Latest Blog Entries

Carrots, beet root, leafy greens and other vegetables will finally be produced up to four times a year in a new environmentally friendly initiative involving raised-bed gardens in Central Ethiopia.

Called a “keyhole garden,” it is a circular raised soil bed about four-feet high and 6.5 feet wide with a small break in its round shape for access (the keyhole) to a composting basket in the center. The garden's circular keyhole shape makes all sections very accessible to tend.

Talking about sex is hard. Talking about staff misconduct—like trading sex for aid—can be like walking through a legal, financial, cultural, reputational and moral minefield. But talking about the rights, dignity and safety of disaster- and conflict-affected people resonates with almost every humanitarian and development aid worker I've met. And if that doesn't open the door for a thoughtful discussion on a sensitive topic, framing it around the organizational risk associated with a lack of prevention and response systems should ring an alarm bell (CEOs, I'm looking at you!). 

On September 11, 2001, ReSurge International (formerly Interplast) had U.S. medical volunteers teaching and providing surgeries in Nepal, Peru and Brazil.  While families of the volunteers asked that they return home immediately after the attacks, that was not an option, as planes were not flying.  More importantly, the medical volunteers wanted to stay overseas and complete the work they were doing.  For some, giving back by building surgical capacity and healing children was the best way to deal with their sorrow and anguish.