision of financial services. Grameen works with a range of partners in the coffee and horticultural sectors. ASOBAGRI, for example, is a local smallholder coffee grower cooperative in Guatemala. ASOBAGRI uses Grameen’s data management tools to create farmer profiles and produce information about the region. This data assists the Grameen Foundation with helping Guatemalan farmers increase their productivity and improve their business practices.
- Oikocredit is a worldwide financial cooperative that promotes global justice through microfinance. Individuals receive microloans that are of small dollar amounts and do not require collateral, allowing the client to repay in small and frequent amounts over a long period of time as they focus on growing their business. Oikocredit has financed an array of projects pertaining to coffee farmers. For example, Oikocredit granted $500,000 to the Cooperativa Agraria Cafetalera Bagua Grande, an agricultural cooperative of small-scale coffee farmers in the northern part of Peru in the Amazonas region. The money has provided training and support for coffee farmers in a region that depends on agriculture.
- Oxfam focuses on tackling the conditions that cause poverty by advocating for new laws to help the world’s poor and offering direct support to impoverished people. Throughout the years, Oxfam has supported coffee farmers and raised awareness of the importance of Fair Trade. As global coffee prices have fallen, Oxfam has supported coffee farmers in their fight for fair treatment and better wages. Oxfam’s advocacy efforts include meeting with coffee corporations to push them to adopt fair business practices, providing farmers with new technologies and necessary supplies, and raising awareness of the importance of Fair Trade.
- Seattle University (SU) is the first Fair Trade University in the Pacific Northwest, and one of only 26 schools in the country to earn the designation. As part of the University’s journey to garner Fair Trade certification, a professor collaborated with students and colleagues at the Universidad Centroamericana Managua (SU’s sister school) to develop a new fair trade coffee. In partnership with farmers in the Nicaraguan coffee farmer cooperative CECOSEMAC, the sisters schools worked together to develop Café Ambiental, which is now sold by SU. SU has completed various other projects in conjunction with coffee growers in Nicaragua, including developing a more efficient and sustainable way to treat coffee wastewater.
- Theo Chocolate is the first Organic, Fair Trade and Fair for Life chocolate factory in North America. Theo believes that chocolate can and should be produced in an entirely ethical and sustainable fashion. All of Theo’s ingredients, not just its cocoa, are certified organic and fair trade. Theo’s Coffee and Cream milk chocolate bar, for example, contains coffee from Eastern Congo. A portion of the purchase price from the sale of every bar will benefit the Eastern Congo Initiative and help farmers earn a profitable and sustainable living. Theo also has a delicious classic coffee bar, which is made with organic coffee from local roaster Café Vita.
- Woodland Park Zoo supports a variety of environmentally sustainable projects. In 2009, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Project (TKCP) at the Zoo began partnering with local YUS landowners to help them address economic challenges. Through an existing relationship between the Zoo and Seattle-Based coffee roaster Caffe Vita, TKCP and the people of YUS began to sell Conservation Coffee on the international market. YUS farmers grow this coffee on small, sustainable plots and work together as a community to get their beans to market. The success of the program encourages other landowners to pledge their land to the YUS. More land pledges means more protection for species such as the tree kangaroo.
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Featured Organization
Seattle University, More than Fair Trade Project
By Jeff Halvorson
Before the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) brought together major players in the coffee industry at their 27th Annual Expo in Seattle April 9-12, Seattle University (SU) embarked on its own coffee journey. Led by Professors Susan Jackels and Quan Le and in partnership with Fair Trade USA, two teams of students, faculty and alumni from SU and its Jesuit sister school, Universidad Centroamericana Managua (UCA Managua), traveled to San Antonio, a heartland of Nicaraguan coffee.
The group built a water treatment-appropriate technology for a farm in the CECOSEMAC cooperative. CECOSEMAC is a second order cooperative of over 300 smallholder coffee producers formed into six cooperatives in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua. Upon their return to Seattle, the SU team presented findings and next steps at a campus event, mingled with other groups working in the coffee space at a GlobalWA reception, and attended various meetings and lectures at the SCAA expo.
