By Jennifer Butte-Dahl, Applied International Studies Director at UW’s Jackson School, a Global Washington member
Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
In Lesbos, the sun is rising—illuminating a sea that hides tragedy below its surface. We are carrying family tents designed for humanitarian relief through the site, looking for empty spaces to set them up, when a man approaches our group and asks if we could use a hand. Two young boys stand at his side, eager to assist.
“I don’t want anything in return,” he says. “I just want to help.”
It’s another 90-degree Fahrenheit day under the Mediterranean sun on this small Greek island. Only six miles from the western shore of Turkey, Lesbos is the main gateway to Europe for thousands of families who arrive daily from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that over 258,000 migrants have arrived on the shores of Greece since the start of 2015. Almost half that number—122,400 as of Sep. 6—has come via Lesbos. For a small, picturesque Greek island with a local population of only 86,000 people, the influx of newcomers is overwhelming.
India is often called a country of paradoxes. The largest democracy in the world is home to 1.21 billion people, and can be incredibly chaotic and thriving at the same time. There are 22 Indians who rank in the top 500 richest people in the world alongside 300 million people who live in extreme poverty on $1.25 per day. India has some of the world’s most successful tech centers, yet is home to the world’s largest illiterate population of 287 million people. While great strides have been made to reduce poverty, India still faces complex challenges. A number of Global Washington members are working to improve conditions for the country’s poorest citizens.
Landesa is assisting India’s 15 million landless families obtain ownership of small plots of land. And SightLife has partnered with health organizations in India to provide corneal transplants for the blind so that they may live full, productive lives. Other GlobalWA members such as Upaya Social Ventures, Unitus Seed Fund and Grameen are improving livelihoods through economic development.
To join the conversation around creating innovative solutions to global poverty in India and around the world, come to our 7th Annual Conference this December as we focus on Disruptive Development and feature a packed agenda of peer learning opportunities, provocative speakers and networking with 400 leaders in the international development field. Early bird registration ends September 30 — sign up today!
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:
1. Are you a leader of a nonprofit GlobalWA member organization and interested in telling your organization’s story at GlobalWA’s 7th Annual Conference on December 10?
2. The theme of this year’s conference is Disruptive Development. Does your organization have a “disruptive” approach to improving lives in developing countries?
Washington State Organizations Play Leading Role in India
By Sydney Martinez
When India became independent in 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister, stressed the importance of ending poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality. In recent years, India has enjoyed consistently high rates of growth and steady improvement in human development. But a critical challenge remains for the world’s largest democracy. Despite growth and steady development, persistent poverty and inequality remain.
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) reporting reveals that India is on track to achieve target goals on poverty reduction, education and HIV at aggregate levels. However, much work remains to be done to reduce hunger, improve maternal mortality rates and enable greater access to clean water and sanitation. India must reduce social and geographic inequalities to make these goals achievable. As rising gender inequality continues to hamper progress, women are regularly excluded from social, economic and political domains. With 1.21 billion people, India’s lack of progress drastically impacts the overall success of the MDGs.
India’s relationship with NGOs
The Indian government has been applauded for their collaboration and partnerships with non-governmental organizations. The government provides funds, contracts and training opportunities for NGO activities in priority areas without undermining the NGOs’ autonomy and independence. This cross-sector collaboration enables more sustainable development with lasting impact.
Since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister in 2014, the government-NGO relationship has been tested. While Modi launched large and aggressive development projects in India, he is suspicious of the influence of foreign NGO’s. Greenpeace and Amnesty International had their finances frozen when the Indian government suspected the organizations were funding environmental activists who were working against nuclear power, GMO and coal mining initiatives. The government has since lifted the restrictions, but it’s now clear that development organizations that work outside Modi’s economic and industrial goals have an uphill battle.
Corporate social responsibility
India is the first country in the world to mandate corporate social responsibility. In 2014, the Indian government implemented new CSR guidelines requiring companies to spend 2% of their net profit on social development. While it sounds like a victory for development work, does it go far enough? Some ask if 2% is enough to make a difference while others worry that another tax will harm growing Indian corporations. Time will tell if this legislation will have real impact on poor people’s lives.
Today’s world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before and it is in the interest of all nations to help India shape their own economic and social development. The eradication of poverty, disease and obstacles to education would ensure greater global security. While poverty, ill-health and lack of economic opportunity may not lead directly to conflict, crime or terrorism, they do create conditions that are hostile to peace and stability, leaving fragile countries vulnerable to conflict and other destabilizing forces.
GlobalWA members working in India
Committee for Children: Committee for Children creates research-based, social-emotional learning materials to help children succeed in school and in life. It creates a world in which children can grow up to be peaceful, kind, responsible global citizens and teaches skills that help children stay safe, manage their emotions, solve problems, avoid risky behavior and improve their academics. Committee for Children has taught millions of children in 70 countries, including India.
Construction for Change: Construction for Change believes that by building infrastructure, they are building opportunity. From schools to medical facilities to community buildings that house vocational training, their network is dedicated to alleviating poverty in the world’s most under-resourced areas. They partner with community-based NGO’s to develop infrastructure and recruit professional volunteers to manage the projects. Volunteers train and employ local workers and source local materials, allowing for significant investment in the regional economy. Construction for Change builds strong, sustainable, environmentally-sound facilities in communities throughout India.
EarthCorps: EarthCorps brings together passionate and hardworking young adults for a leadership training program in Seattle. Corp members learn leadership skills through working collaboratively, leading community volunteers and executing technical restoration projects along shorelines, trails and in forests. After the year-long program, these young leaders leave with the tools and skills to tackle the pressing issues of our time including climate change, pollution and ecological degradation. As part of its mission to build a global community of leaders through local environmental service, EarthCorps brings emerging environmental leaders from around the world, including India.
Global Business Center at the Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington: The mission of UW’s Global Business Center is to develop global business expertise by hosting and sponsoring international education initiatives. Since 1990, the Center has been developing future business leaders with the knowledge, skill and vision needed to collaborate and compete across the globe. Transforming students into global business leaders starts in the classroom, but that is only the beginning. Global Business Center students can study abroad and take part in undergraduate and graduate studies programs in India.
Grameen Foundation: Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997 to help the world’s poor address their own unique needs. In India, Grameen is providing financial and technical support to some of the country’s leading and fastest-growing social enterprises and microfinance institutions. In 2011, they established Grameen Foundation India, a wholly owned subsidiary, to provide financial and information services for the poor. Through its Microsavings Initiative, they are working with Cashpor Microcredit, Ltd., in Varanasi, to broaden access to safe, flexible and convenient savings accounts. Their work with The Livelihoods School (part of the Basix group of companies) has created an integrated model of financial, livelihood and risk management services to help those living in extreme poverty.
IE3 Global: IE3 Global provides high-quality study abroad, internship, research, exchange and faculty-led programs to the students of their partner campuses throughout the Northwest and beyond. Students have the opportunity to volunteer and study in India.
iLEAP: iLEAP envisions a worldwide community of global citizens and innovative organizations who are connected through a values-based approach to leadership, are committed to building strong global partnerships for social change, and work together to realize potential and celebrate our common humanity. iLEAP hosts leadership and fellowship programs in India and invites fellows to lead their communities with a renewed clarity and commitment to who they are, what they do, and how they can change the world.
Initiative for Global Development: The Initiative for Global Development (IGD) drives poverty reduction by catalyzing business growth and investment in the developing world. The non-profit organization brings together an influential network of senior executives from sector-leading companies with the interest and capacity to make strategic investments in high-need, high-potential areas. IGD collaborates with Indian entrepreneurs to shape global connections and frontier market insights, and promotes business-driven development to create economic growth and opportunity.
Knowledge for People: Knowledge for People works with families and communities in India, Nepal, and Belize to promote greater awareness and acceptance of autism through outreach, education and advocacy. In many communities where autism is not understood or adequate resources are not available, individuals with autism and their families are marginalized. By collaborating directly with parents, educators, medical professionals and government officials, Knowledge for People helps bridge that gap, providing the support and information they need to help those with autism to thrive and foster a spirit of inclusiveness within their communities.
Landesa: Landesa partners with governments and local organizations to secure legal land rights for the world’s poorest families. Since 1967, Landesa has helped more than 100 million families in 35 countries gain legal control over their land. When families have secure rights to land, they can invest in their land to sustainably increase their harvests and reap the benefits — improved nutrition, health, education and dignity. Landesa helps India’s 15 million poor, rural, landless families obtain ownership of small plots of land as well as the opportunity to build better futures.
