Online journalism has the potential to make an almost instantaneous connection among audience, journalist and subject anywhere in the world. PBS Frontline’s series “iWitness” makes excellent use of webcam interviews to transport viewers to far-flung places and tell stories about global art, politics and social change. Recently it covered Kiva’s microloans in Ayacucho, Peru, to see how Kiva has evolved in the three years since Frontline produced a documentary about the organization.

I caught up with Joe Rubin, the video journalist who produces and hosts iWitness, to learn more about the program.

NEED: You use webcam to do short interviews with people in the field—whether they’re journalists, activists, or others who can give firsthand accounts [of global issues]. Why does iWitness choose this approach?

iWitness: I specialized in doing foreign journalism, and going back a few years, using relatively inexpensive, small format production equipment, so we could spend more time in the field and didn’t need an expensive director of photography and a sound crew the whole time. I’ve always been interested in using technology to tell stories. About a year and a half ago, I was talking with someone over Skype and I realized that this is a great way to access people in different parts of the world and not only is it inexpensive, it’s free. That was interesting to me and interesting to people at Frontline, so we pursued it and we created this show format around it.

NEED: You can reach a lot more people.

iWitness: It’s ranged from everyone from reporters for Frontline in the field, to the mayor of Tbilisi, Georgia, to activists, human rights workers, the whole spectrum.

NEED: Why is this kind of storytelling important?

iWitness: This offers a sort of immediacy which you sometimes lose when you’re spending weeks and months telling the story. There’s something good about that, and I also think there’s a kind of intimacy to it that reminds me of radio in that when you have a crew somewhere, it creates a barrier [that] can make people more nervous. [With webcam] it’s almost like you’re in the room with someone.

It’s sort of a new frontier, which is crazy sometimes because you’re totally reliant on this connection which, in some places, can be spotty. It’s also about the digital divide between countries that have internet and those that don’t have internet. Frankly, if people in Burma could be webcamming their experiences and have total freedom to do that—or in Iran—I think that would be potentially detrimental to those regimes. Read the rest of this entry »

Photographer Gustavo Fernandez and his 2003 Harley Davidson FatBoy are riding across 5,000 miles of the United States with a program he created called The HOG for Kids Project. Fernandez designed The HOG for Kids Project to raise awareness and collect donations for the children of the Dominican Republic.

Through a partnership with Children International, Fernandez is taking his office on the road. This is the second year of his annual project. This summer he is photographing families all over the country on his journey from California to New York for the price of $100 to cover ride costs and bills. In addition to the base amount, he asks the families for a $264 one-year commitment to sponsor a child in his homeland, the Dominican Republic.

The money collected will go through Children International to where the greatest needs are in the Dominican Republic, or according to Fernandez, “just having the resources to get kids educated, access to textbooks, and qualified teachers.” In a country where 42 percent of the population is below the poverty line, his work goes a long way. Read the rest of this entry »

Fashion is the epitome of narcissism and vanity, right? Wrong. As Sheena Matheiken has proved along with designer Eliza Starbuck, fashion absolutely can be the vehicle for sustainability and philanthropy. The Uniform Project launched in May when Matheiken put on the versatile black dress for the first time, and vowed to wear it every day for one year. Well, to be precise, she plans to wear seven identical copies of the dress, reinventing it daily with vintage pieces and accessories.

In addition to being an exercise in fashion sustainability, the project is a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing the means to educate slum children in India. The Indian government spends an average of $360 on one child’s schooling. The Akanksha Foundation pledges to spend the same amount of every slum child to afford them the same educational opportunities as their peers.

At the end of one year, The Uniform Project will send supporters’ donations to the Akanksha Foundation. For the duration of the project, Matheiken herself will add one dollar to the jar each day, so that by the end of the one year, she will have provided the funds necessary for uniforms and other educational expenses for one child living in the Indian slums. Read the rest of this entry »

Leaders not pictured: Ms. Amy Bellus, Fr. John Forliti, and Mr. Rob Peick

Computers have revolutionized the way we interact and go about our daily lives. Case in point: you are reading this article from a computer or smart phone connected to the internet. Having a computer has becoming the norm and an expected expense — or graduation present — for American students entering college in the fall.

Not every student is so fortunate. Many students in Kenya have never seen a computer, much less expect to use one to further their education. Education itself is considered a luxury. This creates a digital divide between those who are virtually connected to the world and have the tools to enhance their education, and those who aren’t. Computer skills increase the chance of employment and can potentially become the gateway to a better life for an African student.

A group of eight students and three staff members of Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota, made it their mission to close the technology gap for students in rural Rabondo, Kenya. On June 8, the “Kenya Krew ’09” journeyed to the village to teach the students of St. Timon’s Secondary School how to use the ten Dell computers they had received through a generous grant from the Augustine Foundation. “There were twenty or thirty students who would gather around the computers at a time and we would show them things like how to open a Word document, what a monitor is, and how to save their work. Basic stuff,” explained Megan Kramer, a student from the group. Read the rest of this entry »

Submitted by Anne Katoski

Amma expresses her love for humanity by ritually hugging thousands of people.

Sri Mata Amritanandamayi is a spiritual leader affectionately known as “Amma,” or “Mother.” For the past 30 years, Amma has dedicated her life to easing the suffering of humanity through a very simple gesture: a hug.

Amma’s outreach takes two forms: hugging and speaking with her millions of followers around the world; and the humanitarian efforts she has inspired. Collectively known as Embracing the World, these humanitarian efforts address disaster relief, free homes for the homeless, community care, food and medicine supply, education and orphanages.

