Between being really sick for the past 24 hours, trying to still work today, and having some valuable discussions on the IC controversy, I didn’t get around to acknowledging #IWD on the blog!

This world is filled with some really amazing women and girls doing some really amazing work with great social impact. I can’t give every individual and organization a shout out, but I do encourage people to check out the following:

 
The International Rescue Committee: Wake Up
As most of you know, I’ve always respected this organization and am a huge fan of their work and the integrity with which they do it. Recently, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with some of their staff (who aren’t even on the program side), and I can see the integrity, diligence, careful thought, and passion with which they work.

Below is a video from their Wake Up campaign, which seeks to educate people on the violence and injustice that women face around the world. I think the statistic is 1 in 3 women globally will have been raped, beaten, coerced into sex, and/or abused in her lifetime.

The Wake Up campaign was listed today in Mashable’s “5 Social Media Campaigns Rocking International Women’s Day.” Makes me glad!

 
The Adventure Project
Yeah, I know you all are probably sick of me always talking about TAP, but the vision that Becky Straw and Jody Landers have is incredible: to eliminate extreme poverty, not through charity but through job creation.

TAP wants to educate Americans on smart giving. Donating to an organization is a social investment, and the women of TAP believe that investing in economic empowerment programs, training programs, and job creation for women in developing countries is an investment in sustainable solutions to poverty, hunger, the water crisis, and global health issues.

This is an old video from over a year ago, but it highlights one of the projects in one of the communities that they partner with: training women mechanics in rural India to repair the broken wells in surrounding areas. Love their projects so much.

(On a side note, co-founder Becky Straw was invited to speak today at the UN on International Women’s Day and women’s empowerment through social business.)

 
Camfed
Camfed fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. The organization began in 1993 with a goal to improve the lives of two million children by 2013, and is currently at over 1,400,000 impacted.

“When rural girls and young women graduate from high school, they enter an adult world of massive unemployment.”

What I like about Camfed is that it doesn’t just stop at education; they continue to walk alongside young female graduates by providing seed money (microloans) to help them develop their economic skills and launch small businesses.

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Okay, I think it’s time for me to pop some meds and get some rest. But let’s continue celebrating women and girls (not just on March 8th)!

“Happy valentine’s day, lil lady!”
“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too. And Generosity Day!”
“Whaaaa? Haha.”
“It’s Generosity Day!”
“Saint Generosity? Never heard of him.”

Real text conversation at 8:00am this morning.

I’m not super savvy on my saints, but I’m going to say that there is no St. Generosity. But that doesn’t mean today can’t be rebranded as Generosity day.

Evidently, at last year’s Social Media Week (held around Valentine’s Day), Katya Andresen of Network for Good, Sasha Dichter of Acumen Fund, and Ellen McGirt of Fast Company all sat on a panel for a session called “Nonprofits Using Social Media To Close Doors For Good.” The panel was introduced by Scott Case of Malaria No More, who led the session in brainstorming ideas and solutions for social entrepreneurs and non-profiters in the audience.

Afterwards, Sasha was discussing his “Generosity Experiment” with Katya, in which he said YES to everyone who asked him for help for an entire month. The discussion inspired him to take back Valentine’s Day and celebrate a different kind of love. He launched Generosity Day 2011, utilizing social media platforms, reaching out to his network, and partnering with Network for Good. The inspired Sasha then inspired others to rebrand their Valentine’s Day to Generosity Day by “doing good.”

And this year, Generosity Day is back. Individuals and organizations worldwide are spreading the word and showing some love, not just to significant others and special loved ones in their lives, but to their neighbors, their communities, and even strangers on the street.

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Below is another video, made by the interns at Pencils of Promise: “#GenerosityDay Fail.” The part about holding the door open has happened to me more than once.

 
And one more video made by Jason & the crew from Jubilee Project: “What is Love?”

Enjoy, and happy loving!

 
Life has been a bit crazy and stressful for me lately (hence, a lack of updates…even more so than typical). Between work, and side projects, and family, and relationships, and interviews, and ideas, and meetings, and financial issues, and being nomadic, and life decisions, I just have been non-stop moving, sometimes robotically, which is completely not my style.

I’ve been feeling especially disjointed these past few days. Waking up this morning was difficult because I was just drained — mostly emotionally and spiritually but a bit physically too.

Eventually, I got up from the slab of ice I slept on last night (no heat), went to my computer, and got on my grind. After a while of working, I checked my TweetDeck and saw more than one tweet about the Holstee manifesto (see below). Evidently, they launched a new a LifeCycle film of the manifesto.

It totally made my morning better and reminded me of who I am and what I believe (sorry if that sounds cheesy or dramatic or cliche — but there’s no other way to say it). You can read their manifesto below or just watch the video.

 

Really interesting video on mobile stats in Africa. Pretty phenomenal, no?

My boyfriend jokes that I always “do what I want.” Apparently though, for the first time ever, I’m in a country where I can’t do whatever I want. Not only is my addiction to Twitter getting a cleansing (not going to lie, I’m suffering some minor withdrawal symptoms) but my bigger addiction to Gmail is taking an unexpected and unwelcomed blow as well.

In the two nights I’ve been in China, I’ve gotten exactly 4 minutes of Gmail time. But at least I was somewhat prepared for that (though I didn’t realize it would be this inaccessible); my dad on the other hand is irate. Poor guy.

I won’t rant too much about this and my thoughts on Internet censorship and this government. Who knows who will come knocking on my door, putting me away. But hey, maybe I’ll get a Nobel Peace Prize out of it (I’d link that sentence but I’m pretty sure all articles about the 2010 winner are blocked here).

 

 

In other news: I almost got into a brawl less than 5 minutes into being in China. I have low tolerance for nonsense. And rudeness. And nonsensical rudeness.

Other observations:

• No one says anything when they knock you over in the street. At least in New York, you’ll get an “excuse me” or “sorry” or “move it” or even “f*** you” — but here? Nothing. As Bon Qui Qui would say: “Rude.”
• People love to ride their mopeds on pedestrian walks. I don’t know why. Inefficient.
• Nose-picking is in. The more public and unashamed, the more in it seems to be.
• Peeing in public is also in, among some crowds…
• Chinese people are loud. But I didn’t have to come all the way to China to tell you that one.
• Food is crazy cheap, as all my China-visiting friends have told me. Clothing and entertainment are not cheap.
• The people who are nice are VERY nice. Thumbs up for that.

List to be continued, perhaps.

Hopefully I’ll be updating soon about what I’ve done in China so far. Despite the Internet inaccessibility and the nose-pickers, the direct experience with people has been amazing thus far. I had the chance to meet with families of children with cerebral palsy, and talk with organization heads/founders. Photos, stories, and lessons to come.

 

First meal in China…cheapest thing at Shenzhen airport though.