Using a game: income generation and more for selfhelp group women

“It was in 1977 that we have started to put a lot of energy into social work and to set up Self help groups and skill trainings for poor women from urban, rural and tribal areas around Karamadai,” Rev. sister Anila from the Good Shephard convent in Karamadai, Tamil Nadu tells me. She is really…

We suffer from Pseudo solutions and money waste 

Do you know this situation? There are teams sitting together and are looking for solutions. A lot of proposals are coming in and a lot of creativity is in the air. We listen to them, maybe still write them down, but somehow the last or first one or the one given by a specif person…

Combine Social entrepreneurship & charity activities! 

The concept of social entrepreneurship is highly discussed: social labs, industries, universities and huge organizations from the social sector are very interested in it. The entrepreneurial idea behind is amazing: the promising win – win approach – that goes beyond the traditional charity events -, the potential sustainability behind and the innovative character are an…

From India’s mountain of waste to fashion

  When I went the first time to India I was shocked by all the plastic waste on the streets, in front of the houses, in the Indian Ocean… Plastic bags, a thousands and thousands of plastic bottles, often combined with a bad smell. It does not just look ugly, but is the source for disease…

Social Entrepreneurship has many faces

 This week I participated in the Ashoka Social Entrepreneurship conference in Berlin. Besides the official workshops and speeches given in the big glass building of the Allianzforum I had the possibility to speak to many social entrepreneurs cooperating with investors, traditional NGOs and Corporate enterprises. It is fascinating to see how all are looking…

How an iron fish can change a huge health problem

Anemia is a huge problem in the developing world. In many countries. Iron deficiency is the cause of weakness and impairs cognitive development in children. The Lucky Iron Fish™ is a social entrepreneurship organization implementing a simple health innovation to alleviate iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in Cambodia, especially in women and children. How?…

Change the world – on the streets working with kids

During the Ashoka changemaker week in Paris last week there was one particular social entrepreneur that still remains in my mind. He gave a short intro during one speaker session. His name is Arnoud Raskin, Founder of Mobile Schools and Streetwize. Mobile Schools develops innovative education programs that enhance the qualities of resourcefulness that underprivileged…