It all started with a tweet.

• Businesses that are not social enterprises foster the traditional cycle of aid and dependency.
• If services are free, relationships between consumers and organizations are that of beneficiaries and caregivers.
  
• However, the beneficiary does not feel empowered; not given dignity of choice.
   
• Businesses that operate with profits-for-purpose models (this includes for-profit ventures tackling social issues) must strive to improve quality, because their sustainability depends on consumer choice.
• By charging people at the "Bottom of the Pyramid," the "aid" is a transaction, not a service that is forced onto patients. It is a mutual transaction.
  
• BoP are skeptical, but are sophisticated and studied customers.
• Establishing trust is huge, especially considering the lack of information present in developing societies.

Per Godin:

Emilia, a 25-year-old blind woman from a poor neighborhood of on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, no longer has to depend on her family for money.  "Working allows me to be independent. I don’t need to borrow money from other people if I want to buy something or go out with friends." Emilia’s life changed completely after she began working as a baker at Pan de Esperanza (“Bread of Hope”), where she gained trust and self-confidence through her daily responsibilities. 

Known in Spanish as Granja Andar, Andar Farm, which employs 60 disabled young people and adults, produces high-quality food and provides catering services throughout Buenos Aires.  Andar Farm was founded in 1985 by Ashoka Fellow, Raúl Lucero, with the goal of encouraging Argentines to support people who are disabled, rather than view them as a burdensome segment of society that needs to be isolated.  

Lucero believes that when the disabled are seen supporting themselves through small commercial enterprises, such as bakeries and educational farms, others will realize that their perceptions of the disabled may be inaccurate. Lucero also applies awareness-building tools, such as radio shows and outreach programs to schools and families, in an effort to create broader change in the way Argentines perceive the disabled.

Lucero is increasingly aware of the importance of running the nonprofit Andar Farm as a successful business.  “Thanks to Ashoka, I adopted the notion that a nonprofit organization can have economic value," said Lucero.  “For us, Ashoka marked a turning point because it gave us the tools to focus on Andar Farm’s strategic plan and future growth.  At the beginning, it was very difficult to use terms like ‘business plan’ or ‘wealth generation,’ but we knew that if we weren’t effective in these areas, we wouldn’t be able to pay the salaries of the staff. Here the workers´ income is not fixed.  Instead, it is the result of a proportional distribution of total earnings.” 

Lucero believes that money plays a symbolic, but decisive role in the individual development of Andar Farm’s participants.  Earning an income allows disabled people to become active members of society, changing for many, what may have been a passive social existence.  Andar Farm’s jobs and programs give disabled individuals the opportunity to become independent "entrepreneurs of their lives.”  

“A salary dignifies the relationship between social businesses such as Andar Farm, and the person.” said Lucero. “Earning an income enables these young people to make decisions that previously were not within their reach, when they only received state pensions administered by their families.”  

Andar Farm strives to see that its members are recognized because of their capabilities and not due to their limitations.  To achieve this, Lucero and his team incorporated concepts that initially sounded extremely odd to them in their early nonprofit existence. Now they are not afraid to point out “how the market works” and or the importance of being “service-oriented,” guidelines that now govern their non-profit activities.  

Lucero describes a three-day Christmas fair catered by his team of disabled staff last year. “The first thing that guests did was to recognize the quality of the food. Although at first the guests had a distant relationship with the staff, when the event ended, guests had established a bond of trust. 

“None of this would have happened if our product had not been of a high quality. Instead, the guests would have underestimated the work performed, as well as the people who carried it out.  We believe that only once the food quality was established as superior, then the relationship was able to develop. And this is the value we are looking to generate.” 

Lucero believes that the economic, social and environmental values created Andar Farm are key to enabling its members to become independent. “If any of these pillars fails, Andar Farm will not be able achieve its mission. Only when those three pillars are combined will disabled people be encouraged to see themselves as ´citizens´ and not as ´beneficiaries´.”

Among the most important projects for which Lucero is fighting is a new law that, if passed, will enable participants to retire as a result of their years of work and not as a consequence of their disability. He also hopes to expand Andar Farm’s bakery and catering services, and develop a new line of organic vegetables. Lucero knows that his nonprofit initiative must use business-world models to be successful. “We understood that if we fail, we will end up being a poor reflection of the society that we want to change.”  

Andar Farm’s “Pan de Esperanza’s Catering and Bakery” project was recently selected as one of 14 winners in the 2010 Latin America and the Caribbean Development Marketplace. The prize will allow them to buy new equipment, hire specialized staff, enhance marketing and brand development and, strengthen the institutional bonds between Andar Farm’s workers and board members. The Marketplace, which was sponsored by the World Bank, International Development Bank, and the Organization of American States, received 530 entries to the competition. 

Website:  http://www.granjaandar.org.ar/front/

By Changemakers contributing writer Shirly Said.

The sport for change projects eligible to win the $50,000 UA Chicago Impact Award.

• Beyond Sport Awards 2010 - Your Vote [Beyond Sport]

A competition identifying, supporting, and rewarding the next generation of sustainable business.

• Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition [The William James Foundation]

The "flood" of unemployed Americans who are making a difference in their communities.

• Unemployed Volunteers Help Themselves By Helping Others [Huffington Post]

[Determination: At a protest at Jantar Mandar, Delhi by people forced evicted from their lands for 'developmental projects.' -- Joe Athialy]

Question 1: Why are property and territorial rights part of an ongoing debate?

ChangemakersES P1: Por qué los derechos de propiedad y territoriales son importantes para el debate? Qué está en juego?

ChangemakersPT P1 Por que é importante discutir os direitos territoriais? O que está em jogo?

ocarete Because property rights are crucial for social justice: they are the 1st & most fundamental condition to guarantee citizenship #SocEntChat

ocarete @ChangemakersPT Porque é a condição básica para a garantia de todos os outros direitos #SocEntChat #entremundos

piginwellies The first thing the Normands did when they arrive in England was a big inventory of who owned the lands. #SocEntChat

JohnCTownsend A1. Economic security, identity, and wealth creation depend on property rights. #SocEntChat

piginwellies Poor people, not knowing their rights, lost the lands they have been living on forever + their main source of living. #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT Bem vindo a tod@s! #SocEntChat : 1a pergunta já lançada, mas qdo entrar, por favor, apresente-se.

