A Swiss Athlete’s Attempt to Swim the Rhine River

At the beginning of May, Swiss athlete Ernst Bromeis attempted to become the first person to swim the 1,230-kilometers of the Rhine river, from its source in Tomasee, Switzerland, through 6 countries, to its mouth in Holland. The idea to swim an average of 50 kms per day for one month through strong currents, rapids and swirls, in ice-cold […]

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“Drawing upon Humour for Change”

Liza Donnelly, a Cartoonist for New Yorker magazine, was in Geneva, Switzerland recently for the “Cartooning for Peace 2012” exhibition taking place from May 3rd to June 3rd. The Cartooning for Peace initiative aims to assemble political cartoonists from all over the world to promote freedom of expression. One hundred artists are currently on its […]

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Helping to End Global Hunger

A promising and feasible way of addressing global hunger is described in an article by Amanda Richardson, Fellow at the Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights. Here’s an excerpt: “…even though in general the land women own is usually smaller and of poorer quality than land men own, [according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of […]

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An Education for Lovisa

The Maya Library and Leapfrog Scholarship promote the education of orphans at the Charis Center and Junior School near Kampala, Uganda. The project encourages reading and writing, and creates an opportunity for graduates to continue their studies in secondary school. Currently the Leapfrog Scholarship is sponsoring Lovisa, the first scholarship recipient, so she can continue her secondary studies […]

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Women Helping Women (and Others)

Giving Women is a non-profit association based in Geneva. Its members support selected projects directed at women and/or founded by women. Village Exchange International-Ghana (the VEG Project) is one such venture. It aims “to improve the lives of women in poverty through a combination of income-generating activities, education, and financial services.” Specifically, the project promotes “the self-actualization of Ghana’s […]

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Climbing for Kids

Justin Grodman loves nature and hiking. He is on a mission to help inner city kids in San Francisco have the chance to enjoy nature through a fundraiser he describes below. “I am planning on hiking Mount Whitney next summer and am doing it through a Bay Area program called Climbing for Kids. It is the […]

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Making Sure Research Is Available to Anyone

Founded in 1936 by Sir Henry Wellcome, the Wellcome Trust‘s vision is “to achieve extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. In pursuit of this, we support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities.” As heard on the BBC just a few days ago, “One of the world’s largest research charities, the Wellcome Trust, […]

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Farewell to Racism

Just how racist is America?  From my standpoint, not very.  I realize this is just one person’s view, but I’m not just basing it on what I feel. Like the rest of you, I watch the evening news and surf the Internet to find out what CNN, Fox News and the other television cables and […]

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Trekking and Climbing for Orphans in Nepal

It’s been two years since MatterhornNepal-GuideSource Treks & Expeditions (MNGS) officially founded the Education for Orphans of Nepal (EON) charity. Started in 2001 and completely funded by company profits, EON was legally registered in 2010 to allow anyone to contribute to the living and educational expenses of these Nepalese children without families. While MNGS still funds […]

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Peter Diamandis: Abundance Is Our Future

Peter Diamandis is Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, a non-profit organization whose stated mission is “to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, thereby inspiring the formation of new industries and the revitalization of markets that are currently stuck due to existing failures or a commonly held belief that a solution is […]

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