Tag Archives: Water Centric

May these Amazing Social Entrepreneurs inspire you in 2011

Posted on December 31, 2010 | Leave a comment

As the calendar turns and we enter the second decade of the 21st century, a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.

Here are some amazing folks who are making a significant impact helping the less fortunate. These are all smaller, younger organizations that are doing great stuff and really making a difference.

Take a look at some of the inspirational videos that highlight their work and their messages. May they inspire you to greater things in 2011.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a Terrific 2011.

UbuntuAtWork
Helping women micro-entrepreneurs with a path out of poverty by building sustainable enterprises.

Seeding Labs
Building world class research institutions in developing countries by equipping them with lab equipment and state of the art training.

WaterCentric
Providing clean water, toilets and hygiene education to 10,000 kids in India who do not have access to these basic amenities

United Prosperity
Multiplying your social impact 2X – 5X by guaranteeing a loan to a microfinance entrepreneur. View United Prosperity’s Model of Loan Guarantees.

Prosperity Candle
Investing in enterprising women living in distressed areas of the world to start their own businesses

Dream a Dream
Providing quality education to underserved children and helping them develop critical life skills

Komera
Designing affordable sanitary pads for women in the developing world.

Design that Matters
Creating new products that allow social enterprises in developing countries to offer improved services and scale more quickly.

Project Hip Hop
Providing a space where predominantly young people of color from traditionally low-income communities in Boston can develop and exercise their individual and collective leadership

Microfundo
Supporting independent musicians from developing countries by allowing you to micro-fund their artistic works.
http://www.microfundo.org/video/krakow-kids-club-cha-cha

Young Entrepreneurs Alliance
Helping low-income teens realize their economic potential by taking steps toward financial independence by owning and running viable businesses.

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Posted in Education, environment, Health, Hygiene, Information Technology, Micro-enterprises, micro-finance, microfinance, non-profit, Philanthropy, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, water and sanitation

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Boston experiences water issues that 1 Billion people live with daily

Posted on May 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

Saturday morning, as families in Boston planned for a gorgeous spring day, a ten foot water pipe, that brought water to over 2 million Boston residents, ruptured.  Over 200 million gallons of water gushed out at a rate of 8 million gallons per hour. Authorities declared a state of emergency and imposed a blanket order for homeowners and businesses to boil the untreated water now flowing from their taps. Chaos and panic spread through the populace.  A run on bottled water at stores resulted in scuffles and rumors of price gouging for clean water were rampant. Continue reading →

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Posted in non-profit, Poverty, Rural Health, Sanitation, Schools, Social Ecosystem, Water, water and sanitation, Water resources

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Water and Sanitation – the next global challenge

Posted on June 28, 2008 | Leave a comment

This week’s column in Lokvani focused on the issues of water and sanitation. Together with food security, this is one of the most pressing issues globally. The root cause to most of the basic issues – health, nutrition, and even education can be traced in some way to water and sanitary, hygienic conditions.

By addressing this basic issue, millions of deaths per year can be prevented. Diarrhea alone kills nearly 2 million people a year, most of them children.

The good news is there is a renewed focus on water and sanitation. International agencies and major governments are putting resources to address this.  Corporations are making it the centerpiece of their efforts more for economic reasons or to assuage local communities when their actions seem to threaten local water resources. A number of NGOs and non-profits are helping create grass roots movements to address sanitation and water problems in the developing world, particularly in the underserved communities.

Here is the text of the article I wrote for Lokvani:

Water and Sanitation – the next global challenge. Raj Melville, Lokvani.com, 06/28/2008

Even as we go about our daily lives in the west knowing that we can duck into a McDonalds to use the loo or grab a bottle of soda to quench our thirst, nearly half the world’s population has to make do without the simplest access to basic sanitation and clean water. The UN estimates over a billion people (or nearly a sixth of the world’s population) manages without clean water. According to the World Health Organization, over 4 billion cases of diarrhea occur each year around the world, 88% of which is attributable to unsafe water or inadequate hygiene or sanitation. Nearly 1.8 million people die of diarrhea each year, the majority of whom are children.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Health, Hygiene, Sanitation, Social Entrepreneur, Water, Water resources

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