Mercy Corps: When a natural disaster strikes, an economy collapses, or conflict erupts, Mercy Corps is there. They respond immediately to meet urgent needs for food, water and shelter, and stay beyond the emergency to partner with communities for long-term recovery. Mercy Corps believes people have the power to transform their own lives when they have the right resources. Their strategy in India is to build the resilience of communities by increasing access to affordable basic services, supporting economic development and reducing risks associated with disasters. One example is Mercy Corps partnership with Starbucks/Tazo in Darjeeling and Assam. Details on the project and how the partnership has helped local communities can be found here. The Puget Sound Business Journal also featured them in an article which can be found here.
Microsoft: Microsoft is committed to serving the needs of people in communities worldwide. Fundamental to this commitment is the role we serve as responsible global corporate citizens. Microsoft works with more than 86,000 non-profits around the world each year, including organizations in India, to provide affordable access to the technology they need to support their work in local communities.
Mona Foundation: The Mona Foundation believes that the development of human resources and the key to poverty reduction lies in universal education and gender equality. Educated communities are healthier, more sustainable, and less vulnerable to economic volatility. The Mona Foundation has several projects in India, working specifically towards ensuring access to education technologies and initiating sustainable development by educating girls from rural and tribal areas.
MovingWorlds: MovingWorlds’ mission is to connect volunteers directly to inspiring startups, non-profits, incubators, schools or other social impact organizations that will benefit from their skills. In doing so, they tackle the “Talent Gap,” one of the leading barriers to global progress. MovingWorlds offers numerous volunteering opportunities in India to ensure communities can reach their full potential.
Oikocredit Northwest: As one of the world’s largest sources of private funding for microfinance, Oikocredit provides loans and investment capital to microfinance institutions, cooperatives, fair trade organizations and small-to-medium sized enterprises. They partner with numerous organizations in India and funds are used to fight poverty, promote fair trade and respect for our planet’s natural resources.
Oxfam: Oxfam is celebrating its 64th year of humanitarian service in India. Oxfam India believes in the ‘Right to Life with Dignity for All’. This is fulfilled by engaging empowered citizens to become active and supportive partners, advocating an effective and accountable State and making markets work for the underprivileged. Programs are currently active in the critical states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Working for the socially excluded and most marginalized communities by mobilizing them to campaign for greater economic and social reforms, Oxfam India is committed to five rights: Right to Sustainable Livelihood; Right to Social Services; Right to Life and Security; Right to be Heard and Right to an Identity.
PSI: PSI is a global health organization dedicated to improving the health of people in the developing world by focusing on the challenges they face including: a lack of family planning, HIV and AIDS, barriers to maternal health, and the greatest threats to children under five including malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. PSI’s programs in India began in 1988 and seek to address the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition and inadequate public healthcare.
SightLife: Millions of people around the world struggle to live with corneal blindness — the loss of sight caused by damage to the surface of the eye. At SightLife, they’re making more life-changing transplants possible. This is work that requires a continued collaboration between surgeons, technicians, hospital administrators, donor families and recovery partners across the developed and developing world. SightLife works in partnership with surgeons and health organizations in India and, by working together, they unlock brighter futures and help those who are in need see the world through new eyes.
Snow Leopard Trust: With programs and staff in five countries in Central Asia and support from around the world, the Snow Leopard Trust is a leader in the effort to secure the future of the endangered snow leopard. With researchers in the field year-round, they are working to develop the most effective conservation techniques. As the snow leopard is native to the Indian Himalayas, programs in the country include research, ecological conservation and working with local communities on building predator-proof corrals for domesticated animals and hosting nature education for local children.
Splash: Splash is a social justice organization committed to the poor, an international development agency disciplined around urban economies, a social enterprise dedicated to putting themselves out of business, and a safe water company focused on children. Kids living in urban poverty regularly have little control or no choice about the water they consume. Splash works with foreign governments and builds local businesses to create safe water projects, at scale, in resource poor cities. The puzzle pieces already exist. Splash reconfigures them to create a more efficient, effective and equitable product. Splash’s work in India is based in Kolkata, where they partner with local government to ensure clean water, clean hands and clean toilets for every public school in the city — 2,000 schools in total, serving 420,000 kids.
Unitus Seed Fund: Unitus Seed Fund is a $20 million seed-stage investment fund based in Bangalore and Seattle that invests in startups innovating for the masses in India. They help startups “prepare for growth” via seed funding and strategic and operating support, providing critical connections and securing growth capital.
Upaya Social Ventures: Upaya is building the businesses that create jobs and improve the quality of life for the “ultra poor” in India. Upaya supports high-potential Indian entrepreneurs, helping them develop and grow promising businesses with start-up capital as well as mentorship. In exchange, business owners promise to hire the poorest people in their region as jobs are created. To date, Upaya has invested in 10 businesses that have collectively created over 2,000 jobs.
U.S. Fund for UNICEF: The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF’s work, and other efforts in support of the world’s children, through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. UNICEF does whatever it takes to save and protect the world’s most vulnerable children. Recognizing that the health, hygiene, nutrition, education, protection and social development of children are all connected, UNICEF works to ensure that the children of India not only survive, but thrive.
Water1st International: Water1st was started in 2005 by a handful of professionals with solid experience in the water, sanitation and fundraising sectors. Their focus was simple: to build an organization from the ground up with the ability to consistently implement high-quality water and sanitation projects that provide permanent solutions for the world’s poorest communities. Water1st works with local organizations in India to assist rural communities drill deep wells, install hand-pumps and build household toilets.
World Justice Project: The World Justice Project is an independent, multidisciplinary organization working to advance the rule of law around the world. Effective rule of law reduces corruption, combats poverty and disease, and protects people from injustices large and small. It is the foundation for communities of peace, opportunity and equity — underpinning development, accountable government, and respect for fundamental rights. Efforts in India include programs that ensure the legal protection and autonomy of women, children and the urban poor.
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 causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision provides emergency assistance to children and families affected by disasters and conflict, partners with communities for long-term solutions to alleviate poverty, and advocates for justice on behalf of the poor. Through sponsorship of children, World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of India to improve their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future.
Millions of people throughout the world suffer from corneal blindness — the loss of sight caused by damage to the surface of the eye. Those living in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to the devastating effects of blindness. It can rob adults of economic autonomy as job opportunities for the blind in the developing world are often nonexistent. Children who can’t see the blackboard in school often receive little support and drop out. Blind adults and children can become isolated from their communities, and this often leads to feelings of shame and inadequacy.
Corneal blindness, however, is a treatable condition and a corneal transplant is the solution. But a shortage of corneal tissue is keeping millions of adults and children in the dark. SightLife, which runs the largest eye bank in the world, applies its funds and subject matter expertise to increase the number of corneal transplants in the developing world. SightLife’s focus is to build a sustainable local infrastructure covering policy and advocacy work, increasing the capability of eye banks and corneal surgeons, and exploring innovative technologies to change the landscape of patient follow-up care in India, and greater Asia, through providing funding, grants and consultations.
In the United States, there is no waiting list for corneal tissue as the supply is consistent with demand.
In developing countries, though, a myriad of logistical and social barriers keep corneal patients from having their sight restored. SightLife works to increase the quality of transplants for corneal patients by providing free tissue and free training for corneal surgeons. To help ensure those in need receive high quality transplants, SightLife trains staff at local eye banks so that they can “eye bank better.”
“Eye banks in developing countries are often small, adjunct rooms in state hospitals,” explained Claire Bonilla, SightLife’s Chief Global Officer. One overworked surgeon is in charge of the entire corneal transplant process. This includes finding and collecting corneal tissue, performing the graft and overseeing follow up care. Bonilla and her team push partner eye banks to “think about having an eye bank manager [and] a full staff so that you can start to move higher volumes through specialization…and the surgeon can focus on surgery.” The organization has had great success in India. SightLife’s partner banks have averaged an approximate 30-40% increase in transplants provided per year.
Due to the shortage of corneal tissue, there are still people who are unable to receive corneal grafts even with SightLife helping eye banks increase their production. This is why SightLife has started focusing more on advocacy. “We have to think about the entire ecosystem: advocacy, policy and building up the capabilities of eye banks so that we can get more tissue,” said Bonilla. The organization wants to raise general awareness of corneal blindness, encourage people to become donors and push the government to help regulate donations, creating a favorable environment for eliminating blindness.
