Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

This post originally appeared on The Socially Conscious Blog on January 14th, 2010 (by me).  Please check out their website and read many other inspirational posts :)  Thanks to Shawn Sieiro, a phenomenal editor!

In a world of capitalist businessmen and women whose main interest lies in their green bottom line, Ashoka goes against the grain by bringing the rare individual – whose purpose is to save the world – into the spotlight.

Ashoka describes itself as the “global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.” It invests in people.

Wherever there is a need, in any part of the world, Ashoka strives to bring support and solutions.  One primary way of doing that is by offering three-year fellowships to people who have worked to bring justice to their part of the world over the course of their entire adult life.  Their fields of work are in civic engagement, economic development, environment, health, human rights, and education.  Ashoka aims to approach social change in a comprehensive way for all their projects.

A Socially Conscious Strategy

Ashoka works on three levels – supporting the social entrepreneur, bringing communities of social entrepreneurs together, and building infrastructure and financial systems for the growth of the citizen sector.

By building such a progressive network, their impact can be much larger.  Each entrepreneur has proven to have immense commitment and dedication to their work and by linking together the work of many entrepreneurs, Ashoka is able to identify cutting edge trends and implement them more broadly.

Ashoka’s approach is holistic, and in that regard, unique.

They recognize the relationship between the business sector and non-governmental organizations, and that without this relationship there can be no progress.

Check out this interesting video about how Ashoka leverages business partnerships, culture and technology to better the state of thousands of farmers in Africa:

One of Ashoka’s goals is to close the gap between the business and civil societywhile creating a synergy between both communities.  They have developed programs like micro-financing and strategic partnerships to further their goals of aggregate change.

Early Stages of Development

Founded by Bill Drayton in 1980, Ashoka has led the way in the field of social entrepreneurship. Drayton has been involved in social change from a very young age.  In high school, he created the Asia Society, a group that became the largest student organization, and also became a member of the NAACP.  He believed that if people were concerned with social injustices in the West, they could only be more disturbed by the greater inequalities in the East.

Bill Drayton, Founder of Ashoka

Ashoka’s first fellow was elected in 1981 in India. India remains a strong area of focus and even harbored the inspiration for their name.  Ashoka was a leader in third century BC who unified the entire subcontinent by renouncing violence and dedicating his life to social welfare and economic development.

The strong, broadly spreading oak tree symbolizes their philosophy and commitment to changing the world through expansive networks and a strong support system.

Married to a Vision: Hasina Kharbhih

“A successful entrepreneur is married to a vision and cannot rest until it has transformed all of society.” - Hasina Kharbhih

Hasina Kharbhih is one person chosen by Ashoka for a three-year fellowship.  Her life exhibits those traits perfectly.

Hasina Kharbhih, Ashoka Fellow

A young Indian woman who works in Meghalaya in northern India, her work involves issues like child trafficking, HIV/AIDS intervention, and sustainable livelihood.  She first received recognition as a teenager when she was chosen as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for Positive Living. Ashoka chose her because they want to help her in her efforts to spread theMeghalaya Model, an impressive and complete strategy to deal with child trafficking.

Her model is one of the most effective in all of Asia, and involves rescuing and restoring the lives of young girls caught in the web of human trafficking.

Many Ashoka Fellows go on to receive further recognition and awards:

● Kathryn Hall-Trujillo is the founder of the Birthing Project and was recently named one of the top 21 leaders of the 21st century by Women’s eNews.  Her work emphasizes the life of the mother in countries like the U.S., Canada, Cuba, Ghana, Honduras and Malawi.

● Nnaemeka Ikegwuono was chosen as the 2010 Rolex Young Laureate for his work in improving the lives of farmers in Nigeria with his interactive rural radio service.

● In October of 2010, Alvaro Ugalde was a recipient of the prestigious Bravo Award for his work in water resource preservation in Costa Rica.  He aided in establishing national parks in Costa Rica and is regarded as a top environmentalist.

Ashoka in the News

On November 12, 2010, Ashoka had the honor of attending the G20 Summit in South Korea.  Ashoka’s Vice President Bill Carter joined President Barack Obama, Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to announce the winners of Ashoka’s Small and Medium Enterprise Contest.

