Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesdays

The Value of Being Useless

I'd like to share an essay I wrote for a a recent scholarship proposal. The essay prompt was to describe a cross cultural experience and what I learned from it. Naturally, one instance stood out . . .

I bend over, hands on my knees, and watch with winded gasps as an elderly Ayamara woman ambles slowly beside me before bending over and pulling at least thirty pounds of stones into her shawl. I observe with listless fascination as she heaves the rock-laden shawl over her shoulder and turns around to make her way back to the construction site.

The distance between the rock pile and the unfinished schoolhouse is less than a quarter of a mile, but I can only carry four stones per trip. That being said, watching an elderly woman carry twice my load causes me to drop my head and laugh. I’m traveling with the group Choice Humanitarian to a village outside of La Paz, Bolivia called Jichurasi Suriquiña in order help build a new schoolhouse.

After a few days of working non-stop, nearly every experience I’ve had has left me feeling weak and insufficient before my hosts and quite frankly, I couldn’t be happier with myself. Because while transporting a pile of stones from point A to point B may be helpful in building a schoolhouse, my proudest contribution has been juxtaposing myself beside villagers like the elderly Ayamara woman.

My hope is that when they see my ineptitude to even carry a few stones, they gain a sense of confidence about their own abilities to take care of themselves, and realize their own potential to achieve community development without the help of outsiders such as me. In turn, I see my own uselessness as something of revelation, because I previously thought that I could only offer practical abilities in a cross cultural exchange.

This expedition has made me realize that my exchanges need not be of a professional nature; it could be optimism brought to a team effort, a sense of humor in an awkward situation, or the sense of pride instilled in another person when someone needs their help.

The elderly Ayamara woman turns around to look at me, and laughs when she sees the small stones in my arms. I find myself laughing with her; being useless never felt so great.

Wordless Wednesdays

Wordless Wednesdays

An Inspiring Story

Today I read this article from the NY Times. It was amazing to me. I am amazed at just how good some people really are. In this season of gratitude I am thankful for the inspiration.

http://bit.ly/2cGESc

Wordless Wednesdays

A Photo's Worth. . .

A thousand words, right? Lately, as I've been perusing thousands upon thousands of ASCEND's photos for an upcoming presentation, I've been doubting the truth of that adage. After collecting what I believed to be the most inspirting, I have to concede that I agree with the sentiment behind the saying.

In a photograph, we see many things. Sometimes there is consensus of what the photograph is saying: 'joy', 'grief', etc., but sometimes, if we are lucky, the sliver of the moment when the photograph was taken lays the human spirit bare, and we who look in are rendered speechless.

In ASCEND's collection of photographs, there are many stirring things; the gloved hands of a volunteer worker heaving dirt, the smile of a Ecuadorian school-girl, the distracted glance of an Ethiopian mother. Each photograph is beautiful in its own right, which initially aroused my suspicion. "What's it worth?" "Yes, it's lovely, yes the light is just right, and yes it will entrance whoever looks upon it, but what is it conveying?"

After all, a photograph is a logical, mechanical thing- and it's something I've always appreciated for conveying 'truth' to the world. However, as ASCEND's photo collection proves, even a mechanical thing such as a photograph can hitch on something unexpected that makes us pause, that causes us to register sentiment with logic. It's a jarring combination, but stinging clear and eloquent at heart.

The purpose, then, of this little diatribe, is to perhaps share my sense of confounded logic and sentiment to you. The hope is that you will look at ASCEND's photo, and let your gaze linger a little while longer as you register logic and emotion in the same intrigued/perplexed fashion as I did.