Amma has enthused many communities to extend their hands and hearts to those in need. One long-time devotee I spoke with, Raman Johar, has helped to initiate five groups in the Chicago area. These groups work together with neighboring churches to coordinate monthly food collections for the poor and homeless. Along with these efforts, the youth of Chicago are giving back through an initiative to plant trees.

At her tour stop in Chicago, Amma sold goods from a community-based vocational group that she founded, Amrita Self-Reliance, Education and Employment. The program provides training and loans to women who seek to start a business.When Amma’s 2009 North American tour made a stop in Chicago, I could not miss this chance to see her. I weaved my way to the front of Amma’s line in a state of shock and excitement. When Amma answered my questions about her humanitarian efforts, I saw how her message of compassion guides the way for humanity.

Q: What parts of your humanitarian efforts are most important to you?

A: All parts of the humanitarian activities are equally important to me. It all depends on each situation because sometimes people need water and so then that becomes most important. Other times they need clothing or shelter. … Nothing is small as far as I’m concerned. Suppose an engine of a plane crashes and the plane cannot take off because the vital screw is missing. So because the vital screw is small we will never ignore it. Likewise, as far as creation, everything is significant.

Q: What is your greatest hope for humanity?

A: My greatest hope is that everyone across the globe should wake up to a higher level of consciousness so that there will be more peace and love. Everyone should be able to smile, play around, and celebrate like small children.

Q: Amma, we can learn so much from your selflessness. What steps may one take within themselves in order to find the deep desire to serve others?

A: First and foremost one needs the deep desire to serve humanity, and this desire needs to be sincere and honest. Most importantly one needs to look within and discover that there is an infinite capacity inside one’s self. Once we tap into that realm of consciousness, we can keep on giving. We then begin to take only what is really necessary for ourselves and continue to give to others. … The feeling of “the other” disappears and we will see everything as a part of the whole, as oneness. Suppose there are one hundred pots all filled with water up to the brim. You may see one hundred suns reflected, but in reality there is only one sun. Likewise, people may be different with various cultures, languages, nationalities, caste, sect, creed, but the consciousness is one and the same. Once you realize that, you can serve everyone equally.

(Answers translated by Swami Amritaswarupananda.)

Amma: Embracing the World

Photojournalist James Nachtwey discusses photojournalism, tuberculosis, his TED wish and inspiring involvement with Stephanie Kinnunen, founder of humanitarian magazine NEED.

Visit XDRTB.org for Nachtwey’s images and more information about extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).

>> watch the interview

Balochistan Earthquake 2008 | photo courtesy of ShelterBox/Mark Pearson
When disasters strike, thousands of people may be left without shelter. In 2001 Tom Henderson, a former Royal Navy search-and-rescue diver, founded the organization ShelterBox to combat this problem. He created a compact kit that holds enough supplies to help families stay alive and healthy. ShelterBox has several branches in different countries including one in the USA. I spoke with Casey Chadwick, the Public Relations and Marketing Director for the USA branch.

Balochistan Earthquake 2008 | photo courtesy of ShelterBox/Mark PearsonMs. Chadwick told me, “As soon as I started learning more about [ShelterBox] I became very interested. … [This is] a sound program for humanitarian aid relief.” The boxes typically contain a ten-person tent, thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, waterproof ponchos and bin bags, a multi-fuel stove, cooking supplies, collapsible water containers, water purification tablets, a basic tool kit and a small children’s pack with drawing books. This kit can help a family of 10 survive for six months. Read the rest of this entry »

Approximately 218 million children around the world between the ages of five and 17 are involved in child labor, according to The International Labour Organization. Their jobs range from textile work to gold mining and sex work to rag picking. Often their working conditions endanger their health and general wellbeing. I met with David Parker, a photographer and doctor who has worked to bring awareness to this issue for over 16 years. His work is proof that one person’s efforts can help alleviate our world’s problems.

Parker explains, “[I have] always been oriented in a direction of basic human rights, and liberties, and issues of social justice. … What gives me that orientation? … Growing up Jewish during WWII.” When he learned about the conditions that many child laborers face, Parker recognized this injustice as a human rights and a health issue and became passionate about addressing it. He has taken a unique approach to raising awareness about child labor by combining his strengths and interests. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past decade, a group called Youth ALIVE! has worked to stop the needless deaths of hundreds of Oakland youths. The organization also works to end retaliatory cycles of gangland violence and to raise up peer educators who teach young people to make peaceful choices.

EMILIO MENA

Adam Hanson interviewed several of the youths involved. Interviews were recorded on location.
“I destroyed a community … I had to come back and help rebuild it.”

Mena grew up in East Oakland. He was deeply entrenched in a gang until a mentor helped him out of his dangerous lifestyle. “I destroyed a community. I pushed drugs into this community, … [so] as a man, I had to come back and help rebuild it,” Mena says…

Listen to Mena’s Interview: Download link 

visit www.needmagazine.com/audio to hear all interviews

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, shares his insights on a world without poverty with Stephanie Kinnunen, NEED CEO and Co-Founder. photo | Thomas Lee

“Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people.”
—the Nobel Committee   Muhammad Yunus, along with the Grameen Bank, was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to further social and economic development. “Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea,” states the Norwegian Nobel Committee prize announcement. “From modest beginnings three decades ago, Yunus has, first and foremost through Grameen Bank, developed microcredit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty.”

MUHAMMAD YUNUS INTERVIEW

Question 1: What was the initial start to Grameen Bank, and how many people are now empowered by the expansion of the Grameen programs?

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for more on the Grameen Foundation visit: www.grameenfoundation.org