Cycling for Development: My 4,200-mile ride to keep America safe
Janessa Goldbeck from the Make US Strong campaign reports on her 4,200-mile trip across the country: Three months ago, I set off from San Diego on what felt like the world’s heaviest bicycle with one mission: to spread the word that international development, or foreign aid, keeps America safe. Today, after 4,200 miles of cycling coast-to-coast and then some, my …
Read More
What We’re Reading: AIDS funding boosts overall health care
USAID to shift up to $6B from annual budget to local institutions – Rajiv Shah says that “one of the big failings in food security has been a lack of effective partnerships with the private sector,” and he aims to expand “public-private partnerships to lift people out of poverty and ensure food security.” Such partnerships can transform infrastructure, and USAID …
Read More
Ghana: A most excellent adventure
ONE blogger C.C. Chapman just came back from a trip to Ghana with ONE. This is an excerpt of of a piece from his personal blog. My first impression of Ghana will always be “wow, it isn’t as hot as I was expecting.” I had arrived in Accra after a ten-plus hour flight from Washington, DC. We had left in …
Read More
ONE Act a Week: Pressure your senator to pass the Water for the World Act
Action: 41. Time: 15 minutes. Level of difficulty: Moderate. It’s infuriating when great poverty-fighting bills are stuck in Congress. But that’s exactly what’s happening to the Water for the World Act. The Act has the ability to direct US efforts to help provide 100,000,000 people with first-time access to safe drinking water and sanitation on a sustainable basis within six …
Read More
TEDxSummit intro: The Power of X
What do you get when you cross a camera, dancers, and a gigantic 59-foot-tall kaleidoscope? Answer: The Power of X. This amazing dance video was created for the TEDxSummit conference that was recently held in Qatar, and was created without any computer trickery. Everything you see in the video is what the camera captured through the kaleidoscope on a massive soundstage. …
Read More
New Factory Creates New Futures for Survivors in India
In Delhi, India, Not For Sale works to reintegrate survivors of exploitation and at-risk populations by providing dignified and sustainable employment opportunities. Additionally, Not For Sale drives business to local ethical companies, increasing production and generating funds to be re-invested into at-risk communities. Thousands of woman and children in India are trafficked into labor and sexual exploitation. Many are trafficked into Delhi’s red …
Read More
Compassion Bloggers are Heading to Tanzania
Our team of Compassion Bloggers will be in Tanzania next week (May 6-11, 2012). Whether you sponsor a child in Tanzania or not, whether you are a brand new or long-time sponsor, you’ll want to follow the team as they share their adventures in Africa: Amy Lupold Bair Kelli Stuart Scott Williams Jolanthe Maggie Whitley The Nester Keely Scott Shaun …
Read More
Endless Love
The de-addiction program in our ministry in India gave 705 hard-core alcohol addicts a chance to become sober and change for the good. All eight clusters have celebrated their 100th day of their fathers being sober. I had the joy of attending one such celebration. The program involved testimonies of mothers, children, and the fathers themselves. One such testimony of …
Read More
Casa de Paz
Sarah signing the lease to Casa de Paz Guest Blog by: Sarah Jackson After a long, exhausting day of traveling I collapsed into a little heap on the dirty Phoenix airport floor. I just spent three weeks traveling and was ready to be home. My return flight was delayed until the following day. My feet ached, the muscles in my …
Read MoreN.C. Black Pastor Treads Carefully on Gay Marriage
RALEIGH, N.C. — With only a few days remaining before North Carolinians vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, the Rev. Earl C. Johnson took five minutes on Sunday (April 30) to give congregants 10 reasons to vote against the measure. It was his only concerted effort to wade into a subject considered taboo in most African-American …
Read MoreMethodists Uphold Policy Calling Homosexuality ‘Incompatible with Christian Teaching’
Despite emotional protests and fierce lobbying from gay rights groups, United Methodists voted on Thursday to maintain their denomination’s stance that homosexuals acts are “incompatible with Christian teaching.” Two “agree to disagree” proposals were soundly defeated during separate votes by the nearly 1,000 delegates gathered for the United Methodist Church’s General Conference in Tampa, Fla. One proposal would have replaced …
Read MoreAfternoon Links of Awesomeness: May 3, 2012
Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari fools Anderson Cooper with a look-alike — a child and a lion encounter one another at a Portland zoo — Virgin airlines debutes new ice cubes — Bruce Springsteen honors Levon Helm andThe Band — and zingers in new form: Ayn Randers. See these and more in today’s Links of Awesomeness… read more From …
Read MoreHearts in the Trash (Day Two)
It turns out that packing all the belongings you need for at least three months into the back of a Prius is a challenge. Of course, being a guy it’s the kind of challenge that makes life worth living. Anyone who has ever been a Tetris junkie can appreciate the exhilaration of fitting forty-seven differently shaped items into a space …
Read MoreQUIRK: Sister Maripat’s Late-Nite Talk Show
She may not be an actual Catholic sister in real life but Maripat Donovan plays one of the most recognizable nuns in the world. Donovan is a Chicago native and originator of the role of “Sister” in the long-running play, Late Nite Catechism. She’s one of the funniest nuns we know. “Catholicism is Happy Days. All the other religions? Joanie …
Read More
Scary Nuns Terrify the Vatican
The Vatican has always been scared of forceful nuns. Even (and perhaps especially) the three female doctors of the church made prelates nervous. In the 14th century, Catherine of Siena meddled in papal politics and brought the Avignon pope back to Rome. In the 16th century, Teresa of Avila survived an investigation by the Spanish Inquisition of her mystical writings …
Read More