Eric Engel had never been averse to adversity. As a young internist in Geneva, Switzerland, he soon realized he had little opportunity to achieve his ambitions at his hometown University Hospital. So in 1960 with his wife and three small children, none of whom spoke English, he accepted the position of research fellow at US […]
The AppBridge.com initiative aims to empower “the Bottom Billion” through the development, implementation and promotion of education and health-focused mobile applications. Here in AppBridge’s own words is an overview of the initiative: “Through collaboration and in partnership with others, we are developing an open source, cloud-based digital platform designed to connect talented mobile application developers […]
Better Place is “accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation.” Located in Palo Alto, California, the company aims to “turn the dream of mass-selling electric cars into reality.” With Better Place, Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi, who founded the company, endeavors “to reduce worldwide reliance on oil with a market-based model and infrastructure that could potentially spur widespread […]
Karuturi Global is a genuine change agent, committed to sustainability. Its stated mission is: “To emerge as an integrated agri-products company servicing the world market through unmatched product, cost and quality advantages.” Today Karuturi Global is a large producer of cut roses, with an 8% share of the floriculture market. The company has businesses in Ethiopia, Kenya and India, producing around […]
What company’s products have been used in 140 countries? What company has had an effect on millions upon millions of children? What company’s CEO has said he reaches more youngsters in the world “than Coca-Cola or Pepsi could ever hope to reach up to the age of ten”? Give up? It’s Serum Institute of India. […]
John ‘Jody’ Kretzmann and John McKnight are the directors of Assets Based Community Development Institute (ABCD Institute) at Northwestern University in the US. ABCD mobilizes struggling communities using resources already at hand and shows them how to work toward positive change. “Challenging the traditional approach to solving urban problems, which focuses service providers and funding agencies on the […]
Many of you in the US will no doubt have heard about KaBOOM! Elsewhere, though, little is known about this non-profit organization, “dedicated to saving play for America’s children.” What is KaBOOM!? In their own words, “We are peppy, purple-adorned people who passionately promote the power of play!” It’s clear that children are more sendentary […]
Riders for Health is “working to make sure all health workers in Africa have access to reliable transportation so they can reach the most isolated people with regular and predictable health care.” In its own words, the social enterprise’s vision is “of a world in which the poor do not suffer and die for lack of […]
“Friends-International believes that together we can protect marginalized children and youth and give them exciting opportunities to build their futures.” Friends-International’s key principles include: “-Breaking the stereotypic images of pity and charity and promote empowerment, hope and transformation -Making sure everything we do has a direct, positive impact on children -Creating innovative, responsive and flexible initiatives […]
We’ve all heard the news about the worst drought in decades in the Horn of Africa and the ensuing famine. According to Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), “The impact of the drought has been exacerbated by high local cereal prices, excess livestock mortality, conflict and restricted humanitarian access in some areas.” Rather than passively hearing […]
