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In 1988, Simon Berry, Chief Executive of ruralnet|uk was working as a development worker in remote north east of Zambia, conscious that while he could buy a bottle of Coke anywhere, 1 in every 5 children under the age of five die in these areas through simple causes such as dehydration through diarrhea. Twenty years later, through the power of social media technology, Berry has launched a simple campaign asking Coca Cola to use a small part of its incredible distribution capacity to get medicines, such as rehydration salts, to these dying children.
Coincidently, in June 2008 Annie Lennox also made the Coca-Cola/child mortality link; “We can distribute Coca Cola all around the World but we can’t seem to get medication to save a child from something as simple as diarrhea and I think that that is wrong.”
Since the launch of the campaign and due to the power of a Facebook group, Simon was invited by Salvatore Gabola, Coca-Cola’s Global Head of Stakeholder Relations, to a meeting to discuss the idea further at Coca-Cola’s European HQ in Brussels. To date, the campaign’s Facebook group has reached over 4,780 members since its inception on 18 May 2008.
In June, the campaign was nominated for the NewStatesman’s New Media Award and in July was showcased at London’s 2gether08 festival. It has also been featured on BBC Radio 4’s iPM programme in May and July, on the BBC World Service on 13 July and published online by Inhabitat.com, Treehugger.com, WorldChanging.com and PSFK.
Simon explains; “Before the Facebook group I was getting nowhere at all. The group has changed everything and is the reason we’ve made such rapid progress …Continuing support for the idea is vital if we are to turn this idea into a reality and actually save some lives.”
Research and development of the campaign continues to evolve. The next objective is to get an international NGO to engage with the campaign. Meanwhile research is underway in East Africa into Coca-Cola’s distribution system and the feasibility of the idea is being investigated and reported on the website.
To find out more information and to follow the story, visit www.ColaLife.org. To support the campaign, please join the Facebook group. To get involved and submit your photographs to support the development of the campaign, please join the ColaLife group on Flickr.
More Press Coverage: Inhabitat, Treehugger, WorldChanging, PSFK
by Nick GriptonSocial Actions is an organization which aggregates actions from other social change related websites, and then provides searching and browsing of the list so that individuals can easily find ways to get involved with various causes and nonprofits. Just recently they have launched an AdWords-style widget that can be placed on a website which displays recommended social change actions and volunteer opportunities based on the content of surrounding page. All of these social change actions and campaigns are gathered from other websites such as Change.org, Idealist, Kiva, GlobalGiving, and many others.
Peter from the Social Actions blog explains how the widget works:
After you cut and paste the widget snippet code into your website, the widget automatically scans the content of each web page on which it appears and identifies the top three keywords for that page. The widget then searches for related campaigns on 20 social action platforms. It then automatically loads the top three campaigns for the keywords, with the option to discover more. As the content of your site changes, the widget checks to see if there are new keywords. As a result, your readers are always connected to fresh and relevant calls to action.
For more information on how to get the free widget, read Peter’s post.
If you haven’t already noticed, we’re pleased to announce that you may now mark photos that you’ve uploaded on Collective Lens with Creative Commons licenses. Our primary goal here at Collective Lens is to promote awareness of important issues. By allowing others to use your photos with a Creative Commons license, you are helping to spread your photos around the web, thus raising awareness.
Copyrights are important, and we take photographers’ rights very seriously. Anyone who uploads a photo has the option to keep their photo as “all rights reserved” with a copyright to their name. Anyone who uploads a photo to Collective Lens retains the copyrights to their photo. While we want to spread awareness and help important causes, we want to do it legally and with respect to photographers. Additionally, we want to give all of you the option to release your images under any Creative commons license that you deem appropriate. You can change the copyright at any time, not just when you upload a photo, and you can change the copyrights on all of the photos that you’ve already uploaded. To do so, simply log in, go to your profile, and click “edit” on any of the photos that you’ve uploaded. All of the Creative Commons Attribution licenses are available.
If you’d like to use a photo on Collective Lens, make sure you check the copyright first! Keep in mind that you can always send a message to a photographer asking for permissions. Also, just because a photo is marked as Creative Commons does not mean that you can now do with it as you wish. All Creative Commons licenses must be attributed to the photographer, and can be used only in the ways designated by the particular license chosen for that photo.