Montero The Mystery of Capital. Great book on why are property & territorial rights are so important http://j.mp/bq2oZu #SocEntChat #SocEntChat

piginwellies Once you know that piece of land belongs to you, you can get around planing, paying your taxes, cultivating it #SocEntChat

piginwellies and getting security in case someone richer try to get rid of you and your land to exploit oil, for example! #SocEntChat

ocarete Precisamos fechar a lacuna entre o direoto legal e o costumeiro ou tradicional. Garantia o usufruto dos territórios #SocEntChat #entremundos

ChangemakersES RT @ocarete: xq derechos de propiedad son fundamentales pa' justicia social, condición más fundamental pa' garantizar ciudadanía #SocEntChat

ocarete It is related to basic survival of large contingencies of people in the developing world #SocEntChat #entremundos

changemakers RT @ocarete: We have to close the gap between legal and traditional rights to ensure the enjoyment of territories #SocEntChat

ocarete É fundamental pq é a base para a reprodução física, cultural e social de grupos humanos nas cidades e no campo #SocEntChat #entremundos

piginwellies P&T rights are part of ongoing debate as we have always US invading other countries to extract any natural resources they have. #SocEntChat

piginwellies @CHANGEMAKERS Which definition of property and territorial rights are you guys using in this competition? #SocEntChat

ocarete It's the basis of physical, cultural and social reproduction of groups of people in large cities as well as in the rural milieu #SocEntChat

ChangemakersES RT @johnctownsend: Seguridad económica, identidad, y generación de riqueza dependen de los derechos de propiedad. #SocEntChat

economiacritica @ChangemakersES Desde Platón Aristóteles Liberalismo y Socialismo, etc. la Propiedad determina la Libertad y Dinámica Social #SocEntChat

ocarete @piginwellies Right! We can consider P&T rights also w/ respect to foreign affairs, on the national level, as well as individual #SocEntChat

mimigsobral R1 são importantes porque garantem autonomia, oportunidades e identidade aos indivíduos e comunidades #socentchat #omidyar #entremundos

skrelnick @montero Hernando de Soto is a judge! #socentchat #propertyrights www.changemakers.com/property-rights #socentchat

changemakers @piginwellies via @OmidyarNetwork: http://is.gd/eRWmG #SocEntChat

ChangemakersES RT @economiacritica: From Plato, Aristotle, Liberalism and Socialism, etc. property determines freedom and societal dynamics #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @economiacritica: Desde Platão,Aristóteles, liberalismo,socialismo, etc, propriedade determina a liberdade e dinâmica social #SocEntChat

piginwellies @changemakers Thanks. I didn't want to go on the debate of territorial rights when we can focus on invididual's property rights. #SocEntChat

changemakers OM: "increase ownership of land for all, encourage transparency & flexibility in ownership, devel legal educ for prop rights." #SocEntChat

ocarete It´s important for @OmidyarNetwork and @Changemakers to consider the local context of P&T rights when conducting the competition #SocEntChat

skrelnick The ability to own property - whether land or even farming tools on ind basis have shown to impact intrahousehold power dynamics #socentchat

skrelnick Imagine when large groups of people don't have this right, how it infiltrates society wide in maintaining power structures #socentchat

juliaforlani Aqui no Brasil existe instrumentos jurídicos q permite a concessão de terras de forma individual ou coletiva #socentchat

piginwellies There is only ONE way to guarantee economical benefits through property rights. Give it to a GIRL! Only girls can inherit. #SocEntChat

ocarete @skrelnick And the ability to own COLLECTIVE property, as for ethnic groups, has shown also cultural revival of these groups #SocEntChat

skrelnick @ocarete absolutely, we've found that without local community involvement, property rights structures don't work. #socentchat

changemakers RT @juliaforlani: Here in Brazil there are legal instruments that allow the granting of land by an individual or collective #SocEntChat

ChangemakersES RT @skrelnick: Hernando de Soto es un juez en el desafío de @Changemakers y @OmidyarNetwork! #socentchat #Omidyar http://is.gd/eRWOB

skrelnick @ocarete dissonance between those who "create" the legal structures and those who "live" within them is a huge problem #socentchat

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete: é importante para @OmidyarNetwork @Changemakers considerar o contexto local dos direitos territ. e prop p/o desafio #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @juliaforlani: Aqui no Brasil existe instrumentos jurídicos q permite a concessão de terras de forma individual ou coletiva #socentchat

skrelnick property rights hits up on a even more core issue -how do you own anything unless the gov't recognizes you as a person? IDENTITY #socentchat

ocarete @skrelnick exactly! First comes the aknowledgement of the territories - usually there´s only a vague idea of their land limits #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola RT impt 4 @OmidyarNetwork and @Changemakers to consider local context of P&T rights when conducting the competition #Livecapital #socentchat

Montero Any "solution" to end #poverty that does not involve the #poor given power will fail. Property ownership is power. #socentchat #SocEntChat 

juliaforlani #socentchat é necessário discutir não só a questão da propriedade, mas também do uso da terra e do território pelas populações.

Nidhi_C .@skrelnick so true. so many local migrants in india w/o identity cards & have a hard time w/any services, let alone owning prop #socentchat

juliaforlani #socentchat a propriedade e a terra é um direito? Ou é uma concessão?

Question 2: What prevents governments and societies from guaranteeing the landless land?

ChangemakersES P2: Cuáles impedimientos enfrentan los gobiernos y sociedad pa' garantizar derecho de propiedad a los que no la tienen?

ChangemakersPT P2 Qual o papel dos governos e da sociedade na garantia dos direitos territ. e de prop. a quem não possui?

ocarete Yes, the papers... but we need to create transparency channels to regulate contracts, in Brazil they are commonly frauded #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @juliaforlani: it's necessary to discuss the question of ownership as well as the use of land and territory by the people. #SocEntChat

ocarete @juliaforlani É um direito, mas que só pode ser concedido pelo Estado #SocEntChat #entremundos

ChangemakersES RT @skrelnick: derechos de propiedad tocan tema más imprtnte-cómo puedes tener propedad sino estás reconocido cmo persona x gob? #SocEntChat

ocarete @changemakers A model of economic development that favourises land concentration for the benefit of a very few #SocEntChat #entremundos

changemakers RT @ocarete: @juliaforlani It is a right, but that can only be granted by the State #SocEntChat

mimigsobral no Brasil é um direito garantido pela Constituição RT @juliaforlani: #socentchat a propriedade e a terra é um direito? Ou é uma concessão?

juliaforlani @ocarete #socentchat terra é direito concedido pelo Estado ou comprado. Obrigada pela resposta

skrelnick Q2 is a toughy! oftentimes, gov'ts are competing for land/resources alongside businesses, also political power to stay on top? #socentchat

nicoleskibola @ocarete and often there is no formal "contract" but a collection of evidence of ownership in different forms #SocentChat

skrelnick @nicoleskibola we're looking for solutions for all of it! formalization, legal advocacy, legal education, policy advocacy #socentchat

ocarete Outro fator que impede: as comunidades rurais e tradicionais muitas vezes não se apropriam de seus territórios, faltam dados #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete @changemakers R2 Um modelo de desenv econômico que favorece a concentração de terra nas mãos de poucos #SocEntChat #entremundos

Montero What prevents govs & societies from guaranteeing the landless land? corp interest like #monsanto who scam farmers & buy gov ppl #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @mimigsobral: Brazil is a right guaranteed by the Constitution RT @juliaforlani: is property & land a right or a concession? #SocEntChat