William Foote’s Root Capital and Vineet Rai’s Aavishkaar were among the winners.

December 16, 2010 brought additional good news to Ashoka when Google announced it would donate $1 million to support their News and Knowledge Entrepreneur Program.  This program operates at the “nexus of news knowledge, and social innovation”.  They support entrepreneurs whose innovations promise to better inform, engage, and connect the world.

Bill Drayton will join 39 other visionaries whose goal is to transform the world through aSocial Entrepreneur Empowerment Series January 11th, 2011 through January 20th.  Drayton will discuss how he came up with his concept and what you can do to change the world in your own way.  It should be an exciting and inspirational tele-summit!

There are a number of exciting ways to get involved with Ashoka.

You can nominate a person who you believe has an incredible concept to better the world, or volunteer directly with an Ashoka Fellow.  You can volunteer virtually or in the field.  If you are the type of person who has been involved in leadership and civic activities your entire life, there may be a spot available for you as an Ashoka employee.

Social enterprise is a rapidly expanding field, and you will find that Ashoka is fast evolving into a major player.

Consider it Globalization 3.0, consider it socially conscious entrepreneurship.

But whatever you want to call it, one thing is for certain and that is everyone on the playing field is benefiting from the effort put in, not just the big businesses.

And that is what makes Ashoka real public innovators.

For a visual feel of what Ashoka is all about, check out this informative video on how people with system changing solutions are changing the world.

If you liked this post, please comment & share it with others.

Review of National Geographic's North Korea

Three nights ago my husband and I watched a documentary on North Korea by National Geographic.  It came out back in 2007 and a lot has happened in North Korea since then, but the core values of the nation are essentially the same.  Then again, they're essentially the same as they were in the 1950s.

It began with a humanitarian mission to the "hermit country".  A crew from National Geographic teamed up with a doctor who planned on performing one thousand operations on North Koreans with cataracts that cause blindness.  The documentary team was undercover, obviously, and they were the only Americans in the nation.

I won't tell you too much about it, because it is worth watching yourself, but a few things blew me away.  First, there are two MILLION soldiers guarding the border between North and South Korea.  Two million!  There are also over a million land mines and an electric fence.

Second, they had a famine during the 1990s that killed three million North Koreans.  The children that grew up during that time are permanently stunted in growth.

Third, they worship Kim Jung-Il like he is the son of God.  Literally, that's not an exaggeration.

Last, the prison camps are like something out of a Cold War science fiction movie.  If you defect from North Korea and manage to slip past the soldiers, land mines, and electric fence, your entire family is placed in hard labor prison camps.  Children, too, for the rest of their lives.  One defector recounted a story of when he was a guard in one of those camps about a group of children who fought over a kernel or corn in cow dung.  And it's not only the families of defectors that are placed in these camps, it is anyone who is remotely disloyal to Kim Jung-Il.

I am normally one who sees the possibility of a solution to anything.  Not here.  The children are taught from the day they are able to understand that America is the enemy.  Old men promise to kill all the Americans to honor Kim Jung-Il.  It's hard to imagine a nation that size and with so many people, so completely under the control of such an evil leader.  Check it out.  Tell me what you think.

Socially Responsible Business

(Image from priseworks.com)

My last post covered the concept of fair trade and globalization.  No one is thrilled at the idea of millions of workers being exploited for low wages and high profits.  Combine that with a growing desire among consumers to have items that you don't have to feel guilty for purchasing and voila, enter the change-makers.

LifeStraw, an invention that filters cholera
and typhoid

There are two entities at play here: the social entrepreneur and the socially responsible business. The social entrepreneur sees a problem and builds a business to address the problem on a large scale.  Rather than watching the news and feeling fear and trepidation at the massive problems our world faces, the social entrepreneur says, "let's fix it!"  They use a business model to solve problems without the end goal of becoming a multi-million dollar industry, but to change the world one section at a time. To read an inspiring story about one woman who changed her world, read about Maria Teresa Leal here.  Nick Moon and Martin Fisher believe that poor people don't need handouts, they need jobs.  From clothing lines created by women living in barrios in order to create sustainable jobs to water pumps for irrigation in Africa, social entrepreneurs  are changing the world significantly. Awesome. 

