Apropriate Development

Good Magazine, started by Ben Goldhirsch, a 2003 Brown grad, that I unfortunately didn't know, is a magazine to check out. Not only is it printed on paper containing 30% recycled post-consumer fiber, but if you subscribe for a year, 100% of your subsciption fee can go to one of their partnering non-profits - and the list is pretty good.

Although, I have visited www.idealist.org many times for job listings or volunteer opportunities in my area, I have only recently joined their mailing list. On Friday, I received a newsletter from the site and its founder, Ami Dar. His story, of being an Israeli soldier guarding the border and looking over at the Palestinians and realizing that there are people over there that would also "share their last pair of dry socks" comforted me. Sometimes, an idealist feels like they are the only one out there. Yet I am definitely not. During the week of March 12-18, and again during April 23-29, Idealist and many others throughout the world will be taking part in a movement to build a global network of people who want to make their communities and our world a better place. Check it out at www.idealist.org!

A good documentary can enlighten the viewer on a subject, but a really good documentary can move a viewer to action. Born Into Brothels is one of those documentaries. I had started following the non-profit organization Kids with Cameras while I was in the Peace Corps, but hadn't really been moved to donate or volunteer for the cause. After watching the documentary in which children living in a red light district in India are empowered and taught to take pictures to tell their story, I feel compelled to help their cause. As a grant writer, I try to convey the need through descriptive words, but I often struggle with getting the reader to "see the picture." In Born with Brothels, you can't help but see and be compelled.

This week is Peace Corps Week. I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) having served in Jamaica from June of 2003 through September of 2005. To all of the approximately 187,000 Americans who have served as PCVs throughout the world, congratuations on your service. You have participated in one of the greatest development projects in the world. To all of the many Americans who have contemplated joining, do it. And to all those non-Americans, find a similar program; there are many out there. This week, look for more about Peace Corps here on this blog and throughout your communities. Check out www.peacecorps.gov!

On the way to work or on the way home, I often turn my radio to 89.7 WGBH, which is a public broadcasting station, when I can't find an uplifting song or story. They had an NPR story on today that I only caught bits and pieces of, but it was about AIDS in Vietnam and the work one lady was doing to give those with AIDS a place to call home and a place to feel accepted. I felt refreshed by it, even thought I didn't hear most of the story. The tone wasn't sad or a feeling of helplessness in the face of the world's challenges, but rather positive, uplifting, and encouraging. It's very different from the feeling I get when I listen to the local news, national news, or really any other news stories. It's seems like some of the main networks try to do a positive piece on their nightly news shows - at least one per night that is. But I wish we could find more time to share the positive stories in our world.