We know that these licenses can sometimes be a bit confusing, so for more information on Creative Commons, visit CreativeCommons.org. Here’s a rundown in “plain English” of what the various Creative Commons licenses mean:
- Attribution means that you must give credit to the photographer (you must attribute it to them).
- Non Commercial means that you are not allowed to sell it nor use it for advertising purposes.
- Share Alike means that you can change it, but you must then release it to others under this same Creative Commons license. In other words, you can’t modify it and then change the copyrights once you’ve changed it.
- No Derivatives means that you are not allowed to change it in any way when you use it.
Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions!
Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters to post about the same issue on the same day. The goal is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. Last year, in 2007, “the environment” was the topic of discussion. Over 20,000 blogs participated, bringing attention to the issue on a global scale with millions of readers.
This year, the founders of Blog Action Day hope to reach an even larger audience and tackle the global problem of poverty. Here at Collective Lens we’ll be participating, of course. Poverty has always been a primary focus for us, either in our articles or through the many photos uploaded by the community. For more information or ideas on what to blog about, you can check out the Blog Action Day 2008 website.
We’ve also put together our own list of suggested poverty-related topics. We’ve highlighted a number of causes and organizations in the past that deserve more attention. This list is by no means complete, but it’s a start:
- Aid for Nepali Children
- Association for Humanitarian Development (AHD)
- Blood:Water Mission
- charity: water
- Dreams Can Be Foundation
- Empowerment International
- Focal Point Aid
- HAND
- MEDA
- OrphFund
- Self-Reliance for Zambia
Have some ideas of your own? Let us know by posting a comment below!
Did you know that if you are a nonprofit organization, you could be eligible to receive a free Flickr pro account? There’s no doubt that photography can help to show the world the important work that your organization is doing, or the need for more help. After all, that’s why Collective Lens was started. As part of the Flickr for Good project, TechSoup (a nonprofit technology organization) is consulting with nonprofits regarding the usage of photography for their organization’s use when they begin to use their Flickr pro accounts.
Of course, we’d love to see some of those photos end up here on Collective Lens or in our Photography for Social Change Flickr group. There have been some great additions lately, so upload a photo or head over to Flickr and show us what you’ve got.
©Scott Harrison for charity: waterDid you know that over one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water? Only 2.5% of the world’s water is freshwater. A few weeks ago we highlighted Blood:Water Mission’s efforts to build wells in Africa, and now we’d like to bring your attention to another organization that is helping to bring relief to the one in six people in the world without clean water.
charity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of the money raised goes directly to project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of the greatest need. They also work to raise awareness of the water crisis through events, fundraising exhibitions and other public awareness campaigns.
While this public service announcement is very powerful, we found Scott Harrison’s photos even more reveling of the actual situation in Africa and the positive impacts brought on by charity: water.
©Scott Harrison for charity: water
©Scott Harrison for charity: waterAlthough it’s not very recent, TakeGreatPictures.com has a terrific interview with Scott Harrison about his photographic journeys through the years, including his work with charity: water.
As the popularity of “gap year”, career breaks, and “voluntourism” style travel continue to grow around the world and with so many programs to choose from, where does a potential volunteer start? Should you work in a school? Teach sports? Help build a house? Save turtles? Work in a zoo or help in an orphanage? All worthy options, but for the more creative among you, there is a now a new sector of the volunteer market to consider…
Creative Corners: The Global Arts Project (CIC) is a unique not for profit agency for cultural sector volunteering that specializes in creative projects for creative people where you could devise a play in a Bolivian orphanage, teach photography to street kids in Honduras, sing to teen mums in Nicaragua, share some moves in a Brazilian social circus, redecorate a children’s home in Guatemala or design a garden in Peruvian orphanage.
Creative Corners was established by 33-year-old London based Australian arts worker Monique Julian who was inspired to start this unique organization after her own experiences volunteering in La Paz, Bolivia. We interviewed her about Creative Corners and volunteer traveling.
When and how did you hear about “voluntourism”?
For me, travel was always on the cards; with parents who were travelers and with an inquisitive mind and open theatrical disposition, voyaging around the world was a natural step. I first traveled overseas in my third year of university on a six month scholarship, working as an intern in an advertising agency in Malaysia. I continued traveling around Asia for a few months and by the time I returned to Australia I was hooked. Within two years I was off again. Before I knew it nearly 4 years had passed and I was still traveling using London as a base. Although I had had amazing experiences in over 40 countries I then decided it was time to do something more ‘purposeful’. I had heard about this ‘newish phase’ of volunteering so decided a travel and volunteer trip was just what I needed. This was 2002 when I was introduced to this type of travel and I haven’t looked back.