Bonilla explained that there are two primary factors that contribute to a lack of corneal tissue in countries such as India — people’s misconceptions about organ donation and a lack of effective government policy to promote the collection of corneal tissue. “Religious beliefs are sometimes a factor and we often have to educate to overcome myths,” said Bonilla. Even if a person wants their eyes to be donated when they die, their wishes aren’t always fulfilled. “If you choose to donate your eyes as a citizen of India or China, there’s no way to record that consent. Whoever recovers your body at the hospital can deny it.”
SightLife created the Hospital Cornea Recovery Program (HCRP) to help with the collection of corneal tissue in hospitals. Hospital workers in India frequently fail to notify eye banks of deaths, which leads to numerous missed opportunities for corneal tissue donations. SightLife pays for eye banks to employ eye donation counselors who work in high mortality hospitals. “When there is a death, the eye donation counselor is notified. Then, the eye donation counselor reaches out to the family and talks to them about the benefits of giving sight to another,” explained Bonilla. “Out of a great loss, sight for another can be gained.” Once the counselor gets consent from the family, the deceased’s medical records are reviewed and a recovery technician takes the corneal tissue. Due to the success of programs such as the HCRP, SightLife’s partner eye banks are able to restore sight in more than 1000 men, women and children globally every month.
SightLife has had great success in India and is now strategizing on how to increase the organization’s presence in China. While their primary mission is advocating to increase the supply of available corneal tissue in countries around the world, they also want to restore every corneal patient’s sight so that the person can once again provide for their families, contribute to society and live up to their full potential. “We help facilitate about 1,000 transplants every month. When I see those numbers, it’s not just the metric of 1,000 transplants,” said Bonilla. “It’s 2,000 hands being enabled. It’s 1,000 homes where we helped changed the dynamic and put more food on the table. And that’s pretty wonderful.”
Many of the world’s poorest people, despite relying on agricultural labor to survive, don’t own their own land. A lack of formal government regulation of land ownership in developing countries can leave people vulnerable to losing their land to conflict, foreign corporations or any one of various other entities. And their vulnerability means they have less incentive and opportunity to invest in their land to improve their harvests and their lives.
For more than four decades, Global Washington member Landesa has worked with governments and other organizations to create pro-poor laws, policies and programs that strengthen land rights of women and men, families and communities across the globe. To date, Landesa has helped more than 100 million families obtain ownership of land or secure rights to their property.
Chris Jochnick recently joined Landesa as the organization’s CEO, bringing with him a wealth of experience working on social and economic rights – including land rights. A Harvard Law School graduate, Jochnick practiced human rights law for ten years and then worked as a corporate attorney on Wall Street before transitioning into global development. Prior to joining Landesa, Jochnick was with Oxfam America for ten years, as the director of Oxfam’s private sector department.
Landesa describes land as a foundation that allows other development efforts to gain traction. Jochnick firmly believes in this philosophy. “Today, the majority of people living in poverty depend on land,” said Jochnick. “[However], most of them don’t have formal claims to that land. Working in a way that moves the needle on securing land rights for those people who are often the most marginalized is a tangible way of making progress on a whole range of development outcomes.”
Throughout his career, both in law and the non-profit sector, Jochnick has worked with the development, human rights and environmental communities. Until recently, according to Jochnick, none of these communities gave the issue of land rights sufficient attention. “Land is one of those overlooked issues. Land rights can act as a gateway right that give women and men access to other rights.” said Jochnick. “This is something Landesa has long recognized, and others are now coming to appreciate.”
Jochnick is thrilled to be taking over as CEO of Landesa at a time when more people are recognizing the significance of land rights within the global development sector. “There are so many opportunities now for groups working on land to expand their work,” said the new leader. Landesa is poised to leverage the rising attention to land rights to form new and deeper partnerships with governments, civil society organizations and companies. “[Land rights] is a field that is ripe for new attention, and Landesa offers a perfect platform for that,” said Jochnick. His extensive experience developing partnerships with the private sector will help Landesa move forward in finding new avenues to protect land rights.
At Oxfam, Jochnick initiated a variety of partnerships with Fortune 500 companies and organized collaborative advocacy initiatives. These included the “Behind the Brands” campaign which put pressure on the world’s largest food and beverage companies to ensure they were not displacing families and communities throughout their supply chains. Many countries have no or weak land-related legal infrastructure to regulate land ownership. For example, 90 percent of the land in sub-Saharan Africa is undocumented. Foreign companies who obtain a permit from the government have no way of knowing if the land they are using belongs to someone else, and may unwittingly destroy someone’s source of livelihood. Prior to the Behind the Brands campaign, many companies failed to recognize land as an issue. Corporations increasingly recognize that ensuring they are not displacing communities is a necessary good business practice.
While Landesa has traditionally focused on working to create impact at scale by partnering with foreign governments, it has since expanded to pursue partnerships in the private sector. Companies “are aware of the fact that [land] conflicts are likely to plague them as they move into these countries and want to get ahead of that,” explained Jochnick. “I’ve worked with them in the past to move companies to recognize that there is an issue there, that there is a problem that threatens their bottom line, and then move them to make commitments to land rights.” Landesa’s expertise is valuable to companies that need assistance figuring out how to interact with foreign governments and communities. “There’s a real opportunity to work with some of those companies both in terms of their own businesses and in trying to push for greater formalization of land rights and recognitions of the land rights of traditional holders,” said Jochnick.
When asked about his goals for Landesa, Jochnick explained he hopes to expand the organization’s global reach beyond the current focus on India, Africa and China. Jochnick and his team are ready to capitalize on the momentum in the development community and bring together those who have acknowledged the need for a commitment to protecting land rights. “Moving these commitments from principals and standards into actual practice requires a unified and global push, and Landesa wants to be part of that effort,” said Jochnick. By pursuing networks between NGOs, companies, governments and communities, Jochnick is readying Landesa to be a catalyst for global work on land rights and an international leader in the development community.
Please welcome our newest Global Washington members. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with their work and consider opportunities for support and collaboration!
3rd Creek Investments, Inc.
3rd Creek is a consortium of organizations dedicated to providing exceptional service, accountability and social responsibility. They provide investment advisory services, accounting assistance, venture capital funding, philanthropic grants and consulting services. Whether it is managing private investment portfolios or funding charitable projects worldwide, 3rd Creek believes in creating positive outcomes and sustaining them over the long run. www.3rdcreek.com
International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia
The International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia (ILAE) is a college preparatory day school located in the Lafto/Lebu area of Addis Ababa for 400 students in grades 9-12. ILAE opened its doors in September 2013 with an inaugural class of 24 highly-capable, underserved ninth grade students, and will add an additional ninth grade class each successive year. http://ilacademy.org/
NetHope
NetHope enables humanitarian organizations to better serve the developing world through smarter use of technology. They help member organizations collaborate, innovate and leverage the full potential of information and communications technology to support their causes. NetHope focuses on five key areas: connectivity, field capacity building, emergency response, shared services and innovation for development. www.nethope.org
Volunteers for Sustainable Development USA
Volunteers for Sustainable Development USA fundraises to support underprivileged children and AIDS orphans in Uganda
Given Seattle’s strong leadership in global philanthropy and international development, it’s no surprise we are often called the “Silicon Valley of Philanthropy.”
This well-deserved reputation will surely continue to grow in the coming years. That’s because the Seattle International Foundation (SIF) is partnering with the Institute of International Education (IIE) to launch a prestigious new leadership development program to support high-impact leaders driving change in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in Central America – a key focus area for the foundation. This new program, Centroamérica AdelanMauricio Viverote, identifies, trains and connects local leaders working on social change issues and provides fellows with specific skills training, mentorship and peer-to-peer learning, as well as the chance to travel and build their network of supporters and contacts. Continue Reading
Participating in an international service project can be a major life experience. No matter where you are traveling or whether you’re a first-timer or a well-seasoned participant, the experience will most certainly open your eyes to the realities of how others live. The following are tips that will help you get the most out of your service project, from start to finish. Continue Reading
Remember your first trip to a developing country, how transformational it was? Meeting with women and children, smelling the smells and seeing with your own eyes often puts life in perspective. This month, we honor the Global Washington members who are creating meaningful volunteer experiences in developing countries and who are educating the next generation of global citizens. From donor trips, to study abroad programs, to “experteering,” there are numerous opportunities for people to engage.
Washington state is a leader when it comes to Global Ambassadors, holding on to the No. 1 spot in the small, medium and large categories for colleges and universities producing Peace Corps volunteers. University of Washington leads large schools, while Western Washington University and Gonzaga University lead medium and small schools, respectively. In addition, there are over 4,000 in our state who have gone abroad to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. And, over 1,200 high-school students have traveled to Guatemala with Global Visionaries.