Wordless Wednesdays

Living in The Americas

Just after I graduated from college (liberal arts degree in hand) I went to Ecuador to live there for nearly 18 months. I love Ecuador, I love the people, I love Spanish. I love South America. At my current job I get to interact nearly every day with employees in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. Having lived in Ecuador means that during these interactions I can use really hilarious slang (though sometimes I've crossed the line not realizing that in some countries funny slang is actually pretty graphic and not to be used with co-workers), that I actually know what Shakira is saying in all of her songs (ok most) and that I have a little more sympathy when our interns (who live in country for about 4 months) write me to tell me all about the happenings in country. This week I've been thinking about living in Latin America and missing it a little. So here is a list of things to miss.

• Collecting banana stickers. Ecuador is home to the majority of the major banana exporters and somehow we found a whole trade of young people who tried to collect as many different stickers which mark the bananas as possible
• Hot Chocolate or Tea and Bread for dinner. I'm not a coffee drinker but whenever we were over at people's house in the evening they would serve us hot chocolate or tea and bread. The tea is amazingly sweet and you dip your bread into your beverage for dinner.
• Bread in general. During one point of my stay in Ecuador I lived above a bakery where they made the most delicious chocolate bread. I think we had at least 3 pancitos every single day (my waist line did not thank me)
• Menestra. I still dream about the traditional bean dish made in Ecuador. I've tried to recreate it here but it's never the same.
• Yucca. We don't eat Yucca too much in the states but there are few things as delicious as the yucca French fry.
• Busses. Here in the states I don't ride the bus very often and my city isn't known for it's all encompassing bus routes but I loved being able to stick out my hand and pick up a bus anywhere as well as being able to get off a bus just by yelling "gracias" and heading toward the door
• Community sports. Every weekday night and all weekend long parks were full to bursting with local futbol leagues, volleyball and other sports.
• The blurred line between church and state when it comes to holidays. Even now I'm envious of our employees who get all kinds of religious holidays throughout the year. Good Friday? Yep. Day of the Dead (today)? Yep. And don't even get me started about how they all get a full month of extra salary for Christmas. Our employees are always shocked when I tell them that we don't have those kinds of benefits here in the US.
• Walking everywhere
• Cars and buses each a memorial to a person's personal design (complete with fringe, lace, and tweety bird stickers)
• Nicknames. I very clearly remember one 9-year old turning to me and asking, "what's my Aunt Negra's name?"
• Most beautiful children in the whole world
• Chickens. This is sort of a love/hate relationship. Once I lived on the second floor and 5 chickens lived in the courtyard below us. I poured water on them almost every day to get them to stop clucking. Funny now, but not funny when it was happening
• Loud Music everywhere
• Ranchera dancing (also kind of a love/hate relationship)
• Fresh Fruit—1 million times better than the fruit here
• How everyone has so many names
  

So what have I missed? What are the best things about living in South America?

Wordless Wednesday

Is it Too Early for New Year’s Resolutions?

Around this office we talk a lot about empowerment and self-reliance. We talk about it as it relates to the people with whom we work and serve but we also talk about it as it relates to one another—our own staff, our own co-workers. Our manager in Bolivia perhaps put it best when he told his team that they all needed to make personal goals in addition to work goals because he said no one would believe what we were teaching if we weren't putting the ideas into practice in our own lives. That puts us in a precarious position. It means that when one of our very best workers decides that he is going to start his own business after teaching small business owners for years, we cheer. When someone takes the Foreign Service exam, we anxiously await the results hoping that they are good as he would like them to be. Those are successes, even if they leave us scrambling to find and train other great workers. It also means that sometimes we get burned.

I just got off the phone with a friend from Peru. Peru has been causing us more concern than any of the other places where we work. The volunteer from Peru called to ask me some simple questions and then told me that our troubles in Peru come from trusting too much. He needed to get some things off his chest and told me that we shouldn't have trusted the way we did and that we should have had other people checking up on what was happening. He told me we needed tighter controls (which is true. But we're still working on the best way to do that). His anger did make me think. He's right. There are some things that we need to work on, we need better communication and we need better documentation. But in some ways it made me think that he still doesn't get it. He still doesn't get what we're trying to do and he doesn't' understand why having a volunteer call on a paid staff member at random to verify his work and to do all of the fundraising isn't promoting the kind of development that we're trying to espouse in the villages where we work. However, I don't want to be the kind of person who hears criticism and then gets offended or defensive and doesn't do anything about it.

