Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to assist people, whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.

The organization was founded in 1971, by doctor and journalists in France. They provide independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis, regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation.  They operate independent of any political, military, or religious agendas. As a result, 89% of MSF's overall funding (and 100% of MSF-USA's funding) comes from private sources not governments. MSF is also committed to speaking out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge in adequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols.

There are over 27,000 dedicated individuals working to advance MSF's mission. They are doctors, nurses, logistics experts, administrators, epidemiologists, laboratory technicians, mental health professionals, and others who work together in accordance with MSF's guiding principles of humanitarian action and medical ethics. The field staff are supported by their colleagues in 19 offices around the world. These offices are in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most aid workers are from the communities where the crises are occurring, with 10% of teams made up of international staff.

MSF-USA was founded in 1990 in New York City to raise funds, create awareness, recruit field staff, and advocate with the United Nations and US government on humanitarian concerns. In 1999, MSF won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The website provides a wealth of information of the organization, its mission, initiatives, and who you can get involved. For more information please visit MSF's website.

Cambodian Children's Fund

Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF) was founded by Hollywood film executive Scott Neeson after a visit to Cambodia in 2003. Having been forever changed by his experience, Neeson left the glitz of Hollywood to live in Phnom Penh year round as CCF's Executive Director.

CCF was originally developed as one shelter providing a safe haven for 45 children in critical need. Today the organization has grown to five separate facilities, where nearly 400 children receive nutrition, housing, medical treatment, dental services, and vaccinations. The also receive an education, job training, and access to cultural and athletic activities.

CCF is also increasing  their community relief efforts to provide suffering families better access o education, healthcare, food assistance and safe drinking water- which is essential in an environment where an estimated 80% of illnesses are water related.

CCF Programs include the following:

• The CCF Education Program- which provides a comprehensive education, culture and sports and extra-curricular activities, and eventual public school integration. Subjects include: multi-level English,  local language reading and writing, social studies, and math. In addition evening cultural classes teach traditional Khmer music, dance and drama.
• Region of Lazio Community Leadership Program- designed for students who are smart, articulate and charismatic- children who are demonstrably natural leaders, regardless of their education status or grade level. The program emphasizes entrepreneurship, human rights issues, social activism and media studies, as well as land rights and community intervention. The goal of this program is to prepare a select group of promising students to enter Cambodian society with skills, ambition, and integrity to become progressive leaders and spokespeople for the emerging generation.
• The CCF Vocational Training Program- is invaluable to older children who came to CFF with limited schooling, as they are unlikely to complete high school at a reasonable age and go on to higher studies. The program encourages children to pursue on- and off-site studies in: computer training, cosmetology, hair-dressing, graphic design, restaurant management, and language instruction. In 2006, CCF also opened Star Bakery, a facility that provides training in baking techniques, bread production, food hygiene, and business management.
• CCF Healthcare Program- the program oversees the healthcare, nutrition, and medical treatment of over 300 students.

"Cambodian children are some of the most deprived and abused in the world. They've had no choice in being born into a country with some of the highest rates of child prostitution and domestic violence in the world... In such a plentiful world, it is inexcusable that any child should have to live this way."

The above statement appears to be ever-present in the minds of those working to advance CCF's mission. It is a call to action for all of us. As Bono has said, we cannot let the misfortunes of geography determine the fate of others.

For more information, including how you can sponsor a child, please visit CCF's website.

John Legend

John Legend's mostly known as a grammy winning, multi-platinum artist, but today it's his philanthropic work that's getting recognized. Listed below are the organizations Legend has founded or advocates for. Inspired to create songs about the tragedies in Africa, Legend took those words and decided words weren't enough. And now he encourages us to move beyond words toward action. Please check out this amazing organizations, and visit their sites to find out more information.

The Show Me Campaign - Launched in 2007, the organization works to improve the living situations and prospects of victims of extreme poverty in Mbola, Tanzania. The mission of the organization is, "to fight economic and spiritual poverty through fostering sustainable development (personal, social, education, economic) at the individual, family, and small community levels. The Show Me Campaign is grassroots movement that engages all of its participants as agents of transformative change from the bottom up."

The Campaign supports Mbola, a remote village in Tanzania, in an effort to permanently lift itself from extreme poverty. The Campaign works with Millennium Promise and the local Mbola community to implement practical solutions to advance its mission. I highly recommend visiting the Show Me Campaign's website to see an outline of the seven initiatives to help this village. They range from providing fertilizer to help farmers to education and internet. They  not only provide relief, but also offer sustainable solutions. These life-changing initiatives can be secured for just $60 per villager per year over 5 years. 

Millennium Promise - their mission "is to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals to halve extreme poverty in Africa by 2015. To that end, Millennium Promise works with impoverished communities, national and local governments, and partner organizations to implement high-impact programs aimed at transforming lives on the continent and engaging donor nations, corporations, an the general public in the effort. Our work is premised on the belief that, for the first time in history, our generation has the opportunity to end extreme poverty, hunger, and disease." They envision the end extreme worldwide poverty by 2025.

"Millennium Development Goals are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion- while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights- the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security." 

These eight goals are:

• Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
• Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Improve Maternal Health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) - a national nonprofit that develops African American, Hispanic and Native American young people for leadership positions in corporations, nonprofits, and entrepreneurial ventures where these minority groups are under-represented. The organization partners with MBA programs and blue-chip corporations to provide programming at critical career transition points: high school to college, college to early career, early career to MBA, and MBA to executive leadership. MLT provides high-potential minority talent with the skills needed to succeed. To date the organization has over 300 Career Prep alumni and 500 MBA Prep alumni.

The Gentlemen's Fund -  an initiative established in 2007 to commemorate GQ's 50th anniversary. The Fund has partnered with five charities and five celebrity ambassadors to support the five cornerstones essential to men: Opportunity, Health, Education, Environment, and Mentorship. As an ambassador, John Legend, raises support and awareness for organizations that embody these five principles.

For more information about these organizations, their work and how you can help please visit their websites.

Dave Eggers

Today's nonprofit tidbit focuses on philanthropist, advocate, and author, Dave Eggers. 

Eggers is a pretty busy guy, he's a novelist, launched an independent publishing house, which publishes books, a quarterly journal (McSweeney's), and a monthly magazine (The Believer), and spends his free time founding non-profits. 

826 Valencia  is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari. Their mission is to help students ages 6 to 18 develop their writing skills and help teachers get their students excited about writing and the literary arts. This is achieved through one-on-one tutoring, field trips, in-school programs and workshops- for free. Since it's founding, 826 has expanded to seven locations known collectively as 826 National.

Once Upon a School developed from Dave Eggers TED Prize wish, this website collects the stories of private citizens who are engaged in their communities by helping their local public schools. Not only can site visitors submit stories, but it also helps match donors with school projects. "The site helps you find a creative way of supporting local public school."

Voice of Witness  is a nonprofit oral history book series, which "seeks to illuminate human rights crises by humanizing the victims.  By allowing them to tell their stories, we seek to engender greater understanding." It's aim is "engaging readers of all levels- from high school to college students to policy makers."

I urge you to visit Dave Eggers' page at Ted  and learn more about his work. It's a great opportunity to hear more about Dave Eggers' work in his own words. More importantly, I urge to check out these organizations.