If you haven’t gone on a trip to a developing country, or if it’s been awhile, I encourage you to take the journey. Start by finding the organization, issue and region of the world that resonates with you and take action. You won’t regret it.
Global Ambassadors: Local Organizations Creating Meaningful Experiences for Global Citizens
As the world grows more interconnected, increasing opportunities exist for people from all walks-of-life to travel abroad to study, volunteer or work. Such experiences enable participants to broaden their horizons, hone their language skills and make new, often lifelong, connections. There are also opportunities for teachers in the U.S. to develop future generations of global citizens by encouraging students to move beyond their comfort zones.
In addition to benefiting individuals, creating globally minded citizens benefits our community as a whole. Challenges we face in today’s world, which range from poverty to preserving the environment, are too big for any one nation to tackle alone. A global education and mindset allows us to dismantle stereotypes and collaborate with those from different backgrounds.
Volunteering Abroad
Volunteering abroad is the most direct way to create sustainable change in a community. There are a myriad of ways that people can apply their skills to be part of the solution to various problems that affect people across the globe. Doctors can treat patients in rural areas, engineers can build houses for those in need, and educators can teach children who lack solid teachers. Volunteers often live with locals, speak their language, and learn about their culture. This allows volunteers to gain a deep, nuanced understanding of a place, its people, and the unique challenges faced by their community. Donor trips are another way that people can be involved abroad and witness the difference that their generosity makes in the lives of others.
Studying Abroad
Students with international experience graduate with the language capabilities and cross-cultural communication skills needed in today’s world. Study abroad teaches participants to be self-reliant and understanding, and thus prepares students to be dynamic problem solvers. Learning to be accepting of differences and compassionate towards others are skills that students will need in all aspects of their lives, and will prepare them to work with others to tackle the world’s toughest challenges. Currently, only about 10% of students study abroad before they graduate college. Increased access to study abroad will create more opportunities for students to learn how to develop into global leaders with meaningful, impactful careers.
Educating Future Global Citizens
Students spend more time at school these days than they do at home. Teachers have an ability to influence children, expand their worldviews and show them the possibilities of what exists. Creating global citizens who are prepared for the world we live in is a necessity, and teachers must understand how to make local-to-global connections, and vice versa. School is often the first place that students will see the world as larger than just their family and their community, and grasp the concept that a world of possibilities exist for them.
Global Washington Members Working to Create Global Citizens
Awamaki: Awamaki helps women’s associations in rural Peru start and run their own businesses selling artisan products. Volunteers teach product development, business and technical skills. They also help measure impact, collect stories and guide tourists to visit the artisan in their communities. Awamaki offers Peruvian women access to global markets and an improved quality of life in order to create sustainable development in their communities.
Bainbridge Ometepe Sister Island Association (BOSIA): Since 1987, BOSIA has bolstered the relationship between Bainbridge Island and its sister island, Ometepe in Nicaragua. BOSIA promotes friendship and mutual understanding between students on Bainbridge and Ometepe. Together, volunteers from the two islands have constructed schools and water systems, learned each other’s languages and been welcomed into each other’s homes.
buildOn: buildOn runs after-school youth service programs that mobilize U.S. urban teens to change their communities and, by extension, the world. The organization works with some of the most deserving high schools to help break the cycle of poverty. buildOn students participate in extensive local community service and build schools in some of the world’s poorest countries.
Construction for Change: Construction for Change’s goal is to build safe, sustainable infrastructure for nonprofits across the world. The organization believes that building infrastructure is building opportunity. Skilled volunteers train and employ local workers and source local materials, allowing for significant investment in local economies.
Engineers Without Borders Puget Sound Professionals (EWB): EWB partners with developing communities around the world to improve their quality of life. Chapter members use their professional skills to implement environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects. The organization promotes long-term development by teaching local community members how to build and maintain the projects put in place by EWB.
Global Brigades: Global Brigades is the world’s largest secular international volunteer organization, mobilizing more than 10,000 annual volunteers through 400 university chapters across North America and Europe. University volunteers support on-the-ground teams and community leaders to implement integrated health and economic development solutions in Central America and West Africa, ranging from mobile medicine to microfinance. In 2014, more than 150,000 patients were treated through its global health programs and thousands provided with access to community banking services.
Global Partnerships: Founded in 1994, Global Partnerships (GP) is a nonprofit impact investor expanding opportunity for people living in poverty. GP pioneers and invests in sustainable solutions that help impoverished people earn a living and improve their lives. Currently, GP’s partners consist of social enterprises, including microfinance institutions and cooperatives focused around four impact areas: health services, green technology, rural livelihoods and microentrepreneurship. GP also offers Impact Journeys for investors to see their impact first-hand. The next Impact Journey is to Ecuador, November 14-22, 2015. For more information on this and future trips, contact Peter Solar.
Global Visionaries: Global Visionaries’ mission is to educate and empower youth to become active leaders and global citizens. The organization’s cornerstone program is a school-year-long curriculum for high school students that culminates with a cultural immersion experience in Guatemala. The program emphasizes community service and promotes understanding of global interconnectedness.
Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County: Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County was established in 1986 as an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. The group is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, renovating and preserving homes. To date, Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County volunteers and staff have built, renovated or repaired over 300 homes.
IE3 Global: IE3 Global provides a variety of study abroad, internship, exchange, and research opportunities to students at their partner institutions located throughout the Northwest and beyond. With a wide array of options in over 50 countries, students can choose a program tailored toward their specific academic and professional goals.
MovingWorlds: org is like a short-term Peace Corps for skilled professionals. Its matching site helps you find the best place to volunteer your skills around the world, anytime, for any length of time. They call it #Experteering and if you can’t find an opportunity you like, its support team will work with you to find a project that’s right for you. Check out this recent feature on KOMO news. MovingWorlds is a membership community, but GlobalWA members get 10% off with code: WeLoveGlobalWA-2015.
OneWorld Now!: Every young person having access to transformative international education opportunities is the vision of OneWorld Now! The organization is committed to providing critical language skills, leadership training and study abroad opportunities to underserved youth. OneWorld Now! believes all students should have the opportunity participate in community service abroad.
Orphans to Ambassadors: Orphans to Ambassadors provides disadvantaged and orphaned children the opportunity to rise out of poverty with sustainable education. Experienced volunteers work with select institutions to promote sustainable change and self-sufficiency. The skills, knowledge and abilities that children gain developing their own solutions allows them to become ambassadors of goodwill and sustainability.
Sister Schools: Sister Schools teaches compassion, service and social responsibility to young children, partnering students in Washington state with children in Ugandan schools and orphanages. Program participants learn about the lives of Ugandan children and then participate in a supply drive to send their sister schools much needed school supplies. Children in Uganda often send letters in reply. Volunteers are welcome to travel with Sister Schools on the annual Supply Distribution Tours in April, and other periodic tours.
The Krista Foundation: The Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship serves young adults who have chosen to do a year of local or global service, offering volunteer best practices or “service ethics” with an emphasis on transforming a year of service into a life of service leadership. Through a peer-mentoring community, leadership and intercultural training, transition and debriefing services, the Krista Foundation equips young adults to leverage service experiences into a lifelong ethic of service, civic engagement and global understanding.
The Northwest School: Located in Seattle, the Northwest School provides a curriculum for grades 6-12 that offers an international perspective and fosters independent and creative thinking. The school offers a liberal arts education that emphasizes the importance of understanding topics of international significance and encourages students to think globally.
Women’s Empowerment Cancer Advocacy Network (WE CAN): WE CAN conducts breast and cervical cancer advocacy, education and outreach conferences in low and middle resource countries. The goal of WE CAN is to connect, train and support leaders of women’s cancer NGO’s. WE CAN is working to support patient advocates to raise awareness and improve access to women’s cancer treatments across the globe.
Global Washington Academic Institutions with Experimental Learning Programs Abroad
Antioch University Seattle
Bastyr University
Community Colleges for International Development (CCID)
Eastern Washington University
Highline Community College
Northwest School
Pacific Lutheran University
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle University
Shoreline Community College
South Puget Sound Community College
University of Puget Sound
University of Washington Bothell
University of Washington, School of Law Graduate Program in Sustainable International Development
University of Washington, Evans School of Public Affairs
University of Washington, Global Business Center at the Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
Washington State University, International Programs
With the vision of “a world where everyone has a decent place to live,” Habitat for Humanity “brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.” For nearly 30 years, Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County (Habitat SKC, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International) has been building new homes, renovating and repairing existing homes. In total, over 420 homes have been completed and more than 1,500 individuals have been served in King County.