Nidhi_C @changemakers money, bureaucracy, relocation costs; & sometimes unwillingness of landless to relocate.. #socentchat

changemakers RT @juliaforlani: @ocarete land is a right granted by the State; or purchased. Thanks for the reply #SocEntChat

ocarete @nicoleskibola Exactly! This is when the subjective ruling comes in and also most of the controversy #SocEntChat

ocarete @nicoleskibola That´s why we need to produce data, cultural studies and community empowerment to formalize these processes #SocEntChat

almaron R2: Largas historias de brechas sociales muy marcadas y fuertes conflictos de interés. #SocEntChat

ocarete @changemakers Another important issues: environmental laws often contrast with property rights in rural areas #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola Q2: Also the fact that the "landless" have developed their own systems for ownership that are not recognized by the government. #socentchat

ChangemakersPT RT @montero: Qlqr solução que procura acabar com a pobreza que não envolva o empoder/to é falha. Propriedade é poder. #socentchat

juliaforlani O Estado deve garantir a prop. p todos aqueles q garantam o uso social e cultural da terra.#socentchat

ChangemakersES RT @Nidhi_C: dinero, burocracia, costos d reubicación y a veces falta d voluntad d reubicrse x parte d los q no tienen propiedad #socentchat

nicoleskibola @ocarete Exactly. The importance of storytelling so that governments adopt (hopefully) some of the informal processes #socentchat

economiacritica @ChangemakersES un impedimento es establecer el consenso nacional e internacional de lo que entendemos por Propiedad #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola @ocarete DeSoto writes about how the same thing happened in the US w/ settlers, and how the gov adopted the extralegal practices #socentchat

Montero A false scarcity mentality that says sharing valuable resources with the #poor will not help strengthen the #economy. #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete: @nicoleskibola por isso precisamos produzir dados,estudos e empoder/to de comunidades p/ formalizar o processo #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @economiacritica: Our varying definitions of property are an impediment to establishing national and international consensus #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola @montero. Crazy. Think about how much economies could grow if the poor could sell property, use land for security, etc. #socentchat

juliaforlani Relação estreita entre poder economico/político com a propr da terra. Quem manda e define políticas são os q já tem mta terra #socentchat

ocarete @nicoleskibola Yes, cross-generations - reconnecting with lcoal histories; how youth is engaged is also a crucial issue #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @nicoleskibola Q2: O fato de q os sem-terra têm desenv/do seu proprio sistema de propriedade q ñ é reconhecido p/os governos #socentchat

ChangemakersES RT @montero: Una mentalidad de escasez falsa q dice que compartir recursos valiosos con gente pobre no fortalecerá la economía. #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @juliaforlani: Close ties b/w economic/political power & property rights. Those creating policies are the those with land. #SocEntChat

ocarete @economiacritica @ChangemakersES We don´t need consensus, each context is different, we need sensitivity and dialogue #SocEntChat

juliaforlani #socentchat mentalidade colonial de concentração de terras em latifundios monocultores de bens primários (agricolas) p/ exportação @montero

Montero the #economy is a human construct to value our interactions with each other. when the #poor are excluded from commerce well... #SocEntChat

ocarete @nicoleskibola Yes, only in Brazil, family farming is responsible for 60% of the food that reaches our tables #SocEntChat #entremundos

ChangemakersES RT @ocarete: @economiacritica No necesitamos consenso, cada contexto es diferente, lo que necesitamos es sensibilidad y diálogo #SocEntChat

Question 3: How does the property rights debate differ between the urban and rural context?

ChangemakersES P3: En el debate sobre derechos d propiedad, cuáles son las distinciones entre el contexto urbano y rural?

ChangemakersPT Agora vamos p/ P3 De que modo o debate s/e direitos territoriais se diferencia no contexto rural e urbano?

ocarete Supporting the right to properties and land = leveraging family farming = diversifying agriculture = a dynamic economy #SocEntChat

ocarete If we had consenus, indigenous lands would be ruled based on US concept of "reservation", a nonsense for the Brazilian context #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @montero: Uma mentalidade de escassez falsa q diz q compartilhar recursos valiosos c/ gente pobre não fortalecerá a economia. #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @juliaforlani: colonial mentality of concentrating land in monoculture estates based around agri. goods 4 export @montero #SocEntChat

ocarete @changemakers 2 scenarios are totally different - urban is linked to lack of proper housing conditiions and rural to land system #SocEntChat

mimigsobral #Socentchat Obrigada pela informação! RT @BethBegonha: @mimigsobral Até o limite de 2500 hectares.

ocarete Na área rural, um entrave é o "mito da natureza intocada" e a presença de grupos tradicionais a centenas de anos #SocEntChat #entremundos

skrelnick We have to look as mass urbanization all over the world, people are all headed to the cities, how is this impacting cities? #socentchat

jyandziak RT @juliaforlani: #socentchat 1% of large land owners in Brazil have 49% of the "registered land" É uma aberração!

skrelnick Also, misguided thoughts that factories in rural areas will bring prosperity. Tata motors example in West Bengal #socentchat

JohnCTownsend @skrelnick "Cities are the future of the world, and slums are the future of the city." - Forbes #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete: R2 cenários totalmente difere/s: urbano é ligado a falta ou má condições de habitação e rural ao sistema agrário #SocEntChat

ocarete @skrelnick In Sao Paulo, people are crowding the outskirts, close to preserved atlantic forest, creating a even worse problem #SocEntChat

JohnCTownsend From one quote to another: "Unless ...." - The Lorax #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola @ocarete Impressive family farming stat - more r/s to provide greater security to small farmers v. forces of corp globalization #socentchat

ChangemakersES RT @ocarete: Son totalmente distintos: urbano 'tá vinclado con falta d condcones adecdas en vivendas y rural al sistma d tierras #SocEntChat

skrelnick @johnctownsend yikes. this makes me think of building codes/habitable living quarters, slum razing... shelter is a human right #socentchat

nicoleskibola Part of the prob of growing urban slums is that w/no rural title, people feel hopeless and choice-less. Title is about choices #socentchat

skrelnick @ocarete oh the whole topic of natural resources is another HUGE conversation! #socentchat

jyandziak RT @ocarete: R2 2 different scenarios: urban is linked to the lack of or bad living conditions and rural to the agrarian system #SocEntChat

juliaforlani Rural/Urbano são a face do mesmo problema, quem não tem terra em ambiente rural continua sem habitação em ambiente urbano. #socentchat

nicoleskibola Q: What is the estimated period of time to gain legal title in Brazil? #socentchat

ChangemakersPT RT @johnctownsend: @skrelnick "Cidades são o futuro do mundo e as favelas o futuro das cidades" - Forbes #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @juliaforlani: Rural/Urban face the same prob. People don't have land in rural areas; others still without housing in urban #SocEntChat

ocarete @nicoleskibola 20 years - it´s called "uso capião", granted use after at least 20 years of permanence without contestation #SocEntChat

jyandziak RT @ocarete: In rural areas, a barrier is the "myth of pristine nature" and presence of traditional groups 100's years old #SocEntChat

juliaforlani #socentchat Ausencia de propriedade, já reflexo da pobreza, é mais um fator que não permite a garantia de outros direitos básicos.