The Socially Responsible Business incorporates the values of fair trade.  They make sure all workers are fairly compensated and treated well, from the growers/ creators of the product to the factory employees to the sales team.  American Apparel is a large corporation with equally large ethics.  Smaller companies, like Ten Thousand Villages (who, I know, I've mentioned a lot lately), take this a few steps further and intentionally create a business model in order to build sustainable employment.

This is part of the coming wave.  As an idealist, I firmly believe that the world can become a better place with hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit.  Let's get going!

Fair Trade

Globalization has had a profound effect on the world over the course of the past three decades. We are in a very interesting, exciting time.  We are experiencing a technological revolution; it's far from over.  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina began saying in 2004 that we were "at the end of the beginning" of the information age and that the last 25 years were just "the warm up act".  Technology isn't done with us yet.  We are now living in the formative years of Globalization 3.0 (Friedman, It's a Flat World After All).

We have seen the ugly side of globalization, the economic kick-in-the-butt of out-sourcing and off-shoring.  We have also seen foreign investors, at the advice of the World Bank, buy up businesses in Africa, strip their assets and abandon them.  With the advent of social media and instant access to world events, we know that this system is failing.  Exploiting the developing world is not a nice way to do business.

Ten Thousand Villages employs craftsmen is
isolated areas and provides a sustainable
livelihood.

Enter 3.0.  The next wave will not be large corporations that are only concerned with the bottom line.  It will be social entrepreneurs, intelligent business men and women who want to combine global enterprise with a genuine desire to change the world.

All that to say this: fair trade will be a big part of this movement.  Fair trade has been around a while, but is now becoming more mainstream.  Walmart now carries fair trade coffee, which in essence means, "we pay the laborers in the coffee fields a fair wage and do not exploit them. We create jobs and want to make the world a more fair, equal place for everyone."  Other businesses employ people in isolated areas as craftsmen and sell the wares for a profit in the States, while giving the workers good pay so that they don't have to travel to the cities.  Now wouldn't that be an exciting field to be a part of?

The information age makes us aware of what's happening and lays a responsibility on the consumer that has never been felt before.  Look for Fair Trade labeling on your products.  You will have a more unique product and know that you are helping to change the world.

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

I have recently been introduced to a non-profit organization called Ashoka.  They are an amazing group  that sponsors social entrepreneurs; a title for, to put it in simple terms, people who are changing the world a little bit at a time.  I'm not sure where I first heard about them, but over the past few months their name has been reaching my ears.

Ashoka awards fellowships to people that have been impacting their world during the course of the entire life.  One of those people is Hasina Kharbhih. "A successful entrepreneur is married to a vision and cannot rest until it has transformed all of society," says Hasina.  She works in Northern India on issues like child trafficking, HIV/AIDS intervention, and sustainable livelihood.  She first received recognition as a teenager  when she was chosen as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for Positive Living.  Ashoka chose her because they want to help her in her efforts to spread the Meghalaya Model, an amazing holistic strategy to deal with child trafficking.

Ashoka aims to approach social change in a holistic way for all their projects.  They involve the government, non-profits, businesses, and citizens.  This is an organization that is really getting things done.  For more information, take a look at www.ashoka.org.

Some Thoughts on Human Rights

It's been a long time since my last post.  I admit that I've been very overwhelmed by the amount of human rights violations the world over, many of which are condoned, or at least looked over, by entire governments.  Then I write a paper or a blog, only to have it shelved, forgotten, or collecting page views in cyberspace.  I'm a writer, yes, but I'm also goal oriented, and my writing needs to serve a purpose.  As a major in international relations, I've read papers that say that our field should be one of theory, not practice.  Or at least that a desire for action leads to a tainting of the academic field because it lends a biased perspective.  Which is why, despite a gaggle of theorists, our world is one of inequality in economics, human rights, civil liberties, and every other aspect you can think of.  It's as easy to feel satisfied in writing as it is to tithe in church; I'm paying my dues, I'm fulfilling my purpose.  But will it make a difference, or just fill up the coffers?  When will it feel like I've done enough?  Probably when there is no longer a "great cry throughout the land".  