Using primarily volunteer labor, Habitat SKC builds houses affordably and then sells them at cost, with no profit gained and no interest accrued by the family served. While Habitat is well known for its construction of new homes, in recent years the local focus has shifted to neighborhood revitalization, which includes critical repairs and renovating and reselling foreclosed properties. Offering this expanded array of services and partnerships allows Habitat to serve more families, and help improve the overall quality of life in communities and neighborhoods.
Habitat has an international presence, working in over 60 countries around the world. Each year, Habitat SKC gives 10% of their unrestricted donations to Habitat for Humanity International in tithe to build homes and improve living conditions in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, Kenya, Nicaragua and Tajikistan. Donations from Habitat SKC have enabled the construction of more than 650 homes internationally. In August 2014, Habitat SKC was recognized for the largest fundraising tithe out of 1,500 Habitat affiliates nationwide.
In addition to raising money for international housing projects, Habitat SKC sends volunteers abroad to build homes on what the organization has named Global Village trips. Around 15 to 20 volunteers participate in each Global Village trip. Every building project is preceded by a team orientation and followed by a team debrief, which offers volunteers a chance to reflect on their experiences. Past Global Village trips have sent volunteers to Paraguay, Cambodia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. Kevin Hunter, acting CEO of Habitat SKC, explained that his organization is working to create local networks of volunteers that have an international reach. “We really believe that Seattle-King County, and frankly the whole Puget Sound region, is an innovation center,” said Hunter. “It has deep philanthropic interests and is a globally-minded market.”
Hunter explained that there are three main challenges that impede access to sustainable housing around the world: Lack of economic opportunity, political instability, and the decimating effects of natural disasters. Habitat SKC wants to give volunteers opportunities to discover “how they can leverage their networks, their own capacity to make a difference, and advocate for affordable housing in whatever context they’re interested in.” Often times, people don’t have the economic means to acquire a house because, according to Hunter, “there’s a formal banking system that is out of reach for a lot of community members…There has to be alternative and creative funding opportunities, and Habitat can step in and fill a portion of that need.”
On every Global Village trip, volunteers work side by side with local beneficiaries. “The model of Habitat that you’ll see across the country and around the globe is really a hand up and not a handout,” said Hunter. Local residents and families are present on every build day and are involved in the construction of their future homes. Global Village participants form relationships with those they are helping and see first-hand how their volunteer work is transforming lives. Hunter, who was in the Dominican Republic this past January, explained, “It ends up being a profound experience when you have an opportunity to know that you’re fundamentally changing the trajectory of someone’s life by what you’re doing.”
By participating in Global Village trips, volunteers learn about barriers to sustainable housing worldwide and meet others with similar philanthropic interests. Habitat SKC instills in volunteers “a broader worldview of what’s happening in some of the most challenging places around the globe.” Global Village Trip participants develop a deeper understanding of the impact sustainable housing has on the well-being of individuals, families, and communities, and return home with a new network. “I’m always amazed,” said Hunter, “when I come back from one of these trips, how small the world is in terms of people that you know or get connected to…people that you had no idea were down the street and around the corner from you, thinking about the same kinds of things you’re thinking about.”
Habitat SKC has upcoming trips to Argentina, Nepal, and Cambodia. For anyone interested, Hunter advises, “Don’t spend too long thinking about it. Get plugged in! You just have to get this type of thing on the calendar, be intentional and go for it.” Looking ahead, Habitat Seattle-King County will continue collaborating with volunteers and local organizations to develop strategies that will lead to long-term change in the affordable housing crisis, both locally and globally. “It’s a huge problem,” said Hunter. “We all know it is, and we all know how important housing is. To be able to play a small part in helping one family at a time, one neighborhood at a time, one city at a time — it’s incredibly rewarding.”
For more information on how to get involved and participate in a Habitat Global Build, contact Kelly White. Upcoming trips include: Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 16-25, 2015; Pokhara, Nepal, February 19, 2016 – March 6, 2016; and Kavre, Nepal, March 11-22, 2016
Chris Fontana, Chief Executive Officer, Global Visionaries
By Kaitlin Marshall
“To challenge and transform young people into socially and environmentally conscious global leaders.” That was what motivated Chris Fontana when he became Global Visionaries’ (GV) first Executive Director in 1999, and that still motivates him today. With the cornerstone of GV being a year-long leadership program that culminates in a two-week service trip to Guatemala, the GV team emphasizes community service at home and abroad while promoting understanding of global interconnectedness.
Under Fontana’s direction, more than 1,200 students have traveled to Guatemala. Participants in the GV leadership program return to their communities with the tools necessary to address social and environmental injustices.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, Fontana’s family (including his parents and five siblings) engaged in a unique, what he refers to as, democratic experiment. “Regardless of age, every member of the family was treated with equal worth, dignity, mutual respect and responsibility towards the group.” Being asked at the young age of five to become an agent of transformation within his family had a major impact on how Fontana views education.
As he grew older, the lessons he received from his family led him to question the status quo of the education system. “As educators, we’re tasked with creating confident individuals who possess skills and knowledge to be valuable global citizens and leaders,” said Fontana. “[However], we do this in classrooms that rarely create an atmosphere associated with that outcome.” Fontana, a former teacher who taught Spanish to middle and high school students for 13 years, strives to get youth out of the classroom and into the world to experience life lessons first-hand.
From 1992 to 1995, Fontana served as director of the Youth Environmental Summit (YES) and co-directed two youth-organized international conferences. The 1995 YES brought together 300 high school students from 32 countries and 40 states for a week of learning about environmental issues, social action and leadership skills. “Young people took on issues of international trade, land preservation — the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in particular, overconsumption and climate change,” said Fontana. “It was powerful because it was all youth energy.” At both conferences, Fontana and his brother, Joe Fontana, worked with then high school student and future GV co-founder, Jason Foster. They began developing the idea for a youth-oriented global leadership program.
One of the defining characteristics of GV is, in Fontana’s words, that “youth lead youth.” Students who have completed the GV leadership program can then join the Youth Board and facilitate workshops for current program participants. The service projects that GV students complete help prepare them to be cooperative, innovative and compassionate leaders. “There’s no substitute for experience,” explained Fontana. GV gives students “opportunities to share in a responsibility for the world,” he says. “Everything we do is experiential. We don’t talk about creating opportunities for education; the students themselves build schools with their bare hands. We don’t talk about addressing climate change; the students plant forests.”
“We have an unrecognized prejudice against young people,” explained Fontana as he discussed ageism he has witnessed throughout his career. “We look at them as less then.” Fontana and GV take great care in listening to students and asking them their opinions. “What do you have to say? What are your perspectives? What do you think the answers are? I ask a lot of questions, and I listen more than I speak.” Fontana firmly believes that young people are capable of much more than most people give them credit for. “We’re doing a disservice to them and future generations if we don’t involve them in creating and participating in solutions that have a global impact.”
In the short-term, Fontana and GV will continue to create engaged global citizens within Seattle Public Schools. Ultimately, however, they aim to “transform the way we educate young people, both in school and out of school.” GV encourages students and guides them in creating their own unique solutions to address challenges. “You have to build on the positive,” said Fontana. “A young person needs encouragement like a plant needs water.” Students enter the GV program as learners who want to change the world, and leave as leaders capable of contributing to global solutions.
Please welcome our newest Global Washington members. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with their work and consider opportunities for support and collaboration!
Global Good
Global Good is a collaborative effort between Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures to tackle some of humanity’s toughest problems through invention. The effort combines IV’s unique invention prowess with the expertise of government, NGO, scientific and commercial partners around the world. Together, they conceive, develop and deploy inventions that save lives. www.intellectualventures.com/globalgood
Village Reach
Village Reach saves lives and improves health by increasing access to quality healthcare for the most underserved communities. villagereach.org
Running a non-profit is not an easy task. Maybe you’re short on funding. You’re not sure what hoops you’ll have to jump through to start working in a new country. Or you have no idea how to review your first partnership agreement. Seeking legal counsel can make it all a bit easier (especially if that counsel is free!)
Photo: REUTERS/Dwi Oblo
TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service, is dedicated to connecting NGOs and social enterprises with leading law firms who provide free legal services around the world. Since 2010, we have assisted with free legal assistance in 177 countries ranging from commercial and employment advice, to legal research programs taking a deep dive on legislation across dozens of countries. Continue Reading
A Seattle-based humanitarian group called Peace Trees Vietnam has been sending local civilian volunteers and veterans to Vietnam. They are helping Vietnamese deminers safely remove and deactivate bombs left over from the war and helping villagers replant the land.
