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May 20th, 2013 - 9:03 am § in Good Practice

Don Popo and where to find “it”

I was having one of “those” conversations with a colleague in Haiti recently, the outline of which you can find here and here. What does work? What is the most important way to invest our time and resources? What is the “it” that will make a difference?

Luckily, I gave up the search for “it” a while ago. I have a different orientation to my role in the development space and it frees me from much of the swirl of thoughts that can de-motivate and confound us, especially after we’ve been working for a few years, and change still seems elusive and organizational life at times ridiculous.

“So why should we continue?” she asked me.

“Because of people like Don Popo.”

And then I showed her this short film, Familia Ayara, the winner of the Impact Jury Prize at the Social Media Impact Awards. (And my first pick – I was honored to be one of the judges.)

Familia Ayara from documon on Vimeo.

Congratulations to all the SIMA 2013 winners and nominees! I look forward to sharing the rest of my picks in the coming weeks!


May 17th, 2013 - 8:36 am § in Reflection & Rumination

I just came from Haiti too…

I just came from Haiti just last week. Here's my reflections on Nora Schenkel's piece in the New York Times, "I Came to Haiti to Do Good..." [...]


May 15th, 2013 - 7:30 pm § in Good Practice, Reflection & Rumination

7 things you need to speak truth to power

“Oh wait, the rules don’t work for us? Guess we have to stand up for ourselves and change those rules. But this will not happen by letting power go unchecked.” [...]


May 14th, 2013 - 4:30 pm § in Uncategorized

We want development…but at what cost?

A trailer from the film "We Want Development (but at what cost?)", about the development of a port in Lamu, Kenya. (c) Thirsty Fish 2012[...]



May 5th, 2013 - 3:00 pm § in Reflection & Rumination

To change the world, a pulse is required

These young people were so hungry, after only a week among development professionals in Washington DC, for an open and real conversation about development work![...]


April 26th, 2013 - 8:11 am § in Uncategorized

Friday’s Poetic Pause: “Bewilderment” by Rumi

How-matters.org’s Friday feature! Sharing “Bewilderment” by Rumi.[...]




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