After Sasha Rabsey, Founder and President of The HOW Fund (yes, obviously I love the synergy with how-matters.org!), came back from an international conference on poverty reduction at the end of last year, she called me and wanted to talk and learn more about racism, privilege and development. Unfortunately in terms of ready resources, I didn’t have much to share with her other than this 1981…

"You contributed the space for people to  discuss, to reflect and to act. Intangible maybe but invaluable!”  Jean Louis Lamboray commented after reading my lasr post.  Space and time are 2 very important gifts we can give and definitely,  2 very important resources we need to do our work. Space and time are often in shortage when young people are deemed to be putting themselves or others at risk of harm. For instance, a 9 year old boy who is attending school 3 out of 5 days a week is deemed…

The female condom is a thin pouch that a woman can insert in her vagina before sex to prevent pregnancy and  sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. It is the only proven, female-initiated method of HIV prevention currently on the market.  Many women find that their ability to negotiate safer sex with a male partner is enhanced by having access to female condoms because it enables a woman to say, “If you don’t want to use your condom, I will use mine.”  Some couples prefer the…

Dear friends,

Five and half years. That’s how long Laurence has worked in the Constellation Support Team. Four years. That’s Gaston. It’s been almost four years since we took on the bet of living and working in Chiang Mai. Both of us have worked, cried, laughed with communities on their way to competence in more than 10…

In the midst of a bitter quarrel.  a mother told her 5 children that they could leave her. The siblings aged from 12 to 20 years old took a few minutes to pack a few personal belongings and then left the flat together.  When tempers cooled the following day,  mother and a couple of the younger children called to inform us of the situation.  We then contacted the eldest sibling and she told us that she wanted to discuss the situation with us. At the meeting we were most heartened that she…

One year ago I started to 'Counsel' a Patient who had 'Suicidal Ideation' owing to her HIV status; she did not want to live and did everything possible to communicate her message of 'wanting to die'; however, I won't give up on her and I prayed with her using Psalm 23, 27, 51, 91 and 103! She was encouraged to listen to her 'favourite Gospel Music', to change her linens, Curtains and to even get scented Candles (Aromatherapy). Recognising the…

By Alexis Erkert and Beverly Bell

January 4, 2012

As 2012 begins, a growing movement of displaced people and their allies in Haiti is actively claiming the right to housing, which is recognized by both the Haitian constitution and international treaties to which Haiti is signatory.

Haitians displaced by the earthquake two years ago…

Pensez vite... dans une réunion, dans un avion ou sur un ordinateur... Ou, peut-être, à Yogyakarta, en Indonésie? 

La réponse est simple: Si vous vous êtes engagé dans un voyage d'apprentissage avec votre communauté dans l'année à venir, vous serez…

Today I stood by the bedside of a 15 yr old girl who is dying from HIV/AIDS and I tried to get her to take her ARVS/MEDS which will help to make her feel better and she just couldn't swallow the medication; she then puked saying that its the 'bitterness' of the tablet that makes her nauseous and I felt so HELPLESS because I can't do nothing more for her; its the Medication that will help at this stage of her ILLNESS! Then I stood by the window and…

I know, I know. I’m supposedly on a self-declared shut-down, but I couldn’t resist sharing my top 12 people, trends, sites, and organizations to watch in 2012!!

In no particular order...

Dear All,

Happy New year

The Countdown Begins...

Time for long-term New Year Resolutions

Where will you be on February 15, 2012?

Think quickly… in a meeting, on a plane or at a computer….or, perhaps, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia?

Quite simply answered: If you have resolved to go on a…

So often the archetypal leader that one is accustomed to hearing of are the suited and booted CEOs, heads of states and politicians with the accompanying networks, resources and sphere of influence.

However, according to Malaysian author Alvin Ung, one can lead without extensive resources or power; those that do so are…

I was outside a train station on a very cold day waiting for a friend to pick me up in his car when I noticed a  young person about 18 years old approaching different people asking for a dollar. It was a well rehearsed line about  needing a ticket home but as no one bought it.  Just as I was hoping that she won’t come to me, she did. I only had a five dollar note on me but decided that she probably needed it more than me.  Five dollars was not such a big amount to give away but what deterred…

Friday, December 2, 2011 it was a warm placid night.  I could hear an assortment of sounds: the buzz of the fan as it whirred; the faint sing songs of the vicious hungry mosquitoes; the happy chirp of the crickets outside my window; the neighbor’s dog barking and that familiar, happy ring tone of Skype. This is a very intimate conversation with Ryon Rawlins. A young local gay man who is part of the Guyana Community Life Competence, he shares his personal experience of how SALT has impacted…

A blog  by Donnie Maclurcan based in Australia who uses asset based approach in his work. Donnie is from Thanks Donnie for sharing!

The Occupy movement has spread to 2,512 cities worldwide, and its support networks stretch far beyond physical occupations. That it has grown so quickly without specific demands or hierarchical leadership is testament to the creative…

Interview by Alexis Erkert, Other Worlds

December 20, 2011

Iderle Brénus Gerbier has worked with many peasant organizations in support of women's rights and food sovereignty. She is a member of the Haitian National Network for Food Security and Sovereignty (RENHASSA), campaign coordinator for Food Sovereignty in Haiti, advisor of the National Confederation of Peasant Women (KONAFAP), and organizer for the Haitian Social Forum for Food…

Chipo is 15 years old and an orphan. Her father died in 2001 and her mother died six months ago. She is caring for her little sister, Nolly, and two brothers, Farai and Edwin, as there is no one else to look after them. There is no money for food or school fees and the landlord wants the rent they owe. Mr Gift, the store manager, offered to cancel her food bill if she would ‘go home’ with him. Last week she gave in because Farai was crying with hunger and Nolly had fainted at school.…

It’s been a great year at how-matters.org! I am invoking a “shut down” for the holidays as of today and will return on January 15^th. Why the big break?

Because there are ideas to be flushed out, plans to be finalized, proposals to be finished, reflections and connections to be had.

2011 has been a “shake-up” year. With the Arab awakening in North Africa and the Middle East and the emergence of the Occupy…