For recent graduates and students interested in international development work, finding that first professional position can be daunting. Students often juggle volunteer work, unpaid internships and endless networking in hopes of getting a foot in the door.
On July 24, Global Washington members along with international development students and interns gathered at PATH’s headquarters in Seattle for Charting a Career in International Development, featuring an accomplished panel of speakers: Lincoln Miller, Senior Director, Program Management at Landesa; Nancy Ward, Chief Engagement Officer for World Justice Project; and David Wu, Chief Development Officer at PATH. Continue Reading
The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, answered her own question by reading the “price list” used by ISIS in what she called “nothing short of a revival of the slave trade.”
On July 21, 500 guests gathered at the US Institute of Peace (USIP) for a distinguished discussion on Women and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and sat riveted as Ms. Bangura detailed the ways in which extremist groups use women as currency while they sell, barter and incentivize recruits in their efforts to consolidate power. Continue Reading
One of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) currently being proposed is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” This is a formidable challenge given that 58 million school-aged children are not currently in school. Between now and 2030, the international community is charged to come together to finance and provide education to reach this goal, and several Global Washington members are already playing a role.
While there is no silver bullet to break the cycle of poverty, empowering individuals through education has been proven to have a transformational impact. The SDGs will further elevate the need for education, examine the barriers, and chart effective solutions. Global Washington members will be part of this progress.
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:
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to education,” but only in recent years has significant progress been made towards ensuring protection of that right. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of out-of-school primary aged children dropped by almost 37 million. Today, more girls are enrolled in school than ever before, and the number of students in secondary schools is rising substantially.
There is, however, still much work to be done to ensure every child has access to education. 58 million children who should be in primary school are not, and 63 million adolescents between the ages of twelve and fifteen are prevented from continuing their schooling. Girls in particular suffer from a lack of access to education with young women facing violence and discrimination that keeps them out of the classroom.
Quality education has the capacity to transform both communities and individuals. It is a powerful tool that can end generational cycles of poverty and provide a strong foundation for sustainable development. This is why education is such a crucial component of the global development puzzle.
Why Education Matters
Education generates sustainable change that spans multiple generations. Just one extra year of schooling increases a person’s earnings by up to 10% and provides them with more diverse employment opportunities. A quality education equips children with the knowledge they need to transition smoothly to adolescence and adulthood, and become active members of their society.
Access to education is a key component of improving global health and helping people make informed decisions about their health. By facilitating access to treatment and fighting against stigma and discrimination, education helps combat preventable diseases like HIV and malaria. Educated adults are likely to have smaller, healthier families, and they often pass healthy habits on to their children. Educated women are better equipped to control how many children they have. In Mali, for example, women who receive a secondary education or higher have an average of three children, compared to women with no education who average seven. Women with higher levels of education are also more likely to seek out health care and support during their pregnancies, resulting in improved maternal and newborn health. Furthermore, a child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past age five.
Barriers to Access
Poverty is a significant barrier to accessing education. Even when primary school is free, the additional charges for uniforms, textbooks, teacher salaries and school maintenance are too large of a financial barrier for many families. In many countries where primary school is free, secondary school is not, and children’s educations are terminated much too early. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, children from the richest 20% of households reach ninth grade at eleven times the rate of those from the poorest 40% of households. Children living in poverty are also frequently pulled out of school and forced into the workplace to provide for their families.
Humanitarian emergencies, particularly war and conflict, are another barrier to education. More than 40% of out-of-school children live in conflict-affected areas, and millions are forced out of school each year due to natural disasters. A safe-school environment can gift children with a sense of normalcy during a crisis, and help societies bounce back quicker after a disaster. Unfortunately, only 2% of humanitarian aid goes to education during a crisis, and children’s education often slips through the cracks as a result.
Education and Gender Discrimination
Girls face additional and unique barriers to education such as child marriage and early pregnancy. Many countries place little value on the education of girls. Girls are more likely to be pulled out of school to help with domestic labor due to the perception that their proper place is in the home. Families with limited resources may choose to send their sons to school instead of their daughters and girls who do try to attend school often face violent retaliation.
Approximately 34 million girls worldwide are out of school, and women comprise nearly two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adult population. An estimated one-third of girls in the developing world are married before age eighteen, and another estimated one-third of women in the developing world give birth before age twenty. Educated women are less likely to marry early and against their will and are more likely to have healthier babies later in life. Women who finish school are also more likely to send their children to school, and are better equipped to provide for themselves and their families.
Global Washington Members Fighting for Universal Education
Amigos de Santa Cruz Foundation: Since 1998, Amigos de Santa Cruz has been working to improve the lives of the indigenous people of Santa Cruz la Laguna, Guatemala through support for education and sustainable economic development. Amigos believes that education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty for the indigenous people of Guatemala, and is focusing on long term generational change, helping to create a literate populace and an educated leadership.
Ashesi University: A nonprofit, four-year university located outside of Accra, Ghana, Ashesi University was founded by a Ghanian who chose to leave a career with Microsoft in the United States to open the school. The mission of the University is to educate a new generation of ethical, entrepreneurial leaders in Africa. In Seattle, the foundation works to connect a global community of donors, friends and volunteers to support the University.
Dreams for Orphans: Dreams for Orphans works in Ghana to provide safe environments and educational opportunities for children who have been orphaned, abandoned or abused. They facilitate private school sponsorships, vocational school programs and support those enrolled at the university level. Support includes paying tuition, funding extracurricular activities and providing school supplies and uniforms.
Mission Africa: Mission Africa aims to empower children and families in remote Nigerian villages by providing support in three core areas: poverty alleviation, healthcare and education. They award scholarships, donate uniforms and provide school supplies to children in need. With each scholarship cycle, 50 students are selected by village members to be funded for six years.
Mona Foundation: Mona Foundation is dedicated to supporting grassroots educational initiatives and raising the status of women and girls. By partnering with grassroots educational organizations that have proven records of success and supporting them as they evolve to meet the needs of their communities, the foundation has granted over $6.8 million. This has impacted more than 75,000 children, women and families through 34 projects in more than 16 countries.
The Northwest School (NWS) / International Leadership Academy of Ethiopia (ILAE): The ILAE is a college preparatory school whose students come mostly from underserved urban and rural areas. Students are selected for their academic and leadership potential. The ILAE is a partner school of The Northwest School, a day and boarding school in Seattle with a mission to graduate global citizens. Students and faculty collaborate, enriching the curriculum of both schools and strengthening the educational capacities of the ILAE in its effort to provide quality education to students in Ethiopia.
Relief and Education for Afghan Children: Relief and Education for Afghan Children (REACH) is dedicated to educating children, especially girls, in rural Afghanistan. They have provided funding for five schools, and there are now over 1,400 students enrolled in the schools financed by REACH. They work closely with local Afghanis to ensure that each school meets the needs of those it serves.
Rwanda Girls Initiative: Rwanda Girls Initiative built the Gashora Girls Academy, an upper-secondary boarding school, in order to increase educational opportunities for girls in Rwanda. The organization’s vision is that students will graduate as inspired leaders with a love of learning, a sense of confidence and the economic empowerment to strengthen their communities and foster Rwanda’s growth.
Sahar: Sahar works with Afghan communities to support an educated future for Afghan girls by building schools, computer centers and implementing teacher training programs. Sahar and its partners have built and supplied twelve new schools in Afghanistan thus far. Currently, they are working on building a thirteenth school, as well as working to repair nine others. In addition to building schools, Sahar manages an Afghan teacher training center for rural teachers and facilitates women’s literacy programs.
Schools for Salone: Schools for Salone is dedicated to helping Sierra-Leones rebuild the rural schools that were destroyed during the country’s ten year civil war. Since 2005, they have built sixteen schools and two libraries in Sierra Leone. The schools work to revitalize Sierra Leonean communities, empower children and improve socioeconomic conditions for families and their communities. Schools for Salone also provides support for teachers by offering intensive summer teacher training institutes.
West African Vocational Schools (WAVS): West African Vocational Schools works in Guinea-Bissau to equip women and men with life-changing job skills so they can transform their communities. The WAVS School, which is attended by approximately 100 students at any given time, is run by an all-Guinean staff and offers classes in computer basics, auto mechanics, welding, sewing, English and French – courses that are in demand by people in the community and are designed to help young men and women acquire marketable job skills.
There is high demand in Afghanistan to increase access to education for the nation’s children, too many of whom are forced out of school by factors beyond their control. Global Washington Member Sahar Education International is working to provide resources for Afghan students to give them educational opportunities they may have not otherwise had. Sahar focuses on Afghan girls, who are kept out of the country’s education system at a severely disproportionate rate.
