Seems like a pretty normal situation.

However, what if that bank was you? What if poor students and entrepreneurs from across the world told you why they needed a loan, how it would help them and were willing to pay you back (with interest)?

Seems like an interesting concept?

Well, that’s exactly what Kiva.org is – a crowd-sourced micro-lending website/platform service that allows individuals (like you and I) to lend money to extremely low income students and entrepreneurs across the globe.

Crowd-sourced micro-lending?

This is the source of how Kiva operates and it’s basically a group of people contributing Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/kiva/ Ripple (verb) – to cause small waves.

A ripple effect is often used to describe a situation where an effect from an initial state can be followed outwards incrementally. These effects can be either negative or positive and occur quite frequently in society and yes, the Internet. But let’s switch it up for a few seconds – We use search engines (like Google) to look for things on the web (news, entertainment, products, information, etc.).

Alright, so imagine combining the two and creating a search engine that creates a positive and socially conscious ripple effect.

Well on May 4th 2007, 4 friends from Australia (Jehan Ratnatunga, Simon Griffiths, Matt Tilleard and Mack Nevill) did just that.

Together they decided to use Google’s built in search engine (Google Co-op) to build a non-profit website that harnesses the power of the Internet, leverages affiliate advertising to generate revenue, and use that money to help people, instead of Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/ripple/ What if your plastic shopping bag or the ring pull tab from your Coke can could help pay for a child’s education?

Recycle for a Cause, a campaign launched in the UAE, allows for just that kind of wonder—turning your trash into treasure.

How so? Plastic bags and ring pull tabs collected from the community are sent to the Philippines and used to create and sell high quality merchandise as a source of livelihood for Filipino families in poverty.

The Recycle for a Cause campaign has been launched by Abu Dhabi Cause Connect (ADCC) in support of the Philippine Community Fund (PFC), which helps to provide shelter, food and education for children who are rescued from living on dump sites. PCF is a UK registered charity that works to free Filipino children and their families from the effects of poverty. The Recycle for a Cause product line alone provides employment for over Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/pcf/ 3 litres of water per day.

According to the Water Encyclopedia, that’s how much the average human needs per day for survival.  This amount increases with physical activity and with temperature.  Aside from replacing our body’s water we need water for a number of purposes including agriculture, cooking sanitation and hygiene.  This amounts to 50 liters required to meet human needs.

Treatment and delivery of water costs a lot of money.  The water needs to be pumped from a source like a lake, river or well to a water treatment plant.  Depending on requirements the water can be treated in different ways.

Commonly it is filtered and then disinfected with a chemical such as chlorine.  However, the equipment to do this costs thousands of dollars.  Plants also need a building to be situated in, sensors to monitor the process, and an operator to run and maintain the system.

Costs for this are often Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/sodis/ South Africa has the largest HIV population in the world, with more than 5.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Because of its widespread prevalence and increasing acceptance, HIV has become a part of the everyday fabric of society.

South Africa’s AIDs history is marred by poor decisions by denialist leadership, resulting in unnecessary lost lives. Fortunately, Treatment Action Campaign, born out of system frustration, was founded in 1998.  TAC held the South African government accountable in up keeping basic tenants of the constitution, and is largely responsible for the implementation of antiretroviral treatment and mother-to-child transmission prevention programmes in South Africa. TAC is a member-based organization that advocates for increased access to treatment, care and support services for people living with HIV. For a detailed history of TAC, read the recently published Fighting for Our Lives. TAC’s vibrant history is also chronicled in the documentary TAC: Taking HAART.

Equal Treatment is the Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/equal_treatment/ She’s a beautiful, old soul.

Raven upon arrival at the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

With jet black hair and sad, gentle eyes that say much more than her underweight 19-year-old frame allows.

Nothing is known of her history, how long she went without food, or how long blindness has clouded her left eye.

She was abandoned, a victim of circumstance, hard times, and debilitating drought.

And she isn’t alone.

The Perfect Storm

For nearly a year now, Texas has endured a punishing combination of drought, consecutive days of climbing 100 degree temperatures, vanishing water supplies and, now, pockets of sporadic wildfires racing across acre after acre of cracked earth.

Currently, 96 percent of the state is facing exceptional and extreme drought conditions, with area lakes dropping as much as 41 feet in some cases, according to a National Weather Service Drought Information Statement issued September 8, 2011, with little to no relief expected in the upcoming months.

Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/behs/ Quick question: “When you buy a winter hat, where does your money go?”

Hold on to that thought and feast on the countless possibilities while you read on.

Winter is coming.

You can just tell by breathing in the morning air. And I guess I am lucky enough to be able to say that, living in St. John’s, Newfoundland, by far one of the cleanest cities in Canada. Along with winter comes the obvious shift in fashion. Out with the shorts and in with the jackets. The bandanas make way for scarves and toques.

Speaking of which…

I reached into my closet and pulled out my hat bin. You see, I’m a cap/hat/toque lover. (For those of you who think I’m talking gibberish when I keep saying the word ‘toque’, a toque is the Canadian equivalent of a knit winter hat. A beanie if you may.)

As I pulled out the storied heroes of past winters Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/krochetkids/ Procrastination.

It’s a word we all know too well. We live in a day and age where comfort overrules all – we much prefer to put goals off until we absolutely can’t anymore. However, there is one assignment we cannot afford to procrastinate any longer because the consequence is the suffering of billions of people struggling in poverty. This assignment is urgent. This assignment is timed.

This assignment is End Poverty 2015.

What is it?

Ban Ki moon speaks at the United Nations Millennium Summit

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 world leaders signed the Millennium Declaration and agreed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an “eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world’s poorest people”.

Basically, the world leaders promised to reach milestones in making the world a better place, and the deadline to meet these goals is 2015.

Check out this amazing Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/end_poverty_2015/ Ah, the Bahamas.

So warm, so relaxing, so…. progressive?

Hey, I’m not just talking about their ever expanding drink menu, or the arguably the greatest invention ever – island time.  Nope, I’m talking about something even better, something that’s even got our environment-loving friends to the North beat, and it can be wrapped up in one word.

Sharks.

photo by Rob Stewart

No, really. It’s their sharks, or more importantly, the Bahamas approach to this long-feared fish of the deep that’s leaving countries around the world in its clear blue wake.

More specifically, it’s the July 2011 banning of shark fishing in the nation’s territorial waters that’s making everyone else look primitive in comparison.

What’s shark fishing anyway you wonder?

Feeding a Caribbean reef shark, Bahamas. Photo David Hannan.

Well, according to award-winning shark conservationist Rob Stewart, it involves the sale, import, and export of shark products that were acquired by fishing, most often Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/sharkwater/ Nigeria is often a country that creates news because of its vast oil fields.  There have been countless negative effects from being one of the world’s largest oil producers.  Few Nigerians actually reap the benefits from being such an oil rich country while limitless violence and corruption haunts the Niger delta.

Last year I met Brittany Atchison in Rwanda.  After our human rights delegation in Kigali, she was going to Nigeria for nine months. I knew that she was going to learn and gain immeasurable life experiences but I didn’t know what a powerful impact she would have on the north-eastern community of Jalingo.

Brittany and her Nigerian counterparts, Hannatu Robinson and Yusuf Jatutu, with the assistance of a 20 year partnership between the Iowa United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church of Nigeria, started EmpowHER – a microfinance initiative that supports women to start their own businesses.

A little hope Read more...]]> http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/empowher/