Why did you decide to participate in such a project?
I decided I wanted to do something more than just travel – to do something more ‘meaningful’ – I wanted a travel experience with a difference so I decided to volunteer. After much searching I found an expensive UK organization and ended up heading off alone to Bolivia for 7 months not knowing that this experience was then going to change and shape the rest of my life.
How would you describe your experience?
I fell in love with the country, its people and the children I had worked teaching creative workshops in the street and rural villages, running art classes at a home for deaf children and intellectually disabled adults and writing and performing a Christmas musical and circus performance with 80 children of an orphanage.
And La Paz was an incredible city, nestled in an incredibly striking canyon at 3,600m and surrounded by the stunning snow capped peaks of illimani. The place has so much character, and the views are just stunning. I loved to see the Chola ladies in their traditional dress, the women carrying their babies, animals, food and all sorts in brightly coloured South American style pieces of material on their backs.
What were the major advantages of your involvement?
The results of the performance with the children in the orphanage were incredible – these were kids who had never performed before – ever and they learned songs, made costumes and learned a dance. It was such rewarding and satisfying work.
I believe the major advantages of my contribution and work there was that the children had access to music and a creative experience they otherwise wouldn’t have had. When people think about helping poorer countries they often only think about the obvious needs – food, beds, blankets etc and things such as creative education are overlooked. An experience of arts and culture has the potential to create change in many ways.
When and why did you decided to launch Creative Corners?
After my return to the UK I ‘fell’ into a temping job as an Office Manager for an IT company – I couldn’t have been further away from the smiling happy children with their llamas in the rural villages of Bolivia. So the job went on, although I was only meant to be there for one week but it then turned into 2, which turned into 6 months but I wasn’t happy – after my work with the children I found the job soul destroying being stuck in front of a computer all day – but I spent some of that time day-dreaming up my ‘ideal career’ and with my inspiration from abroad along with my love of the arts and travel I dreamed up Creative Corners.
I firmly believe that there is no greater success in life than following your passions and living the way you want to live & I have always lived my personal philosophy by following my 3 major joys in life – travel, the arts and making a difference through community projects.
What is your definition of voluntourism?
I believe voluntourism is any travel where you plan to volunteer at your destination. Your travel experience is more about being immersed in a culture and a community while sharing skills and giving your time where needed.
Do you think it’s relevant to know if the organization is for profit or not?
I do. There are many organizations out there that although their intentions may seem good they are making a lot of money from people wanting to do good. One leading volunteer organization turns over more than £6million pounds a year. Many organizations “use” projects in developing countries to send volunteers and make money and don’t have a personal relationship or really understand what the projects really need or could benefit from.
By choosing to travel with a not for profit organization you know that only the projects will benefit from your experience and your money isn’t just going towards salaries, marketing costs and bonuses.
What is the “plus” of your organization?
Creative Corners is a not for profit volunteer organization providing flexible, rewarding and effective international volunteer opportunities specializing in the creative arts abroad.
We encourage artists, teachers and travelers to share their creative skills with communities where they will make a difference –and we give people the opportunity to do this with and an affordable, creative and charitable organization so they can creatively change lives while creatively changing their own.
Creative Corners also aims to give individual attention and consultancy advice so volunteers can achieve their personal goals through the arts encouraging volunteers to strive for an element of public performance, exhibition, installation, recording or publication of work produced during the project. We believe ‘Process’ is important, but striving towards a final goal or ‘product’, whether that be a play, photo exhibition, CD recording, documentary, crafts stall or a published calendar, provides a tangible goal and WIN/WIN situation for everyone involved.
We also give any profits back to the projects unlike many other profit making volunteer companies and I hope to build music and arts centers at the projects with profits and any funds raised.
Creative Corners also has a personal relationship with all the projects having personally visited them all and so understanding how creative people can best work with the children.
We also have a personal relationship with all the host families who are amazing people – returned volunteers all comment on the families and say how special they are and how welcome they made them feel.
What do you have to say in regards to the accusation that these kind of trips aren’t worthy because they don’t really bring any positive change?