Montero De Soto's main message: no nation can have a strong market econ as long as most of its ppl remain on d outside just looking in. #SocEntChat

ocarete @skrelnick yes, in BRazil, very closely linked to Property Rights, I'm sure you'll get lots of those on the competition #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola @ocarete Thats essentially adverse possession for all title? And they have to prove there was never contestation? Damn. #socentchat

 jyandziak RT @juliaforlani: Rural/Urban:2 faces to same problem, those w/out land in a rural environment continue w/out shelter in urban. #socentchat

changemakers RT @juliaforlani: Absence of property, as a reflection of poverty, is a factor that doesnt allow security of other basic rights #SocEntChat

 almaron @ocarete 2 scenarios r converging w/ environmental conflicts + climate migration resulting in migration from rural 2 urban areas #SocEntChat

ocarete @nicoleskibola That´s the rule when you don´t have legal papers - but when you have contestation, legal decisions can take ages #SocEntChat

ocarete @nicoleskibola ..this leads to legal insecurity, people have teir lives on stand-by-they don´t buy goods, paint their houses etc #SocEntCha

Question 4: What can be done to overcome socio-environmental conflicts that adversely affect the territorial and collective rights of communities?

ChangemakersES P4: Q se puede hacer pa' superar conflctos socio-ambientales q afectan negativmente a derchos terrtriales y colectivos?

ChangemakersPT P4 O q pode ser feito p/ superar conflitos socioambientais q afetam negativamente os direitos territ/s de comunidades?

ChangemakersES RT @economiacritica: La propiedad refiere a personas. Entre rural y urbano no dbe hber distinción, personas dben tener = derchos #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola @ocarete Yep. Who wants to invest in their property if they can lose it all tomorrow if another comes and "contests" it? #socentchat

nicoleskibola Has there been any luck in Brazil with aggregating a number of titles and trying to register them simultaneously? #socentchat

ocarete @ChangemakersES Pero hay distinctiones, como el derecho colectivo de la tierra en areas tradicionales (como los quilombolas) #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola Where someone is actually the owner and just wants to formalize it? To make the bureaucratic process more efficient? #socentchat

skrelnick RT @almaron: 2 scenarios r converging w/ environ'l conflicts + climate migration resulting in migration from rural 2 urban areas #socentchat

ocarete @ChangemakersPT Primeiro: mapeamento participativo para diagnosticar situação fundiária e conhecer a realidade #SocEntChat #entremundos

EmilyTav Great point re:investment @skrelnick! #socentchat

ChangemakersPT RT @economiacritica: a propiedade se refere a pessoas. Não deve ter distinção entre rural e urbano, pessoas têm = direitos #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete: Mas há distinções, como o direito coletivo sobre as terras em áreas tradicionais (como os quilombolas) #SocEntChat

ocarete We need to map and produce real-time data WITH the communities to understand land and propeorty rights local contexts #SocEntChat

juliaforlani #socentchat R4: A mentalidade preservacionista ñ reconhece o qnto os povos tradicionais são fundamentais p a proteger dos ambientes naturais

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete R4 Primeiro:mapeamento participativo p/ diagnosticar situação fundiária e conhecer a realidade #SocEntChat #entremundos #omidyar

ocarete We also need to create jurisprudence for property rights issues that are not contemplated by formal laws #SocEntChat #entremundos

jyandziak RT @juliaforlani: #socentchat The preservationist mentality doesn't recog. how much tradit'l people are fundamental to protect natural env.

almaron Deberíamos empzar cambiando nuestra matriz energética. Gran % d conflictos socio-ambtls relacionados con industría extrctivista. #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola @ocarete Everyone assumes the poor are not sophisticated, but their social contracts and relationships are extremely complex. #socentchat

juliaforlani #socentchat a mesma cultura q cria distancia entre homens e ambiente natural é aquela acha q pode criar areas de conservaç onde ninguém vive

Montero @ocarete re: Map to produce real-time data WITH the communities 2 understand land & property rights local contexts @openactions? #SocEntChat

nicoleskibola @ocarete Totally. Exactly what happened in the US. Gov departed from Eng common law and adopted informal practices as law #socentchat

JohnCTownsend A4. Is peace a requisite for or a product of formalized property rights? Where must we start? #SocEntChat

ocarete @nicoleskibola Exactly! There are so many cultural rules such as inheritance patterns, house settings, social organization ... #SocEntChat

jyandziak transl. RT @almaron: Start by changing energy matrix, large % of socio-env conflicts are related to resource extraction industry #SocEntChat

ocarete @almaron Seguro! En Brasil tenemos lo Movimiento de los Atingidos por las Barragens, las mega hidreletricas, modelo excludente #SocEntChat

ocarete @jyandziak Yes, We even have a social movement of rural families displaced by mega-dams built by the federal government #SocEntChat

Montero What if we used similar approaches 2 end #poverty as we did 2 build the US from a rag tag 13 colonies into a global superpower? #SocEntChat

ocarete What @ocarete has learned is that P&T rights are complex because they are intricately related to various systemic problems #SocEntChat

jyandziak transl. @juliaforlani: #socentchat The same culture that distances man and nature thinks it can create conservation areas where no one lives

nicoleskibola And according to Bill Easterly, countries with large extractive sectors have the lowest rates of development. #socentchat 

ocarete Such as natural resources mgt, urban housing, rural eviction, traditional knowledge, political manipulation, economic model... #SocEntChat

almaron En Ecuador, trabajé con comunidades afectadas x daños causados x la industría petrolera y siguen luchando x justicia ya años. #SocEntChat

Montero It was entrepreneurship, community, civic engagement, innovation, small business, a wonderful fusion of altruism & self interest #SocEntChat

Question 5: What strategies are used to tackle the property rights challenge and ensure dignity, opportunity to otherwise marginalized people?

ChangemakersES P5: Cuáles son estrtgias que se 'tán utilizando pa' responder a desafío d derechos d propiedad pa' grupos comunmente margindos?