The SU coffee project aligns with the university’s recent distinction of becoming the first Fair Trade University in the Pacific Northwest (and one of only 26 schools in the country to earn that designation), an effort spearheaded by Professors Jackels and Le. A grant from Fair Trade Colleges and Universities USA supported the campaign, and students in the SU Global Business Club moved the initiative forward. Students worked with Fair Trade USA to interview local roasters (Café Vita and Stumptown) and importers (Atlas Coffee) and were able to take a more nuanced perspective to Nicaragua.
In San Antonio, the team interviewed multiple farmers and staff of CECOSEMAC to learn what it means to be a coffee farmer in Nicaragua. Braden Wild, one of the SU students involved in the project, talked about how the group began understanding the hardships farmers face, including ones stemming from Fair Trade certification. As the group learned about Fair Trade coffee from the farmers’ point of view, they began to formulate a new business model. Soon after, the More than Fair Trade project was born.
More than Fair Trade involves the purchase of organic Fair Trade coffee from CECOSEMAC for a price that includes the gap in income to the farmers due to decreased yield from organic cultivation and other requirements. In other words, the More than Fair Trade group is lowering its own margins by 25% and then passing those profits directly to CECOSEMAC as an additional premium for the green coffee, all without raising prices for consumers. This premium should motivate and support the farmers as they raise the quality of their coffee.
With the SU Global Business Club focused on the project’s business plan and marketing efforts, UCA Managua students tackled product branding and soon introduced Café Ambiental, or “Environmental Coffee.”
In addition to cafés on the Seattle University campus, the SU group is exploring the sale of whole beans to off-campus locations, making Café Ambiental available to a wider audience. The coffee would build upon the Fair Trade foundation of social and environmental sustainability and add a social enterprise element by providing the market incentives CECOSEMAC’s farmers need to achieve their goal of producing world-class specialty coffee. More than Fair Trade involves deep connections between producer, buyer and consumer and it offers a promising model of how to best address the challenges facing the global coffee industry.
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Changemaker
Alberto Solano, Regional CEO, Latin America & Caribbean, Grameen Foundation
By Jeff Halvorson
As the Regional CEO of Latin America and the Caribbean, Alberto Solano has more than twelve years of experience in microfinance. A Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Central American Leadership Initiative, Solano has been instrumental in designing Grameen Foundation’s approach to improve the coffee value chain in Latin America. During his recent trip to Seattle, he spoke with Global Washington and the Seattle Times about mobile technology, microfinance and coffee. You can read the Seattle Times story here.
Latin America is a region that relies heavily on agriculture for sustenance and income. About 80% of the rural poor are farmers, a large portion of them earning their living from coffee. In 2012, Grameen Foundation discovered the microfinance portfolio in Latin America was 6% directed to agriculture despite having one of the most sophisticated microfinance industries in the world. This challenge presented an opportunity to leverage Grameen’s global experience in microfinance and technology to develop innovative solutions to address problems such as poverty, economic instability and low education.
By increasing the quantity and quality of demographic, income, education and farming data that relate to the realities farmers face, Grameen and its partners (e.g. Starbucks in Colombia) can gather and analyze data in a much more efficient manner. This wealth of information then allows the partners to design more tailored solutions for each farmer in the value chain. The goal is to increase the business skills and technical capacity of farmers in order to produce a higher quality and quantity of coffee that meets the expectations we have come to expect.
This approach comprises three interventions that address the principal challenges facing smallholder coffee farmers: technical training, market access and finance.
- Extension services: Grameen works through its partners to build the technical capacity and business acumen of farmers to produce consistently strong yields of high quality coffee.
- Market access: Grameen’s work has been instrumental in linking newly trained and capacitated farmers with those markets willing to spend a premium price for high quality coffee.
