Unpacking Development

A couple of interesting articles designed to help Canadians deal better with the Haitian tragedy came out this weekend.  It may sound silly – why do we need help to deal with a situation from which we are so far removed?  These articles look at what the best way for us to give is, and [...]

Just before the New Year I signed up at GetInvolved.ca to help them reach their goal of 2,000,000 volunteer hours this year (through the Power of the Hour initiative).  Companies, individuals and organizations can join and set their goals, and then use the GetInvolved.ca platform to keep track of their time spent volunteering over the [...]

Around this time of year, everyone is making lists both recapping and looking forward.  Here are a couple of my favourite lists right now: MSF’s Top Ten Humanitarian Crises of 2009 Doctors without Borders writes this annual ironic top ten list to bring attention to hot spots around the world. Change.org Top Ten Victories of [...]

So, I’ve got a great new gig: blogging about development issues for young women over at Because I am a Girl.  “The Because I am a Girl movement is a global campaign to claim a brighter, safer future for girls” based on a long-term study by Plan Canada.  I blog about all sorts of stuff, [...]

This World AIDS Day I was stuck at home writing a paper for one of my classes, which meant that I missed out on all the World AIDS Day events happening around the city .  At least my paper was an evaluation of meal delivery programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, so it was certainly [...]

Sometimes you find EXACTLY what you were looking for.  Remember when I wrote about the 5 ways to get involved in a new city?  Well, one of the best ways to do that is to meet someone who’s in the know.  Three months into my semester in Vancouver, and I’ve just found the go-to person [...]

This week’s Featured Event is Dream Now‘s Bar Philanthropy.  Don’t miss it – they’re piloting crowdsourced fundraising offline and in the flesh.  2.0 meets real life.  Here’s the premise… Step One: Register at the door, pay $30 ($25 event token + $5 donation to the Millennium Network), and receive a $25 token and a token [...]

Young Voices in Research for Health 2009, an annual joint publication by the Global Forum on Health Research and the Lancet is just out, and here’s an excerpt of my contribution (you can also read the full article on Scribd or download the pdf if you want.) The godparents of global health meeting at Alma [...]

I’m a strong believer in communication as a vehicle for change.  This might sound like a generic statement, but that’s just because I’m not as good of a communicator as I’d like to be.  I’ve been realizing that a lot of what I idolize in others is the power of communication.  Paul Farmer is great [...]

If you’re anything like me, your wallet is full of points cards.  The creepy big-brother side of these cards is that they collect all sorts of data on your shopping habits, but on the other side, many of them have partnered with local charities to allow individuals to donate their points to a good cause. [...]