Over the next month I will be researching human rights violations in the Gaza Strip.  I am meeting with a number of expatriates and Americans who have traveled there and assisted in humanitarian work.  One person in particular has traveled there recently in an attempt to deliver medical supplies.  I wish with all my hear that I could go with him next time, so if someone feels like granting me a research fund feel free!  Look for the posting in mid-January.  Thank you all for reading :)

The Congo and Voices of Refugees

I wanted to post a quick update on some ongoing research concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well an upcoming feature called Voices of Refugees. This coming Monday I will post a fascinating interview featuring the Executive Director of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, Susan Johnson. We will explore the issues the Congo is facing, such as the extreme violence against women and current health issues, along with what the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is doing to alleviate some of the suffering.

Recently, I have had the privilege of meeting a number of female refugees from the Congo. I have quickly realized that they are in no state to make any type of comments on their experience in their beautiful, yet tragic, home country. One social worker close to the ladies informed me that they have just recently arrived, and are just now at the point where they have stopped simply sitting on the floor and staring at the wall. They have lived a life of terror. It will take much more than a sympathetic ear to begin to heal their wounds. The children adjust quicker than the adults, but the struggles they face upon entering a Western school and lifestyle is overwhelming. It is humbling to witness their quiet strength. I look forward to getting to know these families more and witnessing their metamorphosis as they heal and grow in Peace.  

An Update on the Situation in the Congo

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, is worse than previously suspected, although it is hard to fathom anything much worse.  The numbers of women systematically gang-raped has increased from an estimate of around 240 to now closer to 500, all during the same two week time period of July 30^th through somewhere around August 14^th.  The growing number represents small villages in the North and South Kivu provinces that were attacked during the same period of time. 

Numerous complaints have been made in online forums concerning the idea that the world does not care what happens in the Congo because there is nothing to gain materially from them.  This assumption is wrong.  In terms of natural resources, out of all the African countries, the Congo has the most to offer.  Interestingly, many of the villages targeted were along the route that is used to traffic illegally extracted minerals.  Margot Wallstrom, a UN special envoy on sexual violence in armed conflict, cited horrific accounts from women attacked around Kibua, a village in North Kivu. She reported that “militiamen shoved their hands inside women’s sexual organs to look for hidden gold and that the village was surrounded so that no one could run away.”[1] 

Much has been done in the Congo and other African nations to bring the illegal trade of so-called blood diamonds, also called conflict diamonds (diamond that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments[2]) under control and stop the violence, but not enough[3].  

All crime has its motivation.  The issue of illegal trade serves to understand the motivation behind these heinous acts a little bit more, at least, more so than rape and torture for the sake of rape and torture.  There must have been a unifying goal to get so many different militia groups working as one, over such a broad sweep of land, and such a short period of time.  Four years ago I worked in a refugee camp in Europe.  I recall meeting a group of young girls with beautiful eyes and energetic spirits.  When I asked them where they were from, they replied in unison and with great pride, “The Congo!”  They were there alone, having escaped to Angola on the back of a pick-up truck with a group of orphans.    The war in the Congo has been going on since it first became independent, over forty years ago now.  My hope is that as time goes on, the motivation will become known, and a solution found.   

---

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/world/africa/08nations.html?_r=3&ref=world

[2] UN definition of conflict diamonds

[3] http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/congo.htm

Nearly 200 Women Gang-Raped Near UN Congo Base

Nearly 200 Women Gang-Raped Near UN Congo BaseAugust 24, 2010 Crystal Huskey

On July 30, 2010, a series of breathtakingly atrocious crimes were committed against 200 women and four baby boys, ages one month, 6 months, one year and 18 month. Rwandan and Congelese rebels raped, pillaged, and plundered their way through a number of villages only a few miles away from a U.N. peacekeeping base. Now, more than three weeks later, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo has no statement to issue about the events.

The rebels blockaded the roads, keeping the victims in and the peacekeepers out. On top of that, there were only 25 peacekeepers stationed there. They were no match against the 200 to 400 rebels occupying the towns.

Many of the rebels were from the FDLR, the group that committed the mass genocide in 1994 in Rwanda. They fled to the Congo, and have been terrorizing the population there ever since. According to the survivors, they were accompanied by the Mai-Mai rebels. Mai-Mai is a term referring to basically any militia based group active in the Second Congo War (1998-2003) and its aftermath. Most were formed to resist the invasion of Rwandan forces and their affiliated Congolese rebel groups.

