When my young friend Hamza built his electric cars, he procured the material from local recycling shops. This network of recyclers is a remarkable process quite unlike anything we see in the West. In America we took our recyclable material to large depots in industrial zones. Here in the majority world those depots tend to …
The mirror image of the "Things that bring me joy" post. A few things that make each day that much more difficult to get through. Slum demolitions Shadia being a long ways away People who tell me that I shouldn't live where I do because there are "bad people" there The ultra-prevalence of tiny …
Pooja was a late addition to my literacy class, not asking to read until a month after her brother had started. As a 15-year-old who had never attended school, she wasn't accustomed to academic work and had a lot of home responsibilities which took her time away. But from her first lesson she was hooked, …
In desiring to include more success stories about charities doing the right thing, I solicited a guest post from Jeph Mathias. Jeph works with a variety of NGOs across Asia (and beyond), specializing in the idea of complexity in development. This story was originally posted at Jeph's blog, unpredictable. It's Jeph from here: A small project …
On May 31, 1912, nineteen-year-old Frank Zebrauskas and his brother Anthony stepped off a ship onto Ellis Island. Though originating from Lithuania they had used the Russian spelling of their name, Zabrowski, on the ship’s manifest. As with all Ellis Island arrivals, that spelling became their official identification. No pre-approval was necessary and 98% of …
Advertisers work to make us insecure, feel that our lives won't be good enough until we buy more things. Technology is designed to be obsolete within a year, to be replaced by expensive new products. Clothes go out of fashion by the next season. Consumer goods break down before the next holiday rolls around. Many …
A post by Peregrine It wasn't long after we returned back to India with our little Sakeenah that I had the realization that I'd been judging the traditional custom here of "peeing" babies. I'd seen mothers holding their tiny children in a squat over the drain outside, making a "shuuu shuuu" sound, and I thought …
Gulab, the 18-year-old daughter of our landlord, told us about a horrific motorcycle accident she had witnessed. After the crash the man was bleeding severely from his head and had gone into seizures "moving like a fish." Then the movement stopped. She was on her way to school but was so traumatized by the accident …
The tension was heavy. Fatima and Ali explained their financial situation. Their landlord had raised the already-inflated rent another 25% in an effort to get them to leave. They used everything they had to pay her, and now could not afford food. Their oldest daughter had to be pulled out of school to rush the …
Continue reading Inviting those who can’t pay you back, Part II
Stranger in a Slum 