I believe that if you go with the wrong organization and you are not paired with a project where your skills are going to be of a direct benefit then yes I agree volunteers could be more of a drain on a project then an asset and therefore won’t change lives. But an international volunteer experience does have the potential to change lives including your own and the way you view the world no matter what your background if you choose the right organization and project for you. After you experience you will find yourself with renewed energy, commitment, greater perspective, skills and knowledge from life experience gained and you will most likely also have greater motivation to achieve personal goals. Teaching, learning and exploring in a challenging environment is a powerful means of providing the catalyst for inspiration for volunteers and also offers unique personal and professional development opportunities.
One returned volunteer Nicola Brebner remembers “….the beauty, food, people, culture, music, chaos, smells, noise, hustle and bustle, the magic of the Andes, the buzz of Brazil - it all got me… traveling in those amazing places I was forced to get out of my comfort zone and this is where I learned and was forced to take risks and chances that enriched the whole experience.”
And after my own experiences teaching art, drama, music and theater in Bolivia I believe that creative education work in needy and underserved communities in developing countries provides unique benefits. Participation in the arts, or in any form of creative expression allows children to express their own feelings and experiences through a creative means and encourages inspiration and growth. Many underdeveloped countries don’t have access to creative education resources and many children go through school without having music or art teachers so volunteers that can provide this to children do have the potential to change and inspire lives.
What are the main things a potential volunteer should consider?
If you are thinking of volunteering there are many things to consider – How long should I go for? What type of project can I really help? Should I pay to volunteer? What do fees cover and can I afford to go?
Many organizations offer fund raising ideas and support and there are possible grants and travel groups such as Travelocity who in August 2006 launched the Travel for Good Initiative, which includes a program called Change Ambassadors which hopes to bring the idea of “voluntourism” to a broader, more mainstream audience.
Jeffrey Glueck, chief marketing officer of Travelocity, says, “We think voluntourism is one of the best ways to experience a place. Our Change Ambassadors Grants relieve interested individuals of any financial constraints of taking a volunteer vacation. This way Travelocity ensures that more people every year will be free to help around the world.”
And when is a good time to go?
The answer to this is anytime! Why not take the plunge and just go! And volunteering can be for anyone including families & single parents, groups of friends, school leavers, career-breakers or retirees – there are projects to suit all sorts!
One returned volunteer Jhinuk Sarkar sums up her volunteer experience: “Since coming home and reflecting on my time in South America, I have realized how many skills I have gained from just two months of my two projects in Peru and Bolivia.
As well as seeing some astounding sights like Machu Picchu and the Bolivian Salt Flats, I have also gained some amazing memories of the warm, welcoming families I stayed with and the children and staff I worked with.
In Peru, I had an amazing time immersing myself in the language and culture. The kids loved making the masks with me, coming up with dances with Caroline and putting them altogether to perform a play- which they even performed separately for some of the children’s parents/guardians, they were very proud of their work. The children were also definitely enthusiastic when I set a self-portrait drawing competition-especially when they knew some prizes were involved! My multi-tasking skills were put to the test here! I had the best time with the children and teaching staff whilst there - we even took the kids on a picnic outing into the countryside towards the end of my time there-now there’s a memory of Peru that I couldn’t have got by just being a tourist!”
Creative Corners has many projects in need of volunteers and aim to match your interests and skills to a project that will benefit you and the project. All projects are ongoing so they work around planning your trip in the time you have available whether that’s 2 weeks or 6 months. How it works is volunteers either make a proposal of how they would like to use their skills to work on a project or else if you are not sure what you would like to do or where they then look at your skills and brainstorm with you ways in which you can apply your skills to run a meaningful project with a result and outcome.
You can read all about their projects and destinations at creative-corners.com. If you are interested in applying you just need to send an application form which can be downloaded from the website along with your CV and 2 referees.
As for the experience, it will be one you will never forget. Living and working in Latin America for a good cause while developing your own creative, teaching and project leading skills will provide you with invaluable personal and professional development experiences and new inspiration on which to draw in the future.
Check out Creative Corners: The Global Arts Project, or to learn more about the topic, Voluntourism International’s site www.voluntourism.org is a good place to start.
We just received an email from Joe McKay at Focal Point Aid is asking to help nominate their terrific organization for a grant from American Express. Please visit www.membersproject.com/project/view/N34DIQ and click on the “NOMINATE THIS PROJECT” button.