So, even though we're a few months away, I'm making my resolution list for 2010—his suggestions in mind. Here goes!

1. Expand our evaluation of programs to Peru and Ecuador
   
2. Statistically analyze the results of Bolivia's evaluation (with professionals) and talk to the staff about what's happening
   
3. Follow up with staff goals
   
4. Appropriate controls in admin and accounting—as shown by a procedure manual and enforced procedure to be presented at Jan training
   
5. Historical, searchable database for projects
   
6. Continue to believe that people are basically good and want to help other people
   
7. Have faith in other people.
   
8. As Ronald Reagan put it, "Trust, but verify." (I can't believe I just quoted Ronald Reagan. Don't tell my parents)
   

Carbon Footprinting

This weekend we have some big plans. Some neighbors of ours are laying sod (not a resource friendly option in Utah but I have a grass yard that's at least 2 times the size that they are putting down so who am I to talk?) this evening and they need some help. Saturday morning I'll head to my local health department early because they are finally offering H1N1 shots in my area to ladies who are in the family way. Saturday plans also include drying apples we scavenged from my parent's tree, raking and bagging leaves and walnuts from the trees in our yard, using the last of the kale and chard from the garden to can some veggie broth, two quilt squares for a dear friend whose baby is due next week and attending a college football game with my husband. I hope to find time to exercise and would love a couple of hours to nap and recuperate from my normal weeks of working 1.5 jobs (and growing a baby) which leave me exhausted (and with puffy ankles).

This morning, while getting ready to write a blog post I came across this story. About a man who is hoping to sell his autographed picture of Bridget Bardot to pay for surgery he needs ($2500) after the working as a coal miner for his whole life. I was struck with how different my life is than his. Health care is available to me. When I want the H1N1 shot I just have to wait until it's available and it's offered at my local health department clinic, just a 10 minute drive away, for free. My life is busier than I would like it to be but I am so blessed and my life is comparatively easy. It broke my heart to read that the portrait similar to the one this man had is currently selling on ebay for $35.

Earlier this week I got sucked into taking an internet quiz about my lifestyle. I should probably admit now that I love internet quizzes and if we are connected on twitter and you post one I will pretty much take it. The purpose of the quiz this week was to find out how many earths it would take to support the whole world's population if everyone lived the way I do. The answer is 4.5. And I think that's low. The quiz wasn't super comprehensive and I'm pretty sure that the only reason I wasn't on the "above average" side of the US is because we have a tenant in our mother-in-law apartment so we were technically "sharing" the use of all of our utilities. I am embarrassed to admit that I live in a state where state and local leaders refuse to admit that climate change is, even partially, due to human behavior. This morning, driving to work, on NPR they were talking about a group of local Doctors and Scientists who met last night to affirm that there really is no doubt that science indicates that global climate change has been affected by human behavior.

It's scary to think that earth can't sustain an entire population living the way I do but I do believe that there are more than enough resources to ensure that there is medical care for everyone, that clean potable water is available to all families, that children can be provided with an education, that mothers can get adequate prenatal care, that businesses can grow no matter in what country they are located. I, for one, because I do believe that climate change is affected by humans and that my carbon footprint is directly affecting women who now have to walk farther and farther to get water because their rivers and wells are drying up am willing to make some sacrifices to level the playing field. I can start with these…maybe not all of them, but some of them at least. We're talking baby steps here (thank you public radio for being a source of knowledge on all kinds of things).