ChangemakersPT P5 Quais estratégias inovadoras são utiliz/as em resposta a este desafio q assegurem dignidade e oportun/e a grupos marginal/s?

nicoleskibola The poor are natural entrepreneurs. That's the beauty of it. Extractive sector reliance isn't going to lift anyone from poverty #socentchat

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete: O q temos aprendido é q direitos de prop&territ são complexos pq estão intrinsecamente ligados probremas sistêmicos.#SocEntChat

mimigsobral RT @ocarete: O q temos aprendido é q direitos de prop&territ são complexos pq estão intrinsecamente ligados probremas sistêmicos.#SocEntChat

ocarete @changemakers First: know your rights = legal education #SocEntChat #entremundos

ocarete Second: change public policy and create jurisprudence = participatory advocacy #SocEntChat #entremundos

mimigsobral R4 só conhecendo a fundo os problemas da população (e com ela) para minimizar estes conflitos #socentchat

ocarete An example? In Brazil we are signing for a popular national hearing to limit the size of rural land conceded/sold by government #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @mimigsobral: A4 knowing a population's most fundamental problems and acting on them can minimize these conflicts #SocEntChat

ocarete Third: pruduce knowledge and research = mapping and analysis #SocEntChat #entremundos

jyandziak transl @ocarete What we've learned is land rights are complex in Brazil bc they are intrinsically linked to systemic problems #socentchat

ChangemakersES RT @ocarete: Primero: conocer tus derechos = educación legal #SocEntChat #entremundos

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete: Primeiro: conhecer seus direitos = educação em direitos #SocEntChat #entremundos

ocarete Ex:did you know the northeast of Brazil concentrated 54% of all land conflicts? How can u resolve conflicts w/o knowing this? #SocEntChat

ocarete @skrelnick So are we! :) looking forward to it! #SocEntChat #entremundos

economiacritica @ChangemakersES R4 Tribunal de la Haya debiera habilitar un capítulo relacionado a territorio y conflictos medioambientales #SocEntChat

ChangemakersES RT @ocarete: Segundo: cambiar política pública y crear jurisprudencia = abogacía participativa #SocEntChat #entremundos

nicoleskibola And we have a group of designers/system thinkers/1 lawyer working on the issue in NYC + Rio. Look forward to staying connected. #socentchat

changemakers RT @economiacritica: @changemakers The Hague Tribunal should launch a program related to land and environmental disputes #SocEntChat

economiacritica @ChangemakersES R5 efectivas alianzas público privadas, entre gobierno, empresas, academia y sociedad civil (ej.: Suecia) #SocEntChat

RachelHutchssn @changemakers if you mean heirs property, check out this prog - initially created by our local comm fnd - http://bit.ly/9uUg6t #SocEntChat

nicoleskibolan@changemakers I think that the Inter-American commission might hear such cases? #socentchat

ocarete @economiacritica No BRasil, mto diferente da Suécia, as alianças devem ser primeiro entre os p´roprios grupos vulneráveis #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @economiacritica: A5 effective public-private partnerships between government, business, academia & civil society (eg Sweden) #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @economiacritica: R5 alianças efetivas público privadas, entre governo, empresas, academiae sociedad civil (ex.: Suecia) #SocEntChat

Question 6: Do you know of any specific initiatives from your region that are addressing the property rights issue effectively?

ChangemakersES P6: Conoces iniciativas q estén trabajando d manera efectiva en tu comunidad, en respuesta a este desafío?

ChangemakersPT P6: Conhece alguma iniciativa q está trabalhando com este desafio d forma efetiva em sua região?

ChangemakersPT RT @ocarete: Segundo: mudar as políticas pública e criar jurisprudência = advocacy participativa #SocEntChat #entremundos

ocarete @ChangemakersPT Nós estamos trabalhando com direitos territoriais de modo transversal no Vale do Ribeira com grupos étncios #SocEntChat

almaron En Ecuador, Congreso 'tá trabajando actualmente en la Ley d Tierras pa' redistribuir tierras. Pero No 'toy segura d su estado. #SocEntChat

changemakers RT @almaron: In Ecuador, Congress is currently working on a Land Law redistribution program. But I'm not sure about your region. #SocEntChat

changemakers Well, that concludes today's property rights #SocEntChat! Thanks to all the #Changemakers who participated.

changemakers We invite you to join the movement to unleash individual opportunity through property rights: http://is.gd/eS3AM #SocEntChat #SocEnt

ChangemakersPT Indique para participar do desafio em direitos territoriais #Omidyar http://bit.ly/a8rRQh #SocEntChat

ChangemakersES Entonces, terminamos nuestra charla #SocEntChat sobre derechos de propiedad! Agradecemos a tod@s l@s #Changemakers quienes participaron.

changemakers #shoutout @ocarete @nicoleskibola @RachelHutchssn @economiacritica @skrelnick @mimigsobral @Montero @jyandziak @juliaforlani #SocEntChat

changemakers #shoutout @almaron @FIPAN @EmilyTav @JohnCTownsend @OmidyarNetwork @Nidhi_C @RootCause @piginwellies @filiperlima #SocEntChat

juliaforlani #SocEntChat eu conheci 1 organização mto interessante GARMIC- Grupo Articulador para Moradia do Idoso da Capital

economiacritica @ChangemakersES R6 en Chile un organismo es @derechosdigital entre otros #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @almaron No Equador, Congresso está trabalhando atualmente na lei p/ redistribuir terras. Mas não estou certa d seu estado. #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @juliaforlani: #SocEntChat eu conheci 1 organização mto interessante GARMIC- Grupo Articulador para Moradia do Idoso da Capital

changemakers Gracias @ChangemakersES & obrigado @ChangemakersPT for translating today's #SocEntChat

Montero In Atlanta there is Charis community housing http://j.mp/cehDuH in DC there is Jair Lynch http://j.mp/aQtfAy #SocEntChat

ChangemakersPT RT @economiacritica: @ChangemakersES R6 no Chile uma organização é o @derechosdigital entre outros #SocEntChat

ocarete Para mais informações: www.ocarete.org.br e www.ocarete.org.br/entremundos #SocEntChat #entremundos

juliaforlani parabéns pelo #SocEntChat sobre direitos territoriais. Um prazer enorme.

ocarete @juliaforlani E um agradecimento especial a @mimisobral @changemakersPT e @changemakers Grandes parceiros da Ocareté! #SocEntChat

ocarete @ChangemakersPT Para movimento de plebiscito nacional pelo limite da terra, siga @limitedaterra, gde abç @juliafornlani e equipe #SocEntChat

When Mustaqeem Abdul-Azeem was released from prison in the early 2000s, he wanted to find a way to take his life in a different direction. He also knew that there were few opportunities for people in his position that would allow him to change his life in a dramatic fashion. With a small card table and US $100, Abdul-Azeem bought some soap and incense, and set up business as a street vendor on 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

In 2002, Abdul-Azeem learned about Project Enterprise and joined their Small Loans and Big Connections program, which provides training and microloans to empower thousands of low-income entrepreneurs to launch their own businesses. He was able to take out a few loans to increase his inventory, purchase a van, and create his own website. Now, Abdul-Azeem’s business has grown to the point where he has been able to contract work to others, and set-up an online frequent-buyer program for tourists and others who want to continue to purchase his products.

Founders Nick and Debra Schatzki launched Project Enterprise in 1996 to support and develop entrepreneurs and small businesses in under-resourced communities in New York City. Project Enterprise provides access to business loans, business development services and networking opportunities, so that the entrepreneurs are able to increase their standard of living, create jobs for themselves and for their communities, and build financial assets.

The Schatzkis were introduced to microcredit while traveling in Bangladesh with RESULTS, a nonprofit, grassroots citizens' lobby that identifies sustainable solutions to the problems of hunger and poverty as a human rights issue, in the United States and around the world. There, they learned of Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank model of small loans, fell in love with the idea, and decided to see whether that model could work for New York City.