The organization’s mission is to create “quality educational opportunities in Afghanistan that empower and inspire children and their families to build peaceful, just and life-affirming communities.” To date, Sahar has built and equipped 18 new schools in Afghanistan and educated approximately 200,000 students. The organization works in rural areas of the Balkh Province region of Afghanistan, where many students are forced to travel great distances to attend school. The journey is too long for many families to be able to afford daily transportation, but walking to school can also be perilous. “If people are in a warzone, or in a zone that is insecure…it stops the entire process” said executive director Ginna Brelsford. By building new schools in areas that need them, Sahar is bringing thousands of girls an education they would have otherwise been kept away from.
“Every year of education makes such a difference in a girl’s life and in her family’s life,” said Brelsford. “One thing we are working on right now, and that I think is really important, is how to keep kids in school.” Airokhsh Faiz Qaisary, an intern from Afghanistan who formerly helped Sahar in her home country and is now working for the organization in Seattle, added, “Many of our student’s parents have missed going to school because of the war. They’re pushing their children so at least if they couldn’t reach their goals, their children can reach their goals.” Sahar fights to help Afghanis keep their daughters in school by maintaining school buildings and preparing the next generation of female educators in Afghanistan.
Girls were often prevented from going to school during the Taliban regime once they became teenagers. At a certain age in Afghanistan, girls can only be taught by female instructors. The dearth of female students during the Taliban regime means that there was a time when women weren’t getting teaching certificates. Now, there are not enough female teachers to keep up with the growing number of female students entering Afghanistan’s education system. Of the 412 districts in Afghanistan, 245 currently do not have a single woman qualified to teach. If girls reach a certain age, but there are no women to teach them, then their education is derailed. Sahar funds and manages an Afghan teaching training center that focuses on training female teachers in rural areas where the need for women instructors is greatest. The organization also funds the transportation of women from their villages into urban teacher training centers. This allows women who would have otherwise been deterred by transportation costs to receive the necessary certification to teach in their villages.
In addition to building schools and training teachers, Sahar leads a computer literacy program that teaches students skills they may not have otherwise received. “Some of the girls in the computer centers told me if we hadn’t created that specific computer center in their school, they would have probably never been able to use a computer,” said Qaisary. By bringing the computer programs to the students, the students don’t have to worry their families by trekking through insecure territory to the computer center.
The success of Sahar is, at least in part, the result of the determination and enthusiasm of those whom the organization provides resources for. “If there is anything to emphasize that always strikes me, is the motivation and passion that girls and people who want to be teachers have,” said Brelsford. “They’re continuing to want to be educated over all the barriers.” Qaisary views Sahar’s work as symbolic of a larger shift in Afghanistan concerning education. “I don’t believe that we are going to go back to where we were a few years ago with the war and the Taliban. I do believe that Afghanistan is going to move forward, especially with education,” she said.
Sahar aims to continue expanding and bringing more educational opportunities to Afghan girls. The work Sahar does to help girls fulfill their potential has been deeply rewarding for those involved. “I just went and saw the opening of the [latest] school, and there is an extreme sense of reward that comes from three and a half years of managing a construction project,” said Brelsford. “Physically being there and seeing the girls so excited, and talking about their futures, and seeing them empowered, playing soccer…[our work] comes down to the passion that girls themselves have to learn.”
Patrick Awuah, Founder & President, Ashesi University
By Kaitlin Marshall
Approximately 10% of college-aged students in Ghana, West Africa are currently enrolled in a post-secondary institution. Patrick Awuah founded Ashesi University in response to the dearth of opportunities in higher education in his home country. The mission of Ashesi, a private liberal arts university in Ghana, is to “educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within [its] students the critical thinking skills, the concern for others, and the courage it takes to transform the continent.” Since opening its doors, 100% of graduates have received job offers, started their own business, or gone on to pursue postgraduate degrees around the world.
The immense success of Ashesi is the result of Awuah’s dedication and visionary thinking. Before founding Ashesi, Awuah spent time in the U.S., receiving bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College and working as a program manager for Microsoft where he spearheaded technology for dial-up internet access. After working at Microsoft for some time, Awuah felt compelled to return to Ghana to share the knowledge he gained living and learning in the United States. “When my first child was born, I realized I needed to be paying attention to the world we would be leaving for the next generation,” explained Awuah. “That world, I felt, needed an Africa transformed from the current path it was on at the time.”
When Awuah shared with his wife his vision of opening a liberal arts college in Ghana, she gave him her full support. Despite this, Awuah still waited a year and a half to quit Microsoft. “The biggest challenge initially was just working up the courage to leave Microsoft,” confessed Awuah. “I finally realized that my hesitation was all about a fear of failing. I convinced myself that if I didn’t try, I would fail anyway.” To “minimize the risk of failing,” Awuah didn’t go straight from Microsoft back home. Instead, he enrolled in business school at UC Berkeley to learn and develop strategies for beginning a new enterprise. Equipped with an MBA, Awuah established a foundation in Seattle to support Ashesi, recruited donors, and returned to Ghana to open the University.
Awuah’s personal experience with higher education molded his vision for Ashesi and the dreams he has for the university’s students. He credits his experience at Swarthmore for showing him what students can accomplish when pushed to think critically about the world. “In Ghana, education tends to be very narrow in terms of the disciplinary focuses students follow. The way to do well in school here is to memorize information and repeat exactly what you’ve memorized,” explained Awuah. “This contrasts sharply with my experience in the United States at Swarthmore.”
Awuah’s mission is to take what he has learned and use that knowledge to shape Africa’s next generation of leaders. Ashesi students receive a liberal arts education because of Awuah’s belief that “the world is changing rapidly, and it’s important for people to have flexible minds and to learn to be students for their whole lives.” A liberal arts education, Awuah explained, is an effective way to teach students how to be self-aware, empathetic, and emotionally intelligent leaders. “The best leaders in the world are good citizens who are committed to learning all their lives and sharing their knowledge,” said Awuah. The entire faculty at Ashesi makes sure that students are engaged in an active way and learning how to contribute to the development of an ethical society. By marrying liberal arts with science and business, Ashesi educates future leaders who “can be analytical in a qualitative as well as in a quantitative way.”
Ashesi began with thirty students squeezed into rented classrooms. Today, it has its own beautiful campus with an enrollment of 600 students. Pending approval, Ashesi will soon offer additional majors in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. What Awuah is most proud of, however, is that the students voted to implement and respect a university honor code, the first in an African university. Under the honor code, students take all of their exams without supervision, and take on the responsibility to maintain honesty in their exams. The honor code was a step towards sustaining the high-trust community that Ashesi continues to build. “It’s a very clear indication that our students are taking very seriously this idea of Africa transformed, this idea that Africa will be transformed by enlightened leaders, and that they are committed to being those enlightened leaders for our society,” said Awuah. The honor code is a manifestation of everything Awuah hoped his students would learn when he left Microsoft to open the university.
Awuah will continue working to expand Ashesi’s impact. He hopes that other schools will adopt a liberal arts model and help educate the next generation of leaders who will graduate ready to contribute to the development of Africa. “What I feel we need to do with education, any society needs to do,” said Awuah, “is be really very intentional about developing citizens who care about the common good. We need to develop citizens who are problem solvers and who can be part of the social capital of society.” With the vast majority of Ashesi’s students staying in Africa after graduation, Awuah’s goal to shape leaders committed to the good of their society is clearly within sight.
Please welcome our newest Global Washington members. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with their work and consider opportunities for support and collaboration!
Kobi Academy
Kobi Academy’s mission is to provide exceptional education that empowers children in Ethiopia to be creative, achievement oriented, compassionate citizens committed to life-long learning and community stewardship. kobiacademy.org
Rainmakers TV
A documentary series established to communicate stories of leadership, innovation and social responsibility that inspire global transformation. rainmakers.tv
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:
When India became independent in 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister, stressed the importance of ending poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality. In recent years, India has enjoyed consistently high rates of growth and steady improvement in human development. But a critical challenge remains for the world’s largest democracy. Despite growth and steady development, persistent poverty and inequality remain.
Millions of people throughout the world suffer from corneal blindness — the loss of sight caused by damage to the surface of the eye. Those living in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to the devastating effects of blindness. It can rob adults of economic autonomy as job opportunities for the blind in the developing world are often nonexistent. Children who can’t see the blackboard in school often receive little support and drop out. Blind adults and children can become isolated from their communities, and this often leads to feelings of shame and inadequacy.