Wordless Wednesdays

He said, She said…

One of the magazines to which I subscribe (there is actually an embarrassingly long list that includes things like Vogue and OK weekly but let's just talk about the educational/literary magazines or I might get embarrassed) called The Sun which I love. And all of you should subscribe but that's not the point. At the end of every magazine they have a whole page titled "Sunbeams" they're quotes that pertain to the topic of the magazine. I love that they call them Sunbeams, that somehow small things other people say can light our lives. I remember the sunbeams that they printed on September 11, 2001. I was living in Ecuador and my mother mailed it to me—it was longer than one page and I folded it up and carried it with me as I traveled around the country for the next year and a half. The folded paper has made it with me in all subsequent moves and I still think about some of the things that were said. The quotes weren't about patriotism or valor they were about forgiveness, about love and about inclusion. I still love that response to tragedy—love and forgiveness. In honor of a large meeting we're preparing for this week we've been making our own collections of sunbeams about development. But one thing that we've learned is that development quotes, just like those in response to tragedy, aren't just about building and teaching. They are also about love, forgiveness, culture, valor, a call to action, poverty, and all other kinds of things. So without further ado here are our sunbeams. It isn't a complete list and we'd love your additions.

 

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. - Mother Teresa

It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving. - Mother Teresa

We can do no great things-only small things with great love. - Mother Teresa

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die. - Eleanor Roosevelt

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit." - Greek proverb

"The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." - Mitch Albom

"What we have done for ourselves dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains immortal." - Albert Pike

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity." - Buddha

"Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time." - Marian Wright Edelman

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." - Anne Frank

"He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own." - Confucius

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Mahatma Gandhi

"Blessed are those who give without remembering. And blessed are those who take without forgetting." Bernard Meltzer

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." - Edmund Burke

"The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose." - Robert Byrne

"Poverty is hunger, loneliness, no where to go when the days is over, deprivation, discrimination, abuse, and illiteracy." Tarawatti Sooklall, single mother of two, Guyana

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." - Mother Teresa

"Nine tenths of education is encouragement." - Anatole France

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child." - George Santayana

"Much learning does not teach understanding." - Heraclitus

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed souls can change the world, indeed that is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

"The worst thing is apathy - to sit idly by in the face of injustice and to do nothing about it. There is a real responsibility to challenge things that are wrong." - Martin O'Brien

"It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it." - Albert Einstein

"No one has ever become poor by giving." - Anne Frank

"The poor of the world are crying out for schools and doctors, not guns and generals." - Oscar Arias Sanchez

"One works for justice not just for the big victories, but simply because engaging in the struggle is worth doing." - Oscar Arias Sanchez

"If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children." - Mahatma Ghandi

 

Wordless Wednesdays

So ASCEND's Annual Gala was amazing. I was so inspired by the generosity and spirit of humanitarianism displayed by the community, and I was extremely impressed by the professional appearance of the Gala- from the displays to the cuisine, all the minute details were efficiently handled.

Most of my night was spent in the Silent Auction, and I couldn't believe how many fun things we had up for bid (I was eyeing the 1 Free Pizza From the Pie gift certificate, yum). It was a great night, and everyone pulled together to make it a fun and enlightening experience (oh and lucky me! The volunteers got some great food!).

The official verdict: Best. Gala. Ever. Until next year, that is. . .

So I'm excited for two very cool things that we're doing:

1) Funfest. Need I say more?

2) Daybreak - One of SLC's communities is considering a sister-community program. I think sister programs are ingenious - they not only encourage cross-cultural engagement and understanding, but they also take that extra step and foster a sense of community. I've always admired Salt Lake City for partnering with Matsumoto, Japan and have enjoyed researching how the two cities have connected and what they've shared over the decades. So, needless to say, I am VERY excited to see where this one goes. . .

Before I go, here's some food for thought:

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."

Wordless Wednesdays

Wordless Wednesdays

Wordless Wednesdays

Emily's Intern Life

All I can really say is: Wow! Working at ASCEND has been such an interesting and refreshing experience. I know it sounds corny, but I love working with non-profits that are so committed to humanitarian projects and actively teaching independence within communities abroad.

