In focusing on world-wide philanthropy news this week, I both wanted to share the following items and give a shout-out to Catalogue’s international non-profits. Definitely check them out to learn more about making a difference all around the world.
Haiti, one year later — For the 1-year anniversary of the 7.0Mw earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Big Picture on boston.com paid tribute last week to the “12 months of struggle and heartache photos of (and by) Haitians as they continue to cope with the aftermath of such a massive disaster.” These images certainly transcend words, so do look for yourself.
Survey: What do poor kids need? — In Minneapolis this Monday, the Star Tribune reported on “an unusual survey by the ChildFund Alliance,” whose staff members asked “100 children ages 10 to 12 in the communities where they worked” what they needed the most. What was foremost in the minds of the poorest children in Asia, Africa, and the Americas? Education: “when asked what they would do if they were president for a day, nearly 60 percent said they would educate all children, build more schools, or fix up schools already there.” When asked what they would buy with $1, “45 percent said food and/or water 19 percent said clothes;” and when asked what they most feared, “30 percent said animals, particularly snakes.”
World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report — According to last week’s State of the World report from Worldwatch Institute, “The key to alleviating world hunger, poverty and combating climate change may lie in fresh, small-scale approaches to agriculture.” As the Guardian reported, the study’s authors explored “community-based initiatives in urban farming, school gardening and feeding programmes, and indigenous livestock preservation” and ultimately suggested that “instead of producing more food to meet the world’s growing population needs, a more effective way to address food security issues and climate change would be to encourage self-sufficiency and waste reduction” in countries from all points on the wealth spectrum.
Women’s Global Philanthropy Leadership To Be Focus of International Conference — This coming March, the focus of the 22nd annual symposium at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University will be “Women World Wide Leading through Philanthropy” and, according to PRNewswire, the event will unite women leaders “from around the globe who are changing lives and communities internationally.” Interestingly, the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Center recently completed a study on the varied giving habits of men and women, which found that women are indeed “part of a larger community of female philanthropists who share their passion and their desire to strengthen their hometowns and the world.”