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The business of voluntourism: do western do-gooders actually do harm?

Tina Rosenberg

September 13, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Zacapa

Voluntourism, or the practice of western volunteers paying to do service in developing countries, seems like a moral, do-good activity. However, the practice has been proven to have consequences, including reducing the need for local labor and stunting development of children in orphanages. There has recently been progress in discouraging volunteers from working in orphanages - the volunteer efforts in institutions never benefit the children - but true progress might involve staying at home.

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Is Cash Better for Poor People Than Conventional Foreign Aid?

Marc Gunther

September 11, 2018 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Rwanda, Matinza

Direct cash transfers to poor people in developing countries is a newer way to spend foreign aid dollars. GiveDirectly is the prominent charity who pioneered this method of giving cash as a form of aid, with the rationale that poor people are better equipped to decide where a dollar should go than an outside organization. A study sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development aims to compare the effectiveness of cash transfers and traditional nonprofit programs. The results may shape the future of aid in America and around the globe.

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African food businesses get nurturing from well-known giants

Fred de Sam Lazaro

August 13, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

Food companies like General Mills and Hershey are sharing their expertise with entrepreneurs in Africa to help strengthen their businesses and depend less on foreign imports. Employees of the company volunteer through an organization called Partners in Food Solutions, and they share advice about things like hygiene, business plans, vitamin enrichment, and more. So far over 250 African businesses have worked with more than 1,400 Partners in Food Solutions employees.

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In Kenya's Slums, Mapping A Path To Less Destruction

Eleanor Orao

August 08, 2018 |

Bright Magazine |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Kibera

Slums around cities like Nairobi are threatened as city governments seek to demolish them. One way to help, or at least give residents time to prepare to seek new homes, is a host of different types of mapping. By defining the problem - the problem being the thousands of residents and homes in slums - it becomes harder for governments to ignore those people. Map Kibera uses the software OpenStreetMap to allow for “participatory mapping,” and physical maps have proven success too. Mapping isn’t always enough, but it is an important starting point in the fight for slum residents to keep their homes.

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It Takes Consultation to Help a Village

Rachel Cernansky

July 17, 2018 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Liberia, Harlandville

To succeed at international development, consult the locals. It seems obvious, but too many failed development projects show community buy-in is not the biggest priority. Two groups are leading the way to change this. Village X and Spark MicroGrants rely on locals’ opinions to direct projects that are actually needed and desired, creating better long-term outcomes for the communities in which they operate.

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Can Science Save Development Aid?

Jacob Kushner

July 06, 2018 |

Pacific Standard |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya

A data-driven approach to foreign development/aid, one that centers randomized controlled trials and other markers of rigorous study, is gaining steam as a way to push forward programming and solutions that actually work. There are critiques that the method is expensive and doesn't scale easily, but many are excited by the potential for a new era of accountability and impact.

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Farmers staring at losses after India shuts door to ‘ndengu'

Kitavi Mutua

June 24, 2018 |

Nation Africa |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya

An initiative in Kenya showed major promise in pulling farmers out of poverty by supplying them with subsidized seeds to grow green grams, ndengu, for overseas markets. The success of the idea relied heavily on a promise by the prime minister of India to buy the entire crop, which triggered a series of steps to help the farmers grow grams and export them. But despite a bumper harvest, India banned importation of the crop to help its own farmers, leaving Kenyan officials to look at other options.

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Getting books from the U.S. feeds these students' love of reading

Fred de Sam Lazaro

June 07, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

An organization called Books for Africa collects donations of books from all over the country to send to schools in Rwanda. Books for Africa has sent over 41 million books over the past 30 years to 53 different countries. Students at one of the schools receiving the books in Rwanda say they enjoy reading because it helps them improve their vocabulary and learn about American culture, but they also wish they could receive more books about Africa.

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The only scheme proven to end poverty – but too bespoke to scale?

Thomas Graham

May 16, 2018 |

Apolitical |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

An intensive, long-term approach to solving poverty, piloted by an NGO in Bangladesh, has shown serious promise since its start in 2002. However, as the program is piloted in countries across the world, questions about how to emulate results while keeping costs down have kept the program from being effectively scaled.

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#MeToo sex scandals spur interest in standards for the aid sector

Ben Parker

May 02, 2018 |

The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

There is no international watchdog monitoring the estimated 450,000 humanitarian aid workers operating worldwide. After sex-for-aid abuses in West Africa became high-profile news in 2002, initiatives were established to regulate the sector. But without third-party enforcement, these initiatives continue to rely on the voluntary buy-in of NGOs and IOs, allowing sexual abuse and other malpractice to continue.

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