6 Lessons Learnt from 6 Years of OIC Cambodia
Our goals at OIC are ambitious, and we’re setting ourselves up to do something that has never been done. It’s an entirely new way of looking at an old problem — how to execute something meaningful for a large population in need, and then getting out.
Isn't it time we redefine success in charities?
Never in the history of humankind have we had more potential to act. There are more charities than ever, more people volunteering overseas, more crowdfunding campaigns to support at a click of a button.And yet, amongst all of this good work, there is the underlying paradox of the entire charity sector. It is a commonly held belief that for a charity to exist, someone must remain suffering.
What happens when well-intentioned foreigners leave?
In 2006, I spent 6 months volunteering in an orphanage in Vietnam. To find out what kind of legacy I left, I went back after 12 years.There are so many international projects in poorer countries. But what happens when this work ends? What legacy do they leave behind?
Three principles to helping people living in poverty
Principles connect your values to action. If we truly value compassion, empathy, and respect, then the work that we do in other countries should reflect this. But often, the principles we base our work upon are either wrong or unclear.So here are 3 basic principles which you can use to create more meaningful impact in the world around us.
The problem with teaching a man to fish
You know you’ve solved a problem when you’re no longer needed. This is as truistic a statement as it is common sense. And yet, how many international charities follow this principle?