ASCEND is extremely compatible with the way I feel the world should work; instead of a more developed country going into a developing country and imposing what 'we think should be fixed' groups like ASCEND champion an integral approach where teaching independence perpetuates sustainability and stability in communities. I'm so glad to be working with such a determined organization and with such lovely individuals. I'm very excited for the events to come (*cough* GALA! *cough*)!

Emily Strong currently attends the University of Utah and is pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Studies and International Studies. For the Fall, she is doing an internship at ASCEND Alliance through the Hinckley Institute and will be graduating in December. Emily enjoys writing, traveling, and fencing in her spare time and has an insatiable appetite for sushi.

Bragging Rights

Last week our Bolivia staff put on an INCREDIBLE show. They hosted the 3rd Annual Ascend Bolivia Gala. It was a wild success. We are so proud of what they were able to accomplish.

Fundraising dinners and auctions aren't very typical in Santa Cruz where ours was held but this one was a raging success. Thank in large part to our staff in Bolivia (and the AMAZING band Las Kjarkas) guests of the gala had an amazing dinner, participated in a live auction and then danced the night away. The Bolivian team was able to raise enough funds to cover a substancial percentage of their administrative expenses this year. We this it is amazing that as they are teaching local communities and people about sustainability and self sufficiency they are working on improving in those same arenas. It won't be long before Bolivia looks to our headquarters office as a place for advice and guidance and not a funding source. We wish them all the best in that goal.

Now, enjoy some pictures of the show.

The location of the event was AMAZING

Guests at the event

Our team

An award for el Banco Econonmico--they help our participants with microloans

The winner of the raffle is actually a futbol player for the national team

The Live Auction

And Finally....Los Kjarkas!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

A trip to Ecuador and Back

My trip to Ecuador with the volunteers from Park City was a wild success. We worked in two communities that we loved. We adopted a dog, worked on two school, had locals dare us to climb a 20ft greased pole and watched a little something called the Vaca Loca (crazy cow). We only had one near-death experience and only one of the crew came home with scabies (me--yuck). It was a wonderful trip. Tonight I am heading to the reunion. We're going to hear a band play, eat delicious food, watch a slide show and remember the good time we had.

Just in case you don't believe me that we had an excellent trip, here's a video to prove it (Video courtesy of Caleb Braley--one of our excellent Ecuadorian interns)

Wordless Wednesday

I Tube, Youtube, We tube...

Summer at the Ascend office is always fun. People are getting in their vacations and it's our last relaxing moment before we swing into full-scale panic mode before our annual fundraiser. Summer is also a good time because the office is buzzing with interns. This year we decided not only to test the prowess of the interns in our work environment but we also created a special challenge. Interns could break into teams of 2 and make a youtube video about what we do to post online. They would have 2 weeks to get as many views as possible. The winners would get a killer prize (which I promised would not be from the dollar store as the majority of my prizes are)

3 sets of interns took the challenge. Watch the videos. You decide who wins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahFUTn_sFWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX0G2Lslgxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxx0yWMGl3o

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Fulfilling Dreams

I am a “sucker” for charities; anything that requires me handing over money to some kind of charity organization has me sold and asking, “Whom do I make the check out too?” Perhaps not the most fiscal responsible habit for me to have, being a poor college student and all, but I hold to the belief that there will always be other people in the world who need my money more than I do. I may not have all the riches in the world, but every time I open my mouth to complain I remember that there are billions of people who really have it worse than me. Be they in the Salt Lake area, in the ghettos of Detroit, crossing the border from Mexico to America, struggling day in and day out in villages in Bolivia, or living in refugee camps in Africa, I can’t get any of them out of my mind. Forget my dream of buying an overpriced iPhone. What about the dreams of Palestinians to live in a home instead of a tent? What about the dreams of Ethiopians to be able to feed their children? What about the dreams of Mexicans to send their children to college? What about the dreams of Bangladeshis to leave the sweatshops? I realize that everything I do and where my money goes can make a difference. If my money can make someone else’s dreams come true, then it’s worth it to put off my dreams momentarily. I know I have things that I take for granted that other people in the world only dream about, like running water, a job with benefits, and enough food. As long as others have these dreams, I will always be working to grant them.