- Improving the commercial lending system: Grameen is working with financial institutions to better understand the risks and opportunities involved with coffee farming. With improved data, they see a more nuanced landscape of coffee farmers who represent a solid investment. A more inclusive financial market then supports farmers through tailored financial tools to help them replace aging trees and equipment or invest in disease-resistant varieties.
It is important to note that the goal of Solano’s team is not to turn everyone into a coffee farmer. The data collection and extension services also help determine if coffee production is a viable business model for farmers. If not, Grameen works with them to develop alternatives.
What makes this approach so powerful is that it moves beyond traditional development solutions of capacity building to work in partnership with private sector actors like Starbucks. Access to buyers willing to pay a premium price for improved products provides economic incentive to use these extension services that teach farmers to become better farmers and smarter business people.
Solano’s team recognized that training and marketplace connections were not enough to make this approach sustainable without the participation of finance institutions, especially in a world where ethically sourced coffee is no longer the exception to the rule. His work with Global Partnerships, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, and his private sustainable development and microfinance consulting experience help Solano train banks to understand how coffee farming could be a potentially lucrative market for their services.
Redefining ‘ethical sourcing’
When it comes to coffee, Solano argues that ethical sourcing combines environmental and social sustainability in a way that goes beyond a mere certification label; it transforms coffee from a commodity to a human connection between farmer and consumer. In a world of large-scale plantations that achieve economies of scale but level a toll on the environment and local people, it recognizes the role of smallholder farmers in the overall health of the entire coffee industry. It attempts to improve the lives of these farmers so they can keep their land, send their children to school, and continue to produce the unique flavors we have come to expect when we step into a café.
“Poverty is our common ancestor.” – Professor Muhammed Yunus
If we look back far enough in our own family histories, we will often find poverty. For some, this poverty is much closer than for others. In all cases, someone along the way escaped the cycle of poverty and changed the family’s destiny, much like Solano’s father did when he left for college and created a new life for himself and his family. With his father’s example always top-of-mind, Solano dedicated his life to helping others break out of poverty through powerful interventions like technical capacity building, finance, and now mobile technology. To break away from poverty, oftentimes we need a window of opportunity. Albert Solano’s personal and professional mission will help Grameen Foundation provide that opportunity to smallholder farmers for generations to come.
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Member Spotlight
Bainbridge-Ometepe Sister Islands Association
By Kaitlin Marshall
Bainbridge Island, located near Seattle in Puget Sound, and Isla de Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua, have shared a vigorous sister relationship since 1986. In 1991, members of the Bainbridge-Ometepe Sister Islands Association (BOSIA) began importing and selling coffee grown on Ometepe. They pack and deliver the coffee to local stores and sell online. The first project funded by coffee sales, nine gravity-feed drinking water systems, currently serves nearly 20,000 people.
“The number one goal of BOSIA’s coffee program is to support the farmers. Number two is helping fund our community projects on Ometepe,” explained Jeanne Huber, who leads BOSIA’s coffee committee. Skill building and developing self-sufficiency are important components of how BOSIA helps farmers.
In 2013, BOSIA hired an agronomist to work with farmers to help them increase their yield and quality. The agronomist offers training and technical assistance and regularly evaluates the results to help farmers improve their harvest. Through the dedication of all involved parties, the relationship between BOSIA, its farmers, and their communities has evolved into a strong, reciprocal partnership. One of the consequences of this coffee enhancement initiative is that BOSIA is no longer able to market all of Ometepe’s increasing crop of organic coffee.
As David Adler and David Mitchell, two members of the BOSIA coffee committee, sat in discussions about what was going to happen with all the surplus coffee beans, they developed a plan — the surplus beans could be roasted on Ometepe and then sold domestically within Nicaragua. They could turn the surplus bean problem into a unique opportunity for creating an innovative business model — a Nicaraguan coffee roasting company located on Ometepe.