In over ten years of operation, Project Enterprise has disbursed more than 724 loans totaling more than $1.7 million dollars, and provided more than 3,670 micro entrepreneurs with business training. The repayment rate has historically been 92%, however with the recent economic crisis it is dipped to around 87%.

“The average size of our loans is US $2269,” said Janaye Ingram, Project Enterprise’s development and communications manager. “Traditional banks are just not interested in lending in these small amounts. In addition, we lend to the riskiest of borrowers -- people who have no credit or poor credit. Project Enterprise doesn’t ask for collateral, co-signers or guarantors.”

Ingram believes that the strength of Project Enterprise is that it is a peer model which allows its lenders to have a say in whether others can join their members’ circle of entrepreneurs. Project Enterprise members come together to help each other in biweekly “Center meetings.” If a new member wants to join, they undergo six weeks of business certification training. The new member will self-select two to three other members to join in a group, where they learn about every aspect of each others’ businesses.

The meetings are led by a Center Manager, who delivers different messages on a variety of topics, such as marketing, fixed and variable costs, when and how to expand a product line, press kits, etc. During those meetings, member requests for loans are also reviewed and considered. “I wish more people knew about our model,” said “Ingram. “We have a great program with great results that we can track. Project Enterprise entrepreneurs generate US $6 million annually, and 42% of the businesses see an increase in revenue. We focus a lot on training because getting a loan is not enough. If new business owners don’t have tools and connections to take their business to the next level, a loan becomes only a temporary gain for them.”

In 2009, Project Enterprise made loans totaling $210,742. It’s funding comes from a variety of sources, including foundations, corporations, banks, individuals, and a variety of state government contracts. Ultimately, Project Enterprise hopes to expand its reach to communities outside of New York City, so that it can reach more budding entrepreneurs, such as Cynthia Shields.

When Shields joined Project Enterprise in 2002, she didn’t really know what type of business she wanted to start. She tried her hand at several different business ideas, but couldn’t find an idea about which she was passionate.

She worked with her Center Manager to identify her interests and skills to see what type of business would allow her to excel. The resulting business was the Parent Training Network which tapped into her experience working with mothers in substance abuse programs. The Parent Training Network initially began operating only on nights and weekends in 2006, but now is a full time business. The company provides training on parenting skills and challenges, special education, career development and childcare related classes.

“Our members are owed the credit for where Project Enterprise is today,” said Ingram. “A lot of people mistakenly think that we are really taking the steps for the entrepreneurs. We give entrepreneurs tools to help them succeed, but it is up to them to make it happen. They are the ones who are pushing their own businesses and innovation, which led us to create the training and technical assistance programs that we have. But they are the ones who have taken hold of the program to make it work for themselves.”

Project Enterprise was the New York State Winner in Ashoka Changemakers' Revelation to Action competition.  Website: www.projectenterprise.org/

By Changemakers contributing writer Carol Erickson.

If you read this blog regularly, chances are you care about struggling people—in the developing world and elsewhere. Maybe you’ve watched the powerful video Birth and Death—screened recently at the opening of the Global Maternal Health Conference in New Delhi.

If you haven’t, take a couple of minutes to watch the video now. I’ll wait.

Likely you’re horrified by maternal death facts and figures. And maybe you’re damned mad at the sluggish response to this health crisis.

But while some of us feel moved by maternal death, few of us willingly upend our lives to change the status quo. And that’s exactly what the Young Champions of Maternal Health are doing.

Guided by Ashoka Fellows, these 16 young people will spend the next nine months developing programs aimed to end maternal death worldwide.

The Young Champions have changed schedules and schooling to participate in the program. They’ve rearranged jobs and relationships. They’ve made countless accommodations we’ll never know of.

But none have sacrificed more than three women who—in addition to acting as Young Champions—are mothers who leave young children behind.

Mothers sacrificing for mothers

They come from Iran, Nigeria and Ethiopia. They are educators and advocates. One is a midwife to expectant women—and to “their souls, as well,” notes Faatimeh Ahmadi.

Driven to action by the suffering they’ve witnessed, these women made a mother’s ultimate sacrifice: They left young children behind—in the care of husbands and family—to work full-time for new solutions to maternal death.

“Mommy, can’t they send someone else?”

Faatimeh Ahmadi’s son, Mahdia, looks out of photos with huge brown eyes, chubby cheeks and a round face surrounded by brown curls. He is seven years old. In October, when he starts first grade, his mother will be working in rural Uganda. She’s committed to reducing maternal mortality using the critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire to educate, research and build community.

Faatimeh plans to assess living conditions in Uganda. If it’s safe and appropriate, Mahdia will join her. But two months ago, she also prepared her son for a less happy option.

How?

 “My husband and I,” said Faatimeh, “believe the best way to communicate with Mahdia is through dialogue.” That’s why Faatimeh explained her plans to Mahdia months before she left.

“Then one night,” recalls Faatimeh, “I was putting him to bed—that’s a good time to talk. And he told me, ‘Mommy, around the world, every minute one mother is dying because of giving birth. And after that, the mother and the baby are separated from each other forever. They cannot see each other ever. So we can be far from each other for a while—and after nine months we can see each other again.’”

“He thought, then he said, ‘Mommy, I’m happy. Somehow I’m proud of you and I’m happy for having a mother like you.’”

Naturally, the little boy changed his mind soon after, remembers Faatimeh. “He said, ‘Mommy, is it possible they could exchange you for another person? Can’t they send someone else?’ And I said, “No, Mahdia. I know something. And I have to share it with others. If I don’t do this, I’m afraid that in the future, when I see a mother dying while giving birth, I will hate that I didn’t go. I have to prevent that event.’”

Longing to be the mother of many—while leaving her only child

Martha Fikre Adenew is the mother of one child. But she harbors a secret fantasy of mothering many more. Years from now, when her public health work is done, “I will open an orphanage,” says Martha breaking into a huge smile.

At home in Ethiopia, Hemadn, Martha’s energetic two year-old daughter is a bundle of non-stop motion. “Sometimes she breaks things—and sometimes she makes me mad,” says Martha. “But when I leave work and go back to my home, I have someone to smile at me. I’m very happy to have her.”

Martha has always worked outside the home, entrusting Hemadn’s care to her mother-in-law. So Martha’s nine-month mentorship in New Orleans, reasons Martha, will not be so jarring for the little girl.

With Hemadn too young to understand explanations, Martha opted instead for distraction. Martha’s mother-in-law has a couple of helpers—teenage relatives visiting over summer vacation—to pamper and amuse Hemadn.

When Marta had to leave, the teens “took Hemadn shopping,” says Martha, adding sheepishly, “I hid.”

A “passion” for her work—though it takes her far from her children

Cared for often by their grandmother, Egwaoje Ifeyinwa Madu’s children were fairly prepared for the nine-month separation, believes Ifeyinwa. During her fellowship in the New Orleans, Ifeyinwa will plan, educate and raise funds for an innovative program that supports pregnant, at-risk women of color.

