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Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.
Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.
You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.
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Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.
Posted on November 24, 2014
By Jesse Lee
This is the second in a series of articles written by the Adventure in Focus team. While traveling throughout Southeast Asia, AIF is documenting the projects of several GlobalWA member organizations that are working on the ground in the region. Jesse submitted this article from Thailand, while working with Bill Taylor of SE Asia Children’s Foundation.
Bill Taylor, the energetic and affable founder of SE Asia Children’s Foundation, is retired. You wouldn’t know it by spending time with him, though. He spends three to four months each year in Southeast Asia, visiting the projects he works year-round to fund. His foundation, a long-time Global Washington member, is helping children – especially girls – break the cycle of poverty into which they were born and from which they are not likely to escape without outside assistance. Bill’s positivity is infectious and his love for his work is present in everything he does. A former management consultant, he uses the knowledge and skills that he’s accumulated throughout his career to help build capacity, train leaders and strategize for organizations in Southeast Asia that are helping at-risk children obtain a stable and nurturing environment. Continue Reading
Posted on November 17, 2014
By Alyssa Brooks, the Snow Leopard Trust, a Global Washington member
On November 13, a group of executive and program directors gathered for Global Washington’s ED Roundtable to discuss a challenge that all NGO leaders face: fundraising. Brad Rutherford, Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust (SLT), led the lively discussion and talked about the success he’s had in his almost 15 years with the Trust.
“Executive Directors wear many hats,” stated Rutherford. “Fundraising is similar in that it’s never one size fits all.” Rutherford described SLT’s three main sources of fundraising – Snow Leopard Enterprises, donors and subscriptions, and annual events. Continue Reading
Posted on November 11, 2014
by Mark Coffey, chief investment and operating officer, Global Partnerships, a Global Washington member
Mark Coffey (center) meets with a group of 75 Paraguayan farmers. These farmers have formed an association that sells to BioExport. They have also banded together to purchase the tractor pictured. They are hoping that their livelihoods will improve, and that they can one day become a cooperative. Photo © Global Partnerships.
Last week I traveled to Paraguay to meet with social enterprises, agricultural producers and a government official as part of our research into new investment opportunities. Nearly a quarter of Paraguay’s population lives below the poverty line, but the country’s underdeveloped economy is currently experiencing rapid economic growth. With this kind of growth comes the chance to catalyze and expand opportunity for people living in poverty. As I flew over much of the small, land-locked country in a tiny Beechcraft plane, I noticed the flatness of the land, its many rivers, and the countless tracts of well-watered but unused farmland. It is evident that Paraguay’s agricultural sector has tremendous potential for growth.
Social enterprises
During my five days in Paraguay I was able to visit four social enterprises:
- BioExport and ARASY, two agricultural organizations that provide technical assistance and access to (and processing for) export markets. They serve smallholder farmers growing sesame and chia as well as more traditional products like cotton and rice;
- Fundacion Paraguaya, which provides credit and integrated services to people living at the base of the economic pyramid; and
- Elevate Business, which provides business training to young, emerging small and micro entrepreneurs (SME’s) who have high potential to absorb and implement concepts for markedly improving their business. Some of their clients include Fundacion Paraguaya’s clients. In the past decade, many farmers with land holdings under 8 hectares (approximately 20 acres) have realized the benefit of enriching their soil and their incomes by converting from one traditional crop (such as rice, beans, corn, and cotton) to higher priced products such as sesame and chia. Thanks to the efforts of social enterprises such as BioExport and ARASY, hereafter referred to as “outgrowers,” there is a developing export market for these higher-priced products. To scale the opportunity to more farmers, we need to build up an ecosystem where access to financing, technical assistance and markets is readily available.
To read the full article, click here.