Adler and Mitchell approached Roberto Mairena, director of Proyecto Mano Amiga, a community center in the town of Balgüe on Ometepe. They proposed to host the roastery and coffee service business at Mairena’s center. Tostadores de Ometepe S.A., a new Nicaraguan corporation, was born. The business was launched with an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign, loans from friends and, most importantly, the coffee farmers’ willingness to allow Tostadores de Ometepe to purchase green beans on a monthly basis for the first year of the new business. Operations are expected to begin next month. Roasting coffee on the island of its origin and marketing it to the growing tourism sector in Southwest Nicaragua, the business will direct all profits to providing a financial backbone for the community center, which has mainly relied on international donors.
Tostadores roasts and distributes its coffee within Nicaragua, and purchases green beans from the same two organic coffee farmer cooperatives as BOSIA. The beans are roasted in the Tostadores facility and then they sell the roasted coffee to hotels and restaurants in Southwest Nicaragua.
Tostadores is about more than just selling delicious coffee. The staff is dedicated to helping the company’s partners and the community on Ometepe in a sustainable way. As Adler explains, “The social commitment objective of Tostadores, with profits going to support local community programs, moves towards a future of self-reliance, and long-term sustainability of community and social programs.” “Tostadores,” Mitchell elaborated, “is dedicated to looking beyond the company’s financial interests to the broader interests of employees and their communities.”
As the company grows, Tostadores will continue improving quality and service. But what will distinguish Tostadores from other, more traditional, coffee companies? Says Adler, “What is done with the profits and working closely together with everyone involved, from seed to cup, in achieving the quality of the ultimate product.”
What began as a conundrum for BOSIA, when they had more coffee beans than they could handle, has evolved into a responsible business focused on building relationships and strengthening communities through local economic development. Tostadores de Ometepe exhibits the potential that the coffee industry has to improve quality of life in communities across the globe.
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Member Spotlight
Theo Chocolate
By Kaitlin Marshall
With over 300,000 square miles of arable land and a prime location along the equator to grow crops, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rife with natural potential to be a competitive exporter. Currently, however, only 2% of the DRC’s arable land is being cultivated and the nation has the lowest per-capita domestic product in the world. Rebel groups and the Congolese army have been in conflict for years, decimating land and committing atrocities. Amidst the chaos, Theo Chocolate is investing in the future of Eastern Congo by purchasing Congolese cocoa beans.
Founded in 2006, Theo Chocolate is the first organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in North America. Theo’s innovative business model provides for cocoa farmers to be paid based on the quality of their beans. This gives farmers an incentive to produce higher quality cocoa, versus the global commodities market which views all cocoa as a fungible commodity. “If you’re a farmer that’s selling into the greater industry, and the industry thinks all cocoa is the same, then there’s no real incentive for you to process in this nice, fermented, and dry way — the market doesn’t value that,” explained Nathan Royston, Theo’s cocoa sourcing manager. The farmers and grower cooperatives that Theo sources from know that if they take the time to achieve Theo’s specified quality standards, they will receive a contracted price that is not vulnerable to the general unpredictability of the cocoa market.
A key component of Theo’s business model is that members of Theo’s sourcing team travel to meet with each of the company’s cocoa bean suppliers at least once per year. This enables Theo team members to explain how they want the cocoa they purchase to be farmed, implement strategies to train farmers, and interact with those responsible for harvesting the company’s key ingredient. Royston recently returned from a whirlwind 36 hours in the DRC with Joe Whinney, founder and CEO of Theo Chocolate. With over 3,000 certified cocoa farmers in the DRC, Royston and Whinney had to be deliberate and efficient with their time. They visited three different cocoa farms and met with their export partners and other stakeholders on the ground in DRC responsible for overseeing the quality of the cocoa beans Theo procures.