Written by: Nicole Rasmussen
ASCEND Alliance Intern

Wordless Wednesday

Humanitarian Work as a Career

A few weeks ago I was talking to a woman who was asking me about my schooling. The conversation took the usual course one takes when talking to a university student:

Woman: What are you majoring in?

Me: I’m an English major.

A moment’s pause as she takes that information in . . .

Woman: Oh, so do you want to teach?

The typical response to “English major,” that, or a lament to this effect: “Oh, my niece was an English major as well, but she’s not interested in teaching, so now she has nothing to do with
all that schooling!!! . . . What do you want to do with it?”

Me: No, I don’t think I’ll teach, right now I’m planning on grad school so that I can go into
non-profit humanitarian work.

At this point people usually become very interested and the conversation progresses nicely, but this woman caught me off guard . . .

Woman: (blank look on her face) Oh, so what do you want to do with that?

Me: (bewildered) Um, humanitarian work . . . ?

Woman: (nods her head . . . still not comprehending) Okay, so . . . what do you
do with that?

Although humanitarian work has been around for quite some time, the idea behind it has become popular in recent years with help from big name celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Oprah, Nichole Kidman, and George Clooney who have brought awareness to many issues affecting the world’s people today. But despite all the media attention, under the layers of “coolness” and the fact that humanitarian work is “in” right now, there is a community of people working together to make a difference in the lives of others.

My conversation with this woman gave me the opportunity to stop and consider what you “do” with humanitarian work. Being in the middle of it all, sometimes it’s easy to loose focus on the big picture while so many other details demand your attention. Humanitarian work needs to be a partnership. It’s all too easy for people to donate and see immediate results without realizing the damage they are creating for the future. This is one of the reasons I was so excited to find ASCEND, because it is a partnership that enables others to make the difference in their own lives and thus bring about a greater change for the future.

Written by McKenzie Hansen
ASCEND Alliance Intern

Wordless Wednesday

Collaboration

One the things I'm trying to do during my internship here is find out what other Simple Technologies (also called appropriate technologies) have been developed by other NGOs. I have been supprised by the number of organizations out there with similar goals that have developed technologies, but I'm even more supprised at the lack of collaboration. With so many groups working on similar problems (clean water, sanitation, gardening etc.) I haven't found a great location for collaborating on inovations. It strikes me that collaboration is used for huge projects like open office and firefox but not for simple technologies like wells. For example today I came accross a website for Gaviotas a sef sustained village in colombia http://www.friendsofgaviotas.org/Innovation/Innovation.html they have plans for a pump and windmill that were both developed for their village. Its nice that they haven't pattented their designs so anyone can use them but the resource is only 2 of the many technologies that have been developed there. I also found Practical Action http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=168 It includes a lot more information on many different technologies so its a pretty good resource, but the key component, collaboration isn't there. Then I came accross Appropedia http://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia its a huge seachable database and best of all-its a wiki-so if it doesn't have the information I want I can add it. And if each user will update the wiki based on their experience with simple technologies it will keep getting better. The only thing that I think it lacks is the step by step instructions that practiacal action has, but this can be overcome by me or any other user by inserting links or instructions. I love it.

We need your Artistic Eye

Every year at Ascend we hold a fundraising Gala. This year it's on Friday September 25. It's a pretty fancy-pantsy event. We hold it at the Grand America in Salt Lake City. We have a live and silent auction where we auction off really cool things like trips to the Cayman Islands. This year we're auctioning off a car courtesy of the amazing folk at Young Chevrolet (who really are as nice as pie). Things are coming together nicely for the gala. This year we're going to deck out part of the ballroom so that it looks like a market in South America and you'll wander through the stalls looking at displays about what we do and looking at trinkets for sale. The amazing people at 10,000 villages are going to come and set up shop in some of the stalls. It's going to be a great night and here at the office we're heavy in preparations.

