Articles tagged with: charity

Jessica Jackley on Poverty, Money...and Love

Susan notes: Thanks to TED for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them.

jessica-jackley.jpgWhat do you think of people in poverty? Maybe what Jessica Jackley once did: "they" need "our" help, in the form of a few coins in a jar.

The co-founder of Kiva.org talks about how her attitude changed -- and how her work with microloans has brought new power to people who live on a few dollars a day.

Jessica Jackley is the co-founder of Kiva.org, an online community that helps individuals loan small amounts of money, called microloans, to entrepreneurs throughout the world.

Seven years ago, Jessica Jackley heard a speech by Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, an economist from Bangladesh who had developed the idea of microcredit: loans offered to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans.

Tags charity community connection economics goals hope inspiration love poverty success

Chen Schu-Chu (Angel)

Susan notes: an extraordinary woman whose generosity was recognised when she was named to the 2010 Times most influential people.

chen-shu-chu.jpgChen Shu-chu is a seller of vegetables in a stall in Taitung County's central market, in southern Taiwan.

Out of her modest living, Chen, 59, has managed to donate nearly NT$10 million (that's $320,000) to various causes, including $32,000 for a children's fund, $144,000 to help build a library at a school she attended and another $32,000 for the local orphanage, where she also gives financial support to three children.

Tags charity happiness inspiration poverty

Jacqueline Novogratz On Escaping Poverty

Susan notes: I've copied and pasted this biographical information and talk unabashedly from the TED website.

 
 
 
 
 

jacqueline_novogratz3.jpgJacqueline Novogratz tells a moving story of an encounter in a Nairobi slum with Jane, a former prostitute, whose dreams of escaping poverty, of becoming a doctor and of getting married were fulfilled in an unexpected way.

Novogratz founded and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor. In her new book, The Blue Sweater, she tells stories from the new philanthropy, which emphasizes sustainable bottom-up solutions over traditional top-down aid.

Tags charity community economics goals inspiration poverty success