Margaret Christoph's blog

Every year since 2006, InterAction has honored aid workers from among our member organizations who have lost their lives helping others. We display their names on a memorial that stays in our main conference room year-round.

Tonight, at the Forum 2013 Gala Banquet, we will read aloud the names of aid workers who died in the field in 2012 followed by a moment of silence. The updated memorial will be put back on display when we return to our office later this week.

On Monday, InterAction published a new briefing book, Global Health: Investing in Our Future, on the most critical health issues our members tackle around the world. It highlights how much good U.S. health programs have done around the world, including:

One of the reasons I’m glad that #GivingTuesday came to life this year is actually pretty selfish on my part.

When I talk about donating, volunteering or supporting a cause, I often get the perplexed response, “But you already work for a nonprofit.” My answer is always, “So?” Yes, I do communications work for InterAction. I try to share the stories of people halfway around the world, who I’ll never meet, and I hope that the work I do makes an indirect positive difference in their lives.

This Wednesday, Oct. 17, is the UN’s annual International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This week we’ll be showcasing several blogs from InterAction members on their work around the world.

How, in today’s world of increasing urbanization, can we better prepare for increasingly frequent natural disasters and extreme weather events? One answer is to focus on communities, said speakers at a recent event dubbed Cities and Climate Change Adaptation: What We Can Learn About Resilience from Those Living on the Edge. When people living in a neighborhood trust and rely on each other enough, evidence shows that they work together and rebuild more quickly after a disaster.

Last Friday, I attended a great presentation for InterAction’s members’ communications directors by the Ad Council and the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) about a free online toolkit being created over the next several months on responsible giving. The Ad Council and CIDI are part of a coalition of organizations funding and coordinating the project, including InterAction.

Drought is natural. Famine is manmade. 

When I was a kid and adults asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” my answers varied depending on my age: A princess. A marine biologist. A teacher. A writer. 

No one ever answers that question with, “A prostitute.” No one asksto be a prostitute. So why are they the ones who are always arrested and persecuted?