Esco Kivu, Theo’s primary Congolese cocoa supplier, has been in the DRC since the 1970’s. Esco’s team of field officers regularly goes into the field to train cocoa farmers and assist them with any technical issues they may have. “We can’t get out to every last farm and train all the thousands of farmers we are buying from,” said Royston, “but we can be very clear as a buyer what our specifications are and how to achieve them.” By being transparent with suppliers, Theo ensures that cocoa farmers understand Theo’s quality specifications. Royston and Whinney, along with Esco and support from Eastern Congo Initiative, an NGO partner focusing on advocacy and economic opportunities for the people of Congo, are identifying what kind of training farmers need in order to cultivate quality cocoa beans; training that will provide them with skills that lead to economic stability in a tumultuous region.
Political instability combined with the fact that it can take twelve weeks for Congolese cocoa to reach Seattle makes the DRC an extremely challenging place to do business. Investing in Congo, however, has been rewarding for Theo and Congolese farmers alike. Congolese cocoa has provided delicious new flavors to Theo’s chocolate bars, and the DRC has offered Theo an opportunity to apply the company’s business model of paying farmers based on quality in an area where people are in need of a stable source of income.
Cocoa, in addition to being a fast growing and high yield crop, can be considered “militia proof.” Cocoa has little value before being processed, so Congolese militants have very little incentive to steal the beans. Theo, by implementing training practices and paying quality premiums well beyond both the global market price and established fair trade premiums, has helped thousands of Congolese farmers develop sustainable livelihoods. “[The farmers] were very fast on the uptake,” said Royston. They are so optimistic in light of all the hardships they have overcome in the past.”
Perhaps the most rewarding part of Royston’s trip was meeting with communities that have been positively impacted by Theo’s work. Royston always brings Theo chocolate bars to share with cocoa farmers and their communities, the majority of whom have never tasted chocolate. He reflected on how fun it is to watch people’s reactions when they taste a chocolate bar, especially the kids. Royston also said one of the most inspirational parts of his journey was reading a letter drafted by the Farmer Premium Committee explaining what they decided to do with their fair trade premiums. Instead of keeping them, the farmers requested that the premiums go back into their community to build roads, schools and a clinic. “It was so moving that this was their collective decision; they want their entire community to be better supported by the premiums they are earning from their cocoa.” By ensuring the farmers they source from receive support, Theo has formed partnerships that not only lead to delicious chocolate, but also have the power to transform communities.
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Welcome New Members
Please welcome our newest Global Washington members. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with their work and consider opportunities for support and collaboration!
PricewaterhouseCoopers: PwC brings a global perspective along with in-depth knowledge of local, state and U.S. issues, focusing on audit and assurance, tax and consulting services. Additionally, in the U.S., PwC concentrates on 16 key industries and provides targeted services that include — but are not limited to — human resources, deals, forensics, and consulting services. www.pwc.com
World Vision: World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice. www.worldvision.org
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Member Events
April 22: Pangea // Pangea House Party
April 25: OneWorld Now! // Get Global Youth Conference
April 28: One Equal Heart Foundation // Indigenous Women Create a Sustainable Solidarity Economy
April 28 – 29: Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce // IN-NW 2015: Digital Innovation + Leadership Conference
April 30: World Trade Center Seattle // From the CEO’s Perspective Series: Women and Leadership
May 1: UW School of Law // The Post-2015 Development Agenda: From the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals
May 2: Global Visionaries // 14th Annual Auction
May 9: World Concern // Free them 5K
May 16: Associates in Cultural Exchange // The Run About the World
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Career Center
Highlighted Positions
Donor Relations Coordinator – Ashesi University Foundation
Philanthropy Coordinator – Landesa
Senior Marketing and Communications Manager – Marine Stewardship Council
Account Manager II, Donor Relations – World Vision
For more jobs and resources, visit https://globalwa.org/resources/careers-in-development/
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GlobalWA Events
April 30: Networking Happy Hour with Friends of GlobalWA, Humanosphere and World Affairs Council
May 13: On the Human Rights Frontier: The Global Struggle for LGBT Equality
May 20: New Member Orientation
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