Ifeyinwa has a girl, Angel, aged five and a little boy, Daniel, three years old. From an early age their grandmother watched over them for two- and three-week periods as Ifeyinwa performed Nigeria’s mandatory Youth Service, then later, worked.

Of course parting was difficult. But necessary.

“I have a passion for sexual and reproductive health,” explains Ifeyinwa. “It’s part of my life. It’s just what gives me satisfaction.”

One Young Champion’s child comes along for the adventure

Three days before the Young Champions met for the first time on August 30, 2010 at Delhi’s Global Maternal Health Conference, one of their own, Zubaida Bai, gave birth to her first child. It was a boy.

Luckily, Zubaida’s internship is in the United States. She will work with pregnant women at risk for transmitting HIV/AIDS to their babies. And Zubaida’s son will stay with her.

Follow the Young Champions—and their children

Will Zubaida’s son take his first steps here in America? Will Mahdia be able to join his mother in Uganda? How will Ifeyinwa and Martha juggle their work while staying in close touch with their children?

Find out: Subscribe to this blog to stay updated on the Young Champions journey.

This post written by Lorraine Thompson, Ashoka’s correspondant and live blogger for the Global Maternal Health Conference.

Photo of mother and child courtesy of Mishimoto

By John Townsend

What if some social problems may be easier to solve than to manage? And what if solving said problems violates our moral intuitions and our political institutions?

A real-world application of this potential social disservice can be found in the homeless crisis.

In the 1980s, the federal government reduced funding for low-income housing, after having spent billions of dollars on housing a decade earlier. The reason being that taxpayers argued that “social programs” were not the responsibility of local government, nor were they the responsibility of the federal government, argued the Reagan administration.

The misguided, discouraging assumption was that the homelessness problem fit a normal distribution. If the vast majority of homeless were in “the same state of semi-permanent distress,”  what could possibly be done to help them?

The reality was that homelessness has a power-law distribution: where the activity is at one extreme. A research database constructed by former Boston College graduate student and current University of Pennsylvania professor Dennis Culhane revealed that the majority of people are homeless for about a day, and then get on with their lives. But ten percent of the homeless population are episodic users, the heavy drug users, those that rely on homeless shelters:

They were the chronically homeless, who lived in the shelters, sometimes for years at a time. They were older. Many were mentally ill or physically disabled, and when we think about homelessness as a social problem—the people sleeping on the sidewalk, aggressively panhandling, lying drunk in doorways, huddled on subway grates and under bridges—it's this group that we have in mind.

Ten percent? That’s it? What is the hold-up then? The challenge in managing the ten percent is that they suffer from liver disease, lung abscesses, hypothermia, neurosurgical catastrophes, subdural hematomas, and other complex infections.

The University of California, San Diego Medical Center followed fifteen chronically homeless persons and found that over a year and a half, they visited their local hospital’s emergency room nearly 500 times, running up bills of about a hundred thousand dollars each. But, expensive hospital bills are only part of the equation. Culhane explained that in New York, over sixty-two million dollars was being spent annually to shelter just twenty-five hundred hard-core homeless.

According to Philip Mangano, appointed executive director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2002, running soup kitchens and shelters allows the chronically homeless to remain just that: chronically homeless. Those services are established to address a problem with an unmanageable middle. Mangano offered this advice to a group of St. Louis social workers dealing with a homeless problem in the city:

Take some of your money and rent some apartments and go out to those people, and literally go out there with the key and say to them, 'This is the key to an apartment. If you come with me right now I am going to give it to you, and you are going to have that apartment.' … It is very much ingrained in me that you do not manage a social wrong. You should be ending it.

Mangano’s radical idea – to give homeless people a home – has worked. In Denver, one of over two hundred cities that have adopted his program, care for each homeless person costs fifteen thousand dollars per year -- about a third of what it would cost to keep them on the street. It’s efficient, but is morally complicated, as Malcolm Gladwell describes:

[I]t doesn't seem fair. Thousands of people in the Denver area no doubt live day to day, work two or three jobs, and are eminently deserving of a helping hand—and no one offers them the key to a new apartment. Yet that's just what the guy screaming obscenities and swigging [mouthwash] gets. When the welfare mom's time on public assistance runs out, we cut her off. Yet when the homeless man trashes his apartment we give him another. … It's hard not to conclude, in the end, that the reason we treated the homeless as one hopeless undifferentiated group for so long is not simply that we didn't know better. It's that we didn't want to know better. It was easier the old way.

Power-law solutions are polarizing. They offer special treatment for people who “don’t deserve it” and emphasize efficiency over fairness. Don’t the ends justify the means? If one of the pillars of social entrepreneurship is to “help people help themselves,” shouldn’t we sacrifice morality, our philosophies, our classical approaches in order to achieve social goals? Isn’t it worth solving homelessness, or poverty, or hunger by any means necessary? After all, the homeless just need a meal at a restaurant, groceries, and a new pair of pants. And the opportunity to succeed.

Photo courtesy of DesignMind

In the West Bank of the Palestinian Territory, the biggest barrier to finding a job is often not a lack of employment opportunities, but the lack of information on available jobs. Roadblocks and checkpoints impede physical movement in the region, creating additional challenges for job seekers. 

A new mobile phone technology, launched by the nonprofit, Souktel, is able to surmount these obstacles by delivering job opportunities to men and women via text message on their cell phones, promoting gender equality and significantly impacting income generation for thousands of people across three continents. “Souk” is the Arabic word for “market” or “marketplace” where one goes to do shopping and get information.  

While working in the Palestinian Territory’s international aid and telecommunications sectors, Jacob Korenblum and Lana Hijazi met many people whose job searches were hindered by a lack of access to information   Newspapers largely advertised only executive-level positions. Some jobs were advertised on the Internet, but only a third of Palestinians have Internet access, largely through Internet cafes, which are often dominated by men and off-limits to women.

Women’s job searches are often further hindered because traditional families often don’t allow women to search for jobs in person, leaving female job-seekers with few resources for finding work, and a greater chance than men of remaining unemployed. Their unemployed status often leads them to enter into an unwanted early marriage. While many Palestinians are able to get information about jobs through word of mouth or their own personal networks, unemployment remains staggeringly high. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimated unemployment in 2009 at 24.5 percent. Korenblum believes that the real figure is higher, noting that youth employment is particularly troubling, with about 40 percent of 18 to 25-year-olds unable to find work. 

The idea for Souktel came as Korenblum and Hijazi struggled to answer the question, “What can we do to help people get better access to employment information?” They knew that almost everyone had cell phones, and recognized that this would also give women a safe way to search for work from the comfort of their homes, or from anywhere they wish.

Korenblum and Hijazi tried a small scale JobMatch pilot to deliver information about jobs to a few people via text message, and found that the technology actually worked. They began to recruit employers to use their service by convincing them that newspaper advertisements were an inefficient way to find staff, and that mobile technology would give employers greater reach, costing them on average about USD $10 per month.

