Thursday, May 27, 2010

Reaching New Heights for Nepalese Orphans

Ama Dablam (6,859m)
In April, international mountain guides and Managing Directors of MatterhornNepal-GuideSource Treks & Expeditions Ltd, RJ Fleming and Ang Kami Sherpa, climbed Himalayan peaks to raise awareness of their charity to educate Nepalese orphans. The World Economic Forum and Prof. Klaus Schwab supported the project, acting as patron of this awareness raising campaign. The goal of this venture was to expose the fact that 1 out of every 23 individuals in Nepal is an orphan with no access to an education, and to encourage individuals, corporations and organizations to contribute to Education for Orphans of Nepal (EON). Started in 2001 by MatterhornNepal-GuideSource, this charity presently funds the entire living and boarding school educational costs of 11 Nepalese children without families, for a period of 10 years for each child.

The climbs of Ice Land Peak (6,189m) and Ama Dablam (6,859m) in the Solu Khumbu region of the Himalayan range were undertaken in the belief that most individuals, even those who have visited or wish to visit this most coveted tourist destination, are completely unaware of the plight of nearly one million of this country's impoverished yet truly kind-hearted inhabitants. The EON project gives anyone the chance to contribute and directly improve an orphan's life, offering them the choices and hope for the future only possible through an education. EON is a Nepal registered charity; MatterhornNepal-GuideSource absorbs all administrative costs, enabling total contributions to go straight to the children's educational costs.

Obliged to abandon their attempts to summit Ama Dablam due to treacherous conditions and falling ice and rock at about 6,500m, in mid-April RJ Fleming and Ang Kami Sherpa summited Ice Land Peak, and returned safely to Katmandu.

If you wish to receive information about EON or contribute to the education of Nepalese orphans, write to info@guidesource.com

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Are you swimming against malaria?

This year's World Swim Against Malaria takes place on 25 June. The world's largest participatory swim event features Olympian Michael Phelps this year. World Swim Against Malaria is an initiative of the Against Malaria Foundation. 100% of the money raised during this event buys nets. For more info go to http://www.worldswimagainstmalaria.com/

Friday, May 7, 2010

"We Need to Start Telling the Good News from Africa"

At the World Economic Forum on Africa 2010 that is underway in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, several participants - including both Africans and outsiders - have called for a rethinking of perceptions about the continent. Too much focus is placed on what is going wrong - disease, poverty, corruption, poor infrastructure, among other problems - with too little emphasis on positive developments, they said. The world should hear about how many African economies have weathered the global economic crisis and are set to contribute to global growth over the next decade, how countries have managed to resolve longstanding military and political conflicts, and how business, government and civil society are working together to address public health threats.

"We need to change the stories that we tell about Africa," said human rights activist and social entrepreneur Hafsat Abiola-Costello, 36, the founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), an organization that promotes civil society and democracy in her native Nigeria, and the CEO of China-Africa Bridge, a group aimed at boosting mutual cooperation between China and Africa. (She is the daughter of Chief Moshood Abiola, the Nigerian businessman and president-elect who never took office and died in prison in 1998.) "We need to start telling new stories about the opportunities in Africa, the good news from Africa. Enough about the problems. We all know them. If we start telling the stories about the opportunities, who wouldn't want to take advantage and come to seize an opportunity?"

Hafsat is right. Despite all its progress in recent years, Africa still has an image problem. Perhaps the World Cup in South Africa this summer will help change people's perceptions of the continent. Watch Hafsat and other so-called Young Global Leaders (YGLs) of the Forum who are attending the meeting discuss the enormous potential of Africa in a press conference. And why not post your good news about Africa and tell us about the many opportunities that it has to offer?

Watch live streaming video from worldeconomicforum01 at livestream.com

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

A Revolutionary Material Engineered to Soak Up Oil, Like a Sponge

Very much in need today, aerogels that "can absorb oil from spills or stop pollutants for ever reaching the environment" are being created. The aerogel sponge is currently being tested and is expected to be able to clean rocks and birds covered in oil. Read about this amazing material in Eric Bland's article in Discovery News.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Advancing Economic Objectives while Demonstrating True Social Responsibility

Pierre Duponchel and his organization, Le Relais, founded in 1984, collect, sort and recycle second-hand textiles and paper. Doing so, the business has created 1,500 jobs in France and Africa for people who have been excluded from society. At the same time, Le Relais has become a major industry, recycling more than 85% of the 60,000 tons of textiles collected every year.

Make the news...

Make the news...
and tell everyone about it!