Last year, 8,300 rapes were reported in Eastern Congo, and many more cases are believed to be unreported. Using rape as a weapon has become shockingly commonplace in Africa. According to the International Rescue Committee, one of the primary aid organizations for survivors of rape in the Congo, “rape is used as a weapon of war in Congo. Armed groups rape to terrorize and control women and communities and to humiliate families. It’s calculated and it’s brutal. The International Rescue Committee is focusing on emergency care, counseling, prevention, advocacy and other support for survivors.”

A 2007 report in the New York Times describes the scene in Congo well by interviewing a gynecologist in a Congo hospital. "We don't know why these rapes are happening, but one thing is clear," says Dr Mukwege who works in south Kivu province, the epicenter of Congo's rape epidemic. "They are doing this to destroy women." According to John Holmes, the United Nations Undersecretary of Humanitarian Affairs, the sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world. That seems to be an understatement. The escalation of rape in the Congo took off in the 1990s, a direct correlation to the waves of Hutu militiamen who escaped into the Congo forest after the genocide in Rwanda.

The problem is much bigger than the resources devoted to it and is escalating every day. The following aid groups are doing work in the region to support the victims of rape.

International Rescue Committee – www.theirc.org

Eastern Congo Initiative – www.easterncongo.org

Sakineh Ashtiani

Although Sakineh Ashtiani's case is being widely reported this week, I wanted to analyze the situation myself, even if for no other reason than to understand it more personally.

From the news reports, her story is summed up in a few facts:
Sakineh was sentenced to death for the crime of adultery and murder. The files containing the evidence on her husband's murder are missing. She was originally accused of an "illicit relationship" with two men (which occurred after her husband's death) and sentenced to 99 lashes. It wasn't until one of the men previously mentioned was linked to her husband's murder that she was accused of adultery while married and involvement in the murder.  Her two children successfully voiced her story to the world and are lobbying to have her released, or at least not stoned.

None of the details of the murder case are available. She confessed under extreme duress and torture. It is not the crimes themselves (or lack thereof) that are at the center of the controversy, but the method of execution. According to www.apostatesofislam.com:

"In stoning to death, the victims's hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack. Then, this human "package" is buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. If its a woman, she is buried upto her shoulders. This is to give her an seemingly equal (but nonetheless impossible) chance to escape recognizing her lesser physical strength.  After the hapless individual has been secured in the hole, people start chanting "Allah hu Akbar" (meaning, God is great), and throw palm sized stones at the head of the victim from a certain distance (a circle is drawn).  The stones are thrown until the person dies or until he/she escapes out of the hole and crosses the circle. Escaping is impossible, given that the individual's hands are tied behind their backs and they are buried in a hole upto their necks or shoulders (in the case of males and females respectively).  Naturally, the procedure is extremely barbaric and bloody."

The events that have taken place this week have particularly astounded me. The Times of London published a picture of what was presumably Ashtiani without the traditional head dress. The Iranian regime declared that it was indecent for her to expose herself in that way, and subjected her to another 99 lashes. The Times claimed that they received the picture from her former lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, who in turn claimed to have received it from Ashtiani's son. There are many questions unanswered here, but I'm sure there is a lot going on behind the scenes that the public does not know about. Mostafaei was reunited with his family in Norway this past Thursday, after being separated from them since fleeing the country. They were previously held as political prisoners in order to place pressure on Mostafaei (www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/iran-must-end-harassment-stoning-case-lawyer-2010-07-28).

Many countries and groups have loudly declared their opposition to what is happening to Sakineh, including France, Brazil, and the Vatican.  It is not simply a cry against one woman’s inhumane treatment, involving torture, threats, and ultimately a slow and painful death, but the lack of basic human rights being given to prisoners, whether political or criminal.  Hopefully this can become a rallying point that will change the ways of the Iranian government and the future of its citizens. 

For more information and ways to help Sakineh, visit www.freesakineh.org or http://www.facebook.com/savesakineh

For Amnesty International’s view on stoning in Iran, visit http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/campaigning-end-stoning-iran-20080115