In developing countries, though, a myriad of logistical and social barriers keep corneal patients from having their sight restored. SightLife works to increase the quality of transplants for corneal patients by providing free tissue and free training for corneal surgeons. To help ensure those in need receive high quality transplants, SightLife trains staff at local eye banks so that they can “eye bank better.”
SightLife created the Hospital Cornea Recovery Program (HCRP) to help with the collection of corneal tissue in hospitals. Hospital workers in India frequently fail to notify eye banks of deaths, which leads to numerous missed opportunities for corneal tissue donations. SightLife pays for eye banks to employ eye donation counselors who work in high mortality hospitals. “When there is a death, the eye donation counselor is notified. Then, the eye donation counselor reaches out to the family and talks to them about the benefits of giving sight to another,” explained Bonilla. “Out of a great loss, sight for another can be gained.” Once the counselor gets consent from the family, the deceased’s medical records are reviewed and a recovery technician takes the corneal tissue. Due to the success of programs such as the HCRP, SightLife’s partner eye banks are able to restore sight in more than 1000 men, women and children globally every month.
Many of the world’s poorest people, despite relying on agricultural labor to survive, don’t own their own land. A lack of formal government regulation of land ownership in developing countries can leave people vulnerable to losing their land to conflict, foreign corporations or any one of various other entities. And their vulnerability means they have less incentive and opportunity to invest in their land to improve their harvests and their lives.
While Landesa has traditionally focused on working to create impact at scale by partnering with foreign governments, it has since expanded to pursue partnerships in the private sector. Companies “are aware of the fact that [land] conflicts are likely to plague them as they move into these countries and want to get ahead of that,” explained Jochnick. “I’ve worked with them in the past to move companies to recognize that there is an issue there, that there is a problem that threatens their bottom line, and then move them to make commitments to land rights.” Landesa’s expertise is valuable to companies that need assistance figuring out how to interact with foreign governments and communities. “There’s a real opportunity to work with some of those companies both in terms of their own businesses and in trying to push for greater formalization of land rights and recognitions of the land rights of traditional holders,” said Jochnick.
Participating in an international service project can be a major life experience. No matter where you are traveling or whether you’re a first-timer or a well-seasoned participant, the experience will most certainly open your eyes to the realities of how others live. The following are tips that will help you get the most out of your service project, from start to finish. 
Using primarily volunteer labor, Habitat SKC builds houses affordably and then sells them at cost, with no profit gained and no interest accrued by the family served. While Habitat is well known for its construction of new homes, in recent years the local focus has shifted to neighborhood revitalization, which includes critical repairs and renovating and reselling foreclosed properties. Offering this expanded array of services and partnerships allows Habitat to serve more families, and help improve the overall quality of life in communities and neighborhoods.
Hunter explained that there are three main challenges that impede access to sustainable housing around the world: Lack of economic opportunity, political instability, and the decimating effects of natural disasters. Habitat SKC wants to give volunteers opportunities to discover “how they can leverage their networks, their own capacity to make a difference, and advocate for affordable housing in whatever context they’re interested in.” Often times, people don’t have the economic means to acquire a house because, according to Hunter, “there’s a formal banking system that is out of reach for a lot of community members…There has to be alternative and creative funding opportunities, and Habitat can step in and fill a portion of that need.”
Habitat SKC has upcoming trips to Argentina, Nepal, and Cambodia. For anyone interested, Hunter advises, “Don’t spend too long thinking about it. Get plugged in! You just have to get this type of thing on the calendar, be intentional and go for it.” Looking ahead, Habitat Seattle-King County will continue collaborating with volunteers and local organizations to develop strategies that will lead to long-term change in the affordable housing crisis, both locally and globally. “It’s a huge problem,” said Hunter. “We all know it is, and we all know how important housing is. To be able to play a small part in helping one family at a time, one neighborhood at a time, one city at a time — it’s incredibly rewarding.”
“To challenge and transform young people into socially and environmentally conscious global leaders.” That was what motivated Chris Fontana when he became 
From 1992 to 1995, Fontana served as director of the Youth Environmental Summit (YES) and co-directed two youth-organized international conferences. The 1995 YES brought together 300 high school students from 32 countries and 40 states for a week of learning about environmental issues, social action and leadership skills. “Young people took on issues of international trade, land preservation — the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in particular, overconsumption and climate change,” said Fontana. “It was powerful because it was all youth energy.” At both conferences, Fontana and his brother, Joe Fontana, worked with then high school student and future GV co-founder, Jason Foster. They began developing the idea for a youth-oriented global leadership program.
In the short-term, Fontana and GV will continue to create engaged global citizens within Seattle Public Schools. Ultimately, however, they aim to “transform the way we educate young people, both in school and out of school.” GV encourages students and guides them in creating their own unique solutions to address challenges. “You have to build on the positive,” said Fontana. “A young person needs encouragement like a plant needs water.” Students enter the GV program as learners who want to change the world, and leave as leaders capable of contributing to global solutions.
On July 21, 500 guests gathered at the 
The organization’s mission is to create “quality educational opportunities in Afghanistan that empower and inspire children and their families to build peaceful, just and life-affirming communities.” To date, Sahar has built and equipped 18 new schools in Afghanistan and educated approximately 200,000 students. The organization works in rural areas of the Balkh Province region of Afghanistan, where many students are forced to travel great distances to attend school. The journey is too long for many families to be able to afford daily transportation, but walking to school can also be perilous. “If people are in a warzone, or in a zone that is insecure…it stops the entire process” said executive director Ginna Brelsford. By building new schools in areas that need them, Sahar is bringing thousands of girls an education they would have otherwise been kept away from.
Girls were often prevented from going to school during the Taliban regime once they became teenagers. At a certain age in Afghanistan, girls can only be taught by female instructors. The dearth of female students during the Taliban regime means that there was a time when women weren’t getting teaching certificates. Now, there are not enough female teachers to keep up with the growing number of female students entering Afghanistan’s education system. Of the 412 districts in Afghanistan, 245 currently do not have a single woman qualified to teach. If girls reach a certain age, but there are no women to teach them, then their education is derailed. Sahar funds and manages an Afghan teaching training center that focuses on training female teachers in rural areas where the need for women instructors is greatest. The organization also funds the transportation of women from their villages into urban teacher training centers. This allows women who would have otherwise been deterred by transportation costs to receive the necessary certification to teach in their villages.
The success of Sahar is, at least in part, the result of the determination and enthusiasm of those whom the organization provides resources for. “If there is anything to emphasize that always strikes me, is the motivation and passion that girls and people who want to be teachers have,” said Brelsford. “They’re continuing to want to be educated over all the barriers.” Qaisary views Sahar’s work as symbolic of a larger shift in Afghanistan concerning education. “I don’t believe that we are going to go back to where we were a few years ago with the war and the Taliban. I do believe that Afghanistan is going to move forward, especially with education,” she said.
Approximately 10% of college-aged students in Ghana, West Africa are currently enrolled in a post-secondary institution. Patrick Awuah founded Ashesi University in response to the dearth of opportunities in higher education in his home country. The mission of Ashesi, a private liberal arts university in Ghana, is to “educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within [its] students the critical thinking skills, the concern for others, and the courage it takes to transform the continent.” Since opening its doors, 100% of graduates have received job offers, started their own business, or gone on to pursue postgraduate degrees around the world.
Awuah’s personal experience with higher education molded his vision for Ashesi and the dreams he has for the university’s students. He credits his experience at Swarthmore for showing him what students can accomplish when pushed to think critically about the world. “In Ghana, education tends to be very narrow in terms of the disciplinary focuses students follow. The way to do well in school here is to memorize information and repeat exactly what you’ve memorized,” explained Awuah. “This contrasts sharply with my experience in the United States at Swarthmore.”
Ashesi began with thirty students squeezed into rented classrooms. Today, it has its own beautiful campus with an enrollment of 600 students. Pending approval, Ashesi will soon offer additional majors in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. What Awuah is most proud of, however, is that the students voted to implement and respect a university honor code, the first in an African university. Under the honor code, students take all of their exams without supervision, and take on the responsibility to maintain honesty in their exams. The honor code was a step towards sustaining the high-trust community that Ashesi continues to build. “It’s a very clear indication that our students are taking very seriously this idea of Africa transformed, this idea that Africa will be transformed by enlightened leaders, and that they are committed to being those enlightened leaders for our society,” said Awuah. The honor code is a manifestation of everything Awuah hoped his students would learn when he left Microsoft to open the university.