The effort to recruit job seekers was fairly straightforward, as Korenblum and Hijazi knew that college campuses and technical training schools had no in-house counseling services to help graduating students find jobs. They began with a workshop at Berzeit University, one of the main colleges in the Palestinian Territory, where half of the students are women. For a fee of USD $1 per month, job seekers are able to post a mini-curriculum vitae and search for job openings in the fields of their choice using their cell phone.

To monitor its impact, Souktel tracks the number of people calling in to search for jobs, and contacts random samples of job seekers to see if they have had success. They also call all of the employers and ask if they hired a person through Souktel’s services.

Since 2005 in the Palestinian Territory, Souktel has matched an average of 40-50 people with jobs per month. In Somaliland, where Souktel has been operating for a year, approximately 330 youth have been matched with different jobs opportunities. Annually, over 8000 people access Souktel services to find jobs or staff, generating at estimated USD $9.6 million in income for these newly-employed workers.

Diaa’, a resident of the Palestinian refugee camp, Qalandia, is a typical Souktel user.  She is in her twenties and studied computers but had no job prospects.  Coming from a refugee camp, her family had no connections among local employers, her university had no tips for her, and the newspaper had no job ads for entry-level posts.  Qalandia also has few places for women to use Internet, so this made web searching impossible. Ultimately, Diaa’ knew that if she failed to find a job she would be forced to marry early like most young women her age, and her family would have wasted its investment in her education.

Diaa’ heard about Souktel from a friend, and signed up from her mobile phone. She stayed updated on job opportunities from inside her home, which was safer and made her family more comfortable. Soon after she signed up for Souktel’s service, she found a well-paying data entry job at a local company, earning her new respect in her community.

In 2011 Souktel plans to launch a voice recognition mobile phone technology that will empower illiterate job seekers to find work, allowing them to create a mini-resume and search for job through a series of touch tone voice menus. This new technology will allow Souktel to increase its outreach to approximately 60,000 beneficiaries by 2012, making a significant impact on income generation and poverty alleviation in the Palestinian Territory, Somaliland, and Morocco with additional geographic expansion to come.

Souktel is a social enterprise that is non-profit in nature, covering almost all of its operating costs through corporate-style fee-for-service revenue generation.  Any surplus revenue allows them to pay for research and development, and new market expansion. 

“This social enterprise model is both innovative and extremely successful,” says Korenblum. “Most nonprofits in our region rely on donations and grants, and spend much of their resources trying to acquire more money to stay afloat.  Souktel, by contrast, earns income to support our running costs by directly doing our core work -- matching people with jobs. This gives us regular, reliable income that will continue to flow in over time, unlike a grant that has a fixed end date.”

Another component of Souktel’s work connects aid agencies to people who need help. Using AidLink, aid agencies that previously had to call thousands of people individually via telephone can now reach them all through the touch of a button to send news on the arrival of food at distribution centers, or other emergency aid services. Souktel’s technology allows aid agencies, including the United Nation’s World Food Programme, World Vision, and the Red Cross, to upload community member phone numbers to a central database, and distribute information to certain geographies, women, or other specific groups in need. 

“We’d love to see this technology being used by more countries around the world,” said Korenblum. “Right now, we’re just small team of about ten people, but we know that this technology has made a difference for an enormous number of people who have received important information on their cell phones because of our services.”

Souktel's entry, Mobile Phone Employment Service, was a finalist in the Women | Tools | Technology competition.

Website:  www.souktel.org/

By Changemakers contributing writer Carol Erickson.

I am a teacher and I’m passionate about making sure that every child has access to a high quality education.  After three years teaching at The American School of Kinshasa, I decided to explore the effects of collaboration between local and international teachers.  I packed my bags and moved to Goma, in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo, where 66% of children do not have access to basic education.  I am currently learning Swahili, observing Congolese teachers, and taking a stab at making a difference.  Here's what I've learned from observing classes every day at the Tungane School.

Lesson #1. Mama Matrese = Superwoman

All of the students at Tungane are patients, or children of patients at the Heal Africa Hospital. In addition to being bright, respectful, and eager to learn, these little ones have experienced serious trauma: some are born handicapped; some are missing limbs;  one girl was in a train accident; one child’s mother was paralyzed from being violently raped.

Their teacher carries the weight of their worlds on her shoulders. In addition to fulfilling the traditional role of a teacher, she is also their counselor, their spiritual advisor, their surrogate mother, and their friend. She teaches in the one-room class of children ranging from age four to 14, and strictly demands only their best school work. At recess, she plays games with them like dodgeball. In the afternoons you might find her in a hospital room, consoling a mother whose 12 year-old son has just died.

The students call her “Mama Matrese.” I call her Superwoman.

In my first day observing, after recess we came back to the classroom and a boy yelled out, "Kitendawili!" The rest of the room enthusiastically shouted, "Tega!" Then the boy would recite a sentence. This carried on for about 15 minutes while I sat fascinated by the concerted joy before me.

My Swahili tutor later explained that a kitendawili is like a riddle. The person who wants to offer a riddle says, “Kitendawili!” Those who wish to participate in answering reply, "Tega."  Here are a few of my favorites:

My house has only one door. (Bottle)
My wife has one eye. (Needle)
Let’s go around so we can meet. (Belt)
A teacher falls down with too many books. (Banana Tree)

I now come to school prepared to offer a kitendawili. When I first started learning them, they didn’t make a lot of sense to me - a big part of their impact requires knowledge of cultural context. But the more I learned about them, the more I realized that these riddles are a perfect way to explain the concept of metaphors to youth.

Metaphors are an incredibly powerful tool for getting a sense of the depth of understanding a child has about a particular concept.

In this case, these delightful Congolese metaphors are a culturally relevant avenue toward making creative thinking more prevalent in schools. This would be an incredible supplement to everyday recitations, rote learning and traditional exams.

These two lessons shed light on a very simple purpose: I am here to collaborate with local teachers. Local teachers like Mama Matrese possess the experience, knowledge and cultural understandings necessary to offer an education that is relevant to the lives of these students. I have access to countless ideas about high quality teaching.

By putting our heads together, we are able to work toward sustainable educational reform. Some potential projects that excite me are creating literacy resources in Congolese Swahili, creating a professional development model for teachers in a variety of learning environments, developing a model for school accreditation that could be adopted by the Congolese government, developing a collaboration model to ignite the exchange of ideas between local and international schools, and collaborating with local businesses on microfinance models that generate income for families who can’t afford school fees.

Amidst so many challenges of life in Congo, there are also so many possibilities. I hope that through teacher collaboration, I can assist in increasing the quality of education in a handful of schools in Goma, DRC.  I hope that my failures and successes can be shared with schools in developing countries around the world.

A final kitendawili: For five days each week, I counsel but am not a counselor, I am maternal but I am not a mother, I learn but I am not a student. Who am I?

A teacher!

Sara Rich
Freelance Education Specialist
Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
http://sararich.wordpress.com