Now, down to business. We're designing the programs and invitations and we're looking for a great piece of artwork to put on the cover. The people at 10,000 villages have agreed to donate a piece. I've scoured their website with a couple of interns and here are some of the pieces we think might work best.


1) Circle of Life Candle Holder


2) Tree of Life Tapestry


3) Circle Dance Sculpture

4) Peruvian Musician Tapestry

So what do you think? If you had to pick a piece of artwork to inspire people to be part of development in Africa and South America which would you pick? Please leave a comment and vote for your favorite (you can also go to the 10,000 villages website and propose your own best option.) We have to pick by July 28th so get your vote in as quickly as possible.

Wordless Wednesday

Run run as fast as you can....

Today two volunteers came in. Matt and Jake Cowden. They are just the darling kind of 16-year old that you want your child to turn into. When I asked who wanted to do a writing project Jake quickly responded, "Matt will probably be better at that." So I let Matt write a blog entry and press release while Jake did some data entry. I'm hoping Jake comes back (he assured me that he didn't hate me too much after the assignment and would be back Wednesday). So Matt was left to introduce them. Here's what he wrote.

My name is Matt Cowden. I am 16 years old and go to Cottonwood High School; Go Colts! I am not an intern, although that is something that would be a great opportunity someday. I am writing here because my twin brother Jake and I are doing our Eagle Scout Project though Ascend Alliance.

When my brother and I first started talking about possible projects, we knew that we wanted to do something big. We didn't want to do a project that barely filled the required hours and required little planning. We wanted to do something that would make a big difference. It had to require months of preparation and work. We decided we would do a 5K race to help build a school in Ethiopia with Ascend Alliance.

Our mom is the person who told us about Ascend. She has worked with them in the past and has gone on several expeditions. She explained to us how Ascend strives to make the world a better place by helping all their beneficiaries become self-reliant. She told us about the work they have done and we knew that they would be able to help us accomplish our goals.

When we first came up with the idea a few people told us that it would be too hard. It has been plenty hard; but that's the kind of project we wanted. First we had to make sure that the police were willing to block off any roads that might need to be blocked off. We decided the mayor of Holladay, Utah would be the best person to talk to first about this problem. He was very nice and seemed really excited. He immediately called the police chief and said the city of Holladay would cover any overtime necessary for blocking roads.

We spend hours on google earth trying to come up with a reasonable rout but we couldn't find anything that worked. Luckily Kris Erickson who is the race director for Heart of Holladay was generous enough to let us use her course. The police chief and fire department agreed (the fire department even volunteered to have an EMT on site). Everyone's willingness to help has made this part of the planning as easy as possible.

What wasn't easy was getting insurance. Our mother (who by the way is the best mom ever) made countless phone calls to insurance companies and lawyers trying to figure out how we could get insurance to cover an entire race. After months of tyring to track someone down we finally ended up turning back to Kris who helped us get insured and certified by USA Track and Field.

The race will be on July 18th at 8:00 am. I made arrangements for our race to be advertised at races that took place over the holiday weekend and now we're just advertising and trying to get people to sign up. You can sign up and download a flier on our blog mattandjakes5krun.blogspot.com. If you can't come to the race but would like to donate or be a sponsor, we would appreciate anything you can do a lot. No am mount is too small, we will accept anything. If you have any questions about the race please contact me or my brother at mattandjakecowden{at}gmail{dot}com.

So what do you say people? Can you tell others about this race and help out a couple of boys trying to get their eagle scout project finished? Trying to build a school for kids in Africa? Please do. I thought this picture of one of our volunteers outside a school in Ethiopia might inspire you to help. Sweater it is...Sweater it is.

