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Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

Below you will find an incredible summary of the ongoing debates about Global Poverty and what we in the “developed world” can and should do about it. Learn more at www.policyinnovations.org.

POVERTY: Essential Resources from the Carnegie Council

What are our moral obligations to the world’s poor? In this information age, those of us in rich countries can no longer plead ignorance; we see the faces of poverty on our TV and computer screens every day.

Even if we close our eyes to the ethical arguments, many have long contended—with renewed force since 9/11—that we must alleviate poverty in our own self-interest. Our national security depends on it.

But how do we go about ending poverty? How can we address the root causes rather than just the symptoms? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

OneWorld.net selected the inspiring work of community leader and great friend of SMRC as the subject of a story on early childhood education. Doris is a special woman because she has the ideas and persistence to turn difficult situations into powerful success stories. Read the story published by OneWorld here: http://www.euronews24.org/world/mother-to-a-community-oneworld-net/

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

It doesn’t get any more straightforward than this: Poverty in Africa is still extremely high. The Bread for the World Institute has published a remarkable map of the world disclosing what percentage of people living in every country around the world is surviving on less than $1.25 per day.

The site can be visited here.

To get some perspective on this, I reflected on my morning. The first thing I did today (other than shower with ample clean water, brush my teeth with high quality toothpaste, and throw on some clothes that costs more than I’d like to admit), was walk to the store and by a cup of coffee for $1.60. There goes that alotment for the day. That cup of coffee. Out of reach for much of Africa as visible on this site. There remains much work to be done.

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

Over the years, students in developing countries have found SMRC on the web and opted to establish chapters on college campuses in their home country. This happened in Sierra Leone and below you can read the inspiring and moving story of why SMRC-SL came to be, and what it has achieved.

By Moses Beamie Seiwoh, SMRC-SL Leader

SMRC-SL was started and inspired by acclaimed youth activists, survivors of the Sierra Leone Civil War. At age nine, after nearly being buried alive as a result of disease, hunger and suffering, I pledged to spend mine life helping children. At ages 16, we successfully lobbied in the Sierra Leone’s Children’s Disarmament Campaign, an effort in the disarmament of approximately 20,000 Sierra Leonean child soldiers.
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director,

Lily Muldoon, SMRC project director, is back and we have the story to show you in a beautiful new video presentation developed by Andrea Calderson. Watch the 8 minute film and find yourself feeling totally inspired.

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

This is a truly remarkable story of a young innovator, William Kamkwamba, who brought windmill electricity to his community using ONLY the locally available assets. Anything is possible… Can this be done in Kayafungo? Also, check out his blog at http://www.williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/

Posted by Daniel Armanios, Former Global Development Intern

I found that South Africa, especially in the Eastern Cape, suffers from water scarcity, which inadequate infrastructure has exacerbated.  My goal is now to help rural communities self-develop infrastructures they can locally manage to ensure a sustainable water supply.  This goal directly emanated from what I saw on-the-ground in Manyeleti.  Through it all, I realized that all peoples share one common value: a sunny and indefatigable human spirit. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

Whether you are in the United States or live in rural Ghana, one thing is for sure, public health is the key to living a healthy life. What does public health really mean? In an impressive new campaign, “Healthiest Nation in 1 Generation,” American’s have the opportunity to engage in the questions of how public health efforts can improve our lives here in the US. The campaign aims to get American’s working  on improving our domestic health situation, but I think every nation should be part of this challenge. The most important measure of a society is whether its people are able to live a healthy, long life.

Watch the film: http://www.generationpublichealth.org/

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

SMRC is preparing an in-depth training program for students on our global development internship. We are seeking to build the capacity of each individual, of course, but we are looking for a way to train them to be catalysts for change when they get to the communities. The most compelling models that we are studying to prepare the curriculum comes from the Asset Based Community Development work that is being done at Northwestern University. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director

Take a look at a draft of our Kenya projects in a clear powerpoint presentation. It is simply amazing to see how much Lily and our team achieved in Kenya over the last 12 months.

From the ED