These four women lead people-centered governments Do you share this dream? When you dream of the world that you want to live in, do you dream of a world in which everyone thrives; and in which everyone has a say in matters that affect their daily lives? Do you yearn for what my Ugandan colleagues wistfully sigh about Rwanda, “Oh, they have a people-centered government.” They have a government that cares about them. Is it really asking too much to not have barrel bombs dropped on you or to be able to feed your children? I have spent years looking for examples of governments that actually care a ..read more

I read books that help me be less ignorant and see outside my “silo,” the way we are surrounded by like-minded people and ideas.  It makes it a great adventure to continually be learning about things, cultures, places or groups that I don’t know about or don’t understand.  And some time ago, I realized that I do not understand parts of my own country. I just finished reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Tightrope: American’s Reaching for Hope. This husband-wife team is known for their coverage of China, such as China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power, and the ..read more

I just finished reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Tightrope: American’s Reaching for Hope. This husband-wife team is known for their coverage of China and the book about women’s empowerment, Half the Sky. They acknowledge this was the most wrenching book for them to write as they returned to Nick’s home town, Yamhill, Oregon to chronicle what directions Nick’s former classmates have gone. Sadly, many are casualties of the shift away from manufacturing or logging that employed most people in this small town in rural Oregon. Thus some have fallen into alcoholism, opioids, homelessne ..read more

The evolution of technology is helping people find ways to accomplish many different tasks. The development of the tech world is also creating new assistive technologies for people living with disabilities. Whether it’s applications on a phone or upgraded versions of older technologies, people with disabilities are contributing to the workforce more than ever. Technology for Visually Impaired Employees Screen readers such as JAWS, Non-Visual Desktop Access, COBRA, Cake Talking, and BRLTTY are making it possible for people with vision loss to absorb information from computers. These programs re ..read more

As Director at NGOabroad: International Careers and Volunteering, daily I have many conversations with people who would like to volunteer in our Syrian refugee programs in Lebanon or Jordan. I am heartened by the multitude of people who would like to help…by the Europeans especially who have welcomed Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis into their communities; the Germans who share dinners; the Danes, the Dutch, the French, the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Swedes,, the Finns, the Brits…the many Europeans who have opened their hearts and have helped refugees in their community. I am heartened by the ..read more

As Director at NGOabroad: International Careers and Volunteering, daily I have many conversations with people who would like to volunteer in our Syrian refugee programs in Lebanon or Jordan. 97% of the people who I talk to who want to volunteer in Lebanon do not know essential background. Does this offend the Lebanese? This is a beginners’ guide because I find this is what most people need.  It is difficult to tell the complex, convoluted history of this region in a simple way.  Hopefully this will inspire further reading. 1.  Protests of autumn 2019 and 2020 When I talked t ..read more

The United Nations’ first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is “No poverty,” the most important because almost half the world, 46%, lives on less than $5.50 a day according to the World Bank.  But world attention has turned away from poverty. Why? In 2004, I founded NGOabroad to link people’s skills to humanity’s challenges. Most people coming to me to volunteer believe that the most important issue in the world today is the Syrian refugee crisis; that Syrian refugees are those suffering the most and see this as THE humanitarian crisis of our time. I say, “What about Yemen? What about Su ..read more

Because racism is a pandemic, then so too must be our sustained response. The solution must be proportionate to the problem. The first step needed is an attitude shift which is covered in the companion article, “Dismantling Racism: first step is changing white attitudes”. The second step is action. People may shy away from the hard work that action requires; or it may sound too radical to them. To get to any goal, I urge that we “bite the goals into bite size bits.” As I say in the attitudes article, there is a continuum of where people stand. Some people do not identify with activism; the ..read more

If the killings of Ahmaud Arbery , Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and so many others and the protests which have rocked America do not wake us up, what will? America is at a tipping point. It is clear: we must do something.  Shift in Attitude? Big news: 76 percent of Americans now say racial discrimination in the US is a real problem, up from 51 percent in 2015. And public support for the Black Lives Matter movement increased almost as much in the past month as it did in the previous two years, according to the New York Times. I see a sea change in how America is thinkin ..read more

My focus is on BUILDING solutions. Much of my 20 years as a psychotherapist were helping people untangle human problems, envision solutions and dreams and get to goals. For the last 15 years, I have directed NGOabroad: International Careers and Volunteering to harness people’s skills to humanity’s challenges; and to help people enter or advance in international development work. See https://ngoabroad.com. I spent years to grasp what ARE the challenges and in each country? I could see the breadth and depth of the challenges…and had an revelation that to solve the problems, we must harness ..read more