International Relations

He's Turning Lights on in War-Torn Rural Somalia, One Panel at a Time

https://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/hes-turning-lights-on-in-war-torn-rural-somalia-one-panel-at-a-time/88118?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Kevin Knodell

OZY

28 October 2018

Text / Under 800 Words

A Somali refugee who made good in America is working to connect people in his home country with solar power through a company he launched in the U.S. He’s had modest success connecting about 1,000 people so far, giving them better access to online banking and outside news and information. But he faces many challenges as well as competition and the added stress of finding banking partners when international regulators are leery of investing in a country linked to terrorism.

Pakistan Tries a New Way to Pay for a Dam: Crowdsourcing

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/world/asia/pakistan-dam-fund.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Meher Ahmad

The New York Times

25 October 2018

Text / 800-1500 Words

Under financial strain, Pakistan is asking its citizens and Pakistanis abroad to donate money to build two dams. Only $48 million of the estimated cost of $14 billion has been raised so far, yet the country’s new prime minister Imran Khan is optimistic. “We can build dams in five years if the donations continue,” he said.

For refugees, the best solution is often just cash

https://www.fastcompany.com/90239264/for-refugees-the-best-solution-is-often-just-cash?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Adele Peters

FastCompany

27 September 2018

Text / Under 800 Words

The International Rescue Committee’s cash transfer program has seen success most recently in Colombia, by helping Venezuelan refugees start fresh in a new place. For the Del Carmen family, cash transfers of $66 per household member for three months provided the capital necessary to create a new income stream - a mini market that allows Yoleima del Carmen, the mother, to feed her family. This is part of a broader trend in the international development space in which more and more funding is allocated to cash transfers.

The Stoplight Battling to End Poverty

https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/the-stoplight-battling-to-end-poverty/88535?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Nick Dall

OZY

25 September 2018

Mixed Media / 800-1500 Words

The Poverty Stoplight, heralded as “a revolutionary yardstick” to assess poverty levels, is a bottom-up tool designed for families around the world. It allows families to see indicators of poverty and take action steps to move from red to yellow to green. By empowering families with information as opposed to the more tradition data collection methods that serve government or NGOs, this tool can be an essential first step in addressing poverty proactively. It is used in roughly 30 countries and growing.

The business of voluntourism: do western do-gooders actually do harm?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/13/the-business-of-voluntourism-do-western-do-gooders-actually-do-harm?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Tina Rosenberg

The Guardian

13 September 2018

Text / Over 3000 Words

Voluntourism, or the practice of western volunteers paying to do service in developing countries, seems like a moral, do-good activity. However, the practice has been proven to have consequences, including reducing the need for local labor and stunting development of children in orphanages. There has recently been progress in discouraging volunteers from working in orphanages - the volunteer efforts in institutions never benefit the children - but true progress might involve staying at home.

Is Cash Better for Poor People Than Conventional Foreign Aid?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/opinion/is-cash-better-for-poor-people-than-conventional-foreign-aid.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Marc Gunther

The New York Times

11 September 2018

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Direct cash transfers to poor people in developing countries is a newer way to spend foreign aid dollars. GiveDirectly is the prominent charity who pioneered this method of giving cash as a form of aid, with the rationale that poor people are better equipped to decide where a dollar should go than an outside organization. A study sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development aims to compare the effectiveness of cash transfers and traditional nonprofit programs. The results may shape the future of aid in America and around the globe.