Funding for Nonprofits

My first month with Ascend has been an eye-opener for me. Not only have I learned a ton about what it takes to run a non-profit, I have also corresponded with the majority of our field staff and read many fascinating blogs about the current state of other humanitarian efforts.

One of the biggest realizations I have made about running a non-profit is that despite the label, we are still very dependent on generating revenue. It is evident that Ascend Alliance is engaged in what is called “social entrepreneurship”. What this means is that we recognize a social problem and use entrepreneurship to make social change. In order to do this, we are constantly coming up with new ways to make money besides accepting donations. What we are doing is providing real value to people or organizations/people in exchange for their money (i.e. expeditions, sponsorships). Finding new ways to make money will be the lifeblood of this organization and rethinking the traditional approach to funding a non-profit is what makes and will continue to make Ascend Alliance a world-class organization.

Besides observing and absorbing, I have been engaged in putting together in-country staff reports (and photos) for all of the foreign countries in which Ascend operates. In order to do this, I have been in direct contact with almost every member of our foreign staff using either email or Skype. It has truly amazed me the caliber of people that we employ in our operations. These are well-educated people with long lists of applicable experience relevant towards furthering our mission. Along with this, they are very personable, cooperative and serious about their work. It has been a pleasure to work with them.

Part of our assignment for HQ interns is to find and comment on humanitarian blogs that write about issues that are applicable to our line of work. This has led me to the discovery of many interesting articles over the past month and increased my awareness of what type of humanitarian work is being done today and what are the principles behind this type of work. I feel like our networking efforts will start to pay off soon enough as we are beginning to build relationships with other serious humanitarians that are out there. I look forward to another exciting month with Ascend!

Written by Tim Marti
ASCEND Alliance Intern

Growing Gardens in Ecuador

Is there a better way to travel?

Every morning I come into the office and start my day with some important rituals. I come into the office and turn on my computer (which is terribly slow and takes 3-4 minutes to fully boot up). During my wait I walk into the kitchen and make myself a cup of Ecco. For those of you not familiar with Ecco it is a delight from Bolivia which my friend Luis brought to me. It's like Perro or Postum but better and the perfect treat for a girl who is doing her darndest to say goodbye to caffine. I then come back to the computer and scan the news looking for stories that relate to the countries where we work or to the kinds of things that we do. I'm come to rely on the news in general and the BBC in particular to keep me connected to the world. And in between stories of Michael Jackson and his funeral (I'll have you know that I saw him in real life once waving from a hotel window in Germany but that's a story for another day) and this little gem about ingenuity in India, I've also been following the stories of Mark Sanford, his extra marital affair with a woman from Argentina and his spending of tax money on trips to visit her.

Now, every day after I check the news I also check Ascend's social media programs (you should follow us on twitter (@ascend_alliance) and be our friend on facebook.). A wife myself (and one who has a jealous streak--sad but true) Mark Sanford's story was rolling through my brain as I checked our facebook page last week. This is what greeted me.

These are the Fosters. I've met them a couple of times and we are facebook friends. Last week they returned from an Ascend trip to Ethiopia and Kenya. While they were traveling for two weeks at their own expense they met some good friends...

...helped people in a remote village in Ethiopia learn about health and hygiene, taught classes and helped local doctors and nurses, shared their talents....

...helped local orphans learn about animal production so they can use the proceeds of animal sales to pay for school...

...Seriously considered stealing this little boy...

...and shared some good ol' fashioned culture (the Ethiopians danced and sang; the Americans brought bubbles which the locals had never seen before).

I was struck with the difference between Mark Sanford and this amazing family. If I have to pick between traveling like Mark Sanford (which involves selfishness, deceit and teary press conferences) and traveling like the Fosters (which involves hard work, dirty little faces and helping others); I pick to travel like the Fosters.