From Joe McKay:
As you might already know I am involved with an NGO, Focal Point Aid. Recently American Express posted our Coffee Bay, South Africa school proposal on their Members Project website. This means if we receive enough nominations on our project we could then be eligible for funding, as much as 2.5 million dollars. The nominating is where you come in to play.PLEASE go to our project located here www.membersproject.com/project/view/N34DIQ and click on the “NOMINATE THIS PROJECT” button. You will need to log on which anyone can do. YOU DON”T NEED TO BE A CARD MEMBER TO VOTE. This whole process should take no more then a few minutes and will provide Focal Point Aid the opportunity it needs.
If you get lost on the site, just put the below ID number in the search box.
N34DIQ
Please nominate and pass this information to all who would be interested in helping a good cause.
Thank you very much!
Joe Mckay
Class OutsideFrom the project description:
I would like to build school buildings for an educational system in crisis. Many children of Coffee Bay, S.A. go to school in an empty field. Children sit in these fields without furniture or a roof over their head and are expected to learn. I have received approval to build from Municipality, Tribal council, Headmen and Board of Education. I have received building plans from Dept. of Pub. Works and estimates from contractors. I have donated my time and accept NO payment to supervise this.
Hanging Out
In 2002, Dan Haseltine, the lead singer of the Christian rock band Jars of Clay, visited Africa. He witnessed extreme poverty, disease, and suffering. His experiences changed him, and he vowed to do something about it. Soon after, Blood:Water Mission was founded in the name of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial gifts of blood and water, and its primary goals are to help rid the African continent of AIDS and provide clean drinking water to the poverty stricken people of Africa.
Millions in Africa do not have access to clean water. Many live in both urban and rural areas where the only source of drinking water is a muddy pool or nearby river, sometimes also used for bathing or a latrine. Diseases such as typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera are commonplace in such communities, and 50% of the developing world’s population suffers from waterborne disease at any given moment. Also, due to these diseases, two million children die every year. Additionally, without access to clean water, a person infected with HIV/AIDS is much more susceptible to disease. Because AIDS directly attacks the immune system, these usually non-fatal waterborne diseases become extremely serious.
Blood:Water Mission’s first major undertaking was the 1000 Wells project, aiming to build 1000 wells to provide clean drinking water in urban and rural locations. So far, over 340 wells have been built, and many more are underway. Raising money to build a well is only the beginning, however. After a well is built, Blood:Water and its partner organizations work with community members to teach local populations how to maintain and care for their new water source. Education and local leadership involvement are crucial steps following the initial construction. In many cases, community committees are formed to supervise the use and maintenance of the wells, providing for a sustainable solution that will last for years. Furthermore, a source of clean water in the middle of the community allows for more productivity. Obtaining water is traditionally a woman’s job in many African villages, and the task usually involved a carrying a heavy load up to five miles from the water source back to the community.
by justbarak
by justbarakThe organization has also had a large part in helping two brothers, Milton and Fred Ochieng, construct a clinic in Kenya that was began by their father who died of AIDS. The brothers were sent to America to become doctors, and while they were gone their parents died of AIDS. They then returned to Kenya to piece together their lives and finish the construction project. An award winning documentary film, Sons of Lwala, portrays their struggles as they attempt to gain supporters and complete construction of the clinic.
Blood:Water is looking for volunteers to help raise awareness and money. Some former volunteers have organized group bicycle rides and school projects to raise money. Amazingly, Daren Wendell has been hiking around the world since March of 2008, raising money along the way for the organization.
Learn more about Blood:Water Mission on their website or blog, or see more photos from justbarak on Flickr.
by justbarakPlease check out Global Justice For Burma, and help bring justice for the deserving people of a country left behind by its leaders.
Coinciding with the opening of the Beijing Olympics on August 8, 2008, this group will launch an international campaign to bring Burma’s General Than Shwe and the military regime in Burma (officially known as the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC) to justice by referring them to the International Criminal Court.
The B8 Events will bring together artists, community leaders, activists, and the public. Clad in the scarlet red that symbolizes the clothing of the Burmese monks, attendees across the globe will represent international solidarity with Burma. Representatives from the International Burmese Monks Organization will be at each event to show a short video they produced, and to briefly address attendees. Throughout the events, rotating slides will show people throughout the world holding simple cardboard signs calling for justice in Burma.
by tarotastic on Flickr