GiftsIn the News
West Bank and Gaza February 8, 2012 5:24PM
Mercy Corps connects geeks from Gaza to Seattle
By Ansel Herz
The Seattle Globalist, February 8, 2012
We’ve got more than our share of tech-geeks here in Seattle. You know, the guys who work at startups, or Microsoft or Amazon, creating the next-generation of computer and web products.
But we can’t claim geeks as our own. You’ll find them anywhere there’s an electric current and a connection to the Internet, even in that besieged strip of land in the Middle East called Gaza.
Portland-based aid group MercyCorps is partnering with Google and Startup Weekend, a Seattle-area tech nonprofit, to bridge the chasm between American software developers and their counterparts in the Gaza strip. And they’re calling on Seattle’s tech community to support Palestinian startup companies, whether through virtual mentoring or social investing.
As the program’s leaders explained in a panel discussion hosted by MercyCorps in Seattle last week, Palestinian geeks went wild in a 54-hour marathon “Startup Weekend” last month.
Haiti January 11, 2012 1:36PM
After two years, Haiti still struggles
By The Oregonian Editorial Board
The Oregonian, January 11, 2012
The earthquake that hit Haiti two years ago killed more than 300,000 people, reduced Port-au-Prince to rubble and left an already struggling island economy for dead.
North Korea December 19, 2011 5:06PM
U.S. treads cautiously with transition
By Michele Kelemen
NPR "All Things Considered", December 19, 2011
The changing of the guard in North Korea poses clear risks for the United States.
North Korea December 8, 2011 12:00AM
Aid Groups: Children in North Korea at risk for starvation this winter
By Cat Wise
PBS NewsHour "The Rundown", December 8, 2011
North Korea is approaching another severe food crisis, according to international relief groups who are calling on the U.S. and other governments to join South Korea in increasing aid to the reclusive communist nation.
December 3, 2011 12:00AM
Gifts that say you care
By Nicholas Kristof
The New York Times, December 3, 2011
GIVE Grandma a bit of credit! These holidays, would she rather receive a silly reindeer sweater or help a schoolchild acquire glasses to see the blackboard clearly for the first time?
November 15, 2011 12:00AM
Doing development differently: Social and financial innovation at Mercy Corps
By Rahim Kanani
Forbes.com, November 15, 2011
In a recent joint interview, I had in-depth discussions about innovating for impact with Mercy Corps’ Leesa Shrader (Senior Director, Financial Services Innovation) and Andy Dwonch (Senior Director, Social Innovations).
North Korea October 24, 2011 9:32AM
Head of U.N. humanitarian aid paints dire scene in North Korea
By Choe Sang-Hun
The New York Times, October 24, 2011
SEOUL — North Koreans, especially children, urgently need outside aid to fight “terrible levels of malnutrition,” the United Nations’ humanitarian chief said Monday, in an appeal that came amid criticism that both Washington and Seoul were withholding aid for political reasons.
North Korea October 20, 2011 10:35AM
Autumn harvest watched warily in food-poor N Korea
By Jean H. Lee and Matthew Pennington
Associated Press, October 20, 2011
Scythe in hand, a woman slices through a bright green field of rice. Oxen plod down country roads pulling carts piled high with harvested stalks of grain.
North Korea October 13, 2011 11:00PM
U.S. plays politics with N. Korean food aid, NGOs say
By Andrew Quinn
Reuters, October 14, 2011
As South Korean President Lee Myung-bak continued his state visit to the United States on Friday a group of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) wants the Obama administration to explain what they call unconscionable delays in deciding whether to resume U.S. food assistance to North Korea.
October 3, 2011 9:16AM
Foreign aid set to take a hit in U.S. budget crisis
By Steven Lee Myers
The New York Times, October 3, 2011
America’s budget crisis at home is forcing the first significant cuts in overseas aid in nearly two decades, a retrenchment that officials and advocates say reflects the country’s diminishing ability to influence the world.
