Welcome to theworldblog.org
By Omar Musa | June 18, 2007
The World Blog follows over 50 Harvard students as they travel to different corners of the earth to help communities in need or increase awareness about a specific cause. Some will work to educate developing-world entrepreneurs, others will help reintegrate former child soldiers into their communities, and yet others will discover what life is like in the slums - a reality for over one billion people. Choose a location on the map to follow these stories and more.
Topics: Uncategorized | 324 Comments »
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Grameen Bank
By Nishchal Basnyat in Bangladesh | 1 Oct 2007
August 5th
Today I finally made my way to Grameen Bank, where I’ll be doing an internship for the next month. The Grameen Bank Project was born in the ruralvillage of Jobra, Bangladesh in 1976. By 1983 it was transformed into a formal bank under a special law passed for its creation. It is owned by the poor borrowers of the bank which constitutes mostly women. Borrowers of Grameen Bank currently own 94% of the total equity of the bank. The remaining 6% is owned by the government of Bangladesh.
Hold your breath!
By Nishchal Basnyat in Bangladesh | 1 Oct 2007
August 4th
I arrived in Dhaka around 1PM. From air, the only thing I could see was dark brown water. In fact I was a little scared that the airport itself might be flooded and the pilot would be oblivious. One third of the entire country had been underwater due to heavy floods. This country, situated to receive rain water from high surrounding neighbors like Nepal and India, was not new to floods. However, this year the monsoon rain was relentless and Bangladesh was under a state of emergency.
Faith and Politics: an end-of-summer wrap-up
By Susan in Washington, D.C. 2 | 22 Sep 2007
As I try to wrap up my summer in DC in one blog, I can’t predict for you what will happen next. There are plenty of signs of (more) bad things to come: more ICE raids, military recruitment under false pretenses, rising anti-immigrant sentiment, etc. At the same time, I have been impressed at how insightful the states have been.
Things I am bad at
By Rebecca Vitale in Morocco | 9 Sep 2007
Include updating websites, apparently. I am obviously back home now, and actually I will soon be returning to school, but I thought I would write at least one more post with some wrap-up thoughts and post a few pictures.
It started with a flat tire…
By Julie Shapiro in Peru | 9 Sep 2007
I just got home from Peru a couple days ago after a killer red-eye flight from Lima and have helped myself adjust to being at home by munching on the castanas (Brazil nuts) that I brought, looking over the 2000 plus pictures I took during my three and half month adventure, keeping in touch with my Peruvian friends, and listening to the music I collected while I was down there.
…Everything has changed.
By Robert Ross in Uganda 2 | 8 Sep 2007
While I’ve been back in America for two weeks or so, I wrote this entry on my last day in Uganda. Assimilating into “first-world” society has indeed been a challenge, but one I’m up to face. These were my thoughts as the departure approached ever nearer:
Sitting in a backpackers’ hostel in Kampala, Uganda, I can’t help but reflect on all of the phenomenal experiences I’ve had this summer – both good and bad, but all offering a truly remarkable amount of insight and perspective on life in general.
Final Thoughts about China
By John Vogel in China | 5 Sep 2007
While it is admittedly impossible to summarize my entire experience in China this summer in a few paragraphs, I will try my best to mention some of the highlights – the things I will miss most about China, the things I definitely won’t, and some of the things I will take with me throughout life.
I feel embarrassed to admit that the number one thing I will miss about China is
Adventures in Beijing
By John Vogel in China | 5 Sep 2007
Getting to Beijing was a relatively painless process, mainly because Hannah and I decided to fly there rather than take a train. We left Kunming on August 26 around 8 am and arrived in Beijing by 11 am.
The general lack of sanitation in Yunnan caused me to cancel my reservations for the cheap hostel at which I had planned to stay in Beijing in exchange for a
A Meeting with the Queen
By Nafees Syed in England | 4 Sep 2007
Yes, you read that correctly. And no, it was not a meeting with the Queen of England. Interestingly, I met the wife of the Emir of Qatar, here in Parliament. Her official name is Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned and she is very active in the international community and in her country’s politics.
Biking is hazardous for your health
By Linda Li in Linda in China | 4 Sep 2007
Last week, I took on a short-term job for Immersion Guides, a publishing company that distributes detailed neighborhood maps of Beijing, publishes the monthly That’s Beijing magazine (very popular among expats), and will be coming out with the new Insider’s Guide to Beijing. My assignment was to explore a section of Chaoyang District, looking at shops, restaurants, bars, hotels, and other services.
Evening at Oxford
By Nafees Syed in England | 31 Aug 2007
Baroness, who went to university at Oxford, had greatly extolled the beauty and charm of the city and university, so on Saturday I decided to Oxford. Many members of Parliament have studied here as well as many scholars and thinkers of our time, so I thought a trip to this intellectual center would be fitting.
The end of summer
By Eva in Boston 2 | 25 Aug 2007
I have to admit, as the summer winds down, that I wasn’t able to make nearly as much progress as I was hoping for. But I don’t feel too bad - it wasn’t that I didn’t work hard or spend enough time on my project. In reality, the process of starting a non-profit is much longer and slower than I had expected. Most of my work this summer has been 1. supporting the lawyers who are completing our applications for state incorporation, permission to solicit charitable donations, and tax-exempt status, or 2. researching and thinking about program structure. I administered a survey to a dozen after-school academic and athletic youth development programs all along the East Coast, and I learned a lot about how to design a program that will make a substantial difference in the lives of its young participants.
Backpacking in Yunnan
By John Vogel in China | 25 Aug 2007
Since Hannah and I left Kunming over a week ago, we have experienced a number of unique occurances as backpackers in China.
Indigenous Government, Evangelical Finger Puppets & the Bermuda Triangle of San Lucas
By Nina Vizcarrondo in Guatemala | 23 Aug 2007
In case, you haven´t notice, I am MAJORLY behind in my posts. I would try to summarize or skip straight to the most salient happenings—only every day is so different from the next and each happening is unintelligble without a bit of background. So I´m still plodding ahead, one day at time, three weeks behind. Oh well, I suppose it will make my all too fleeting time here last a little longer.
Paris in 3 days
By Medha Khandelwal in Philadelphia | 23 Aug 2007
I never realized how much there would be to do in Paris! There is an overwhelming number of things to do. We got to Paris in the afternoon on Wednesday, and spent the evening at the Lourve because it’s open until 10 on wednesdays. If you ever go, I recommend the Da Vinci Code audio tour, it takes you to the major works that you should see.
Over the next two days, we saw the Musee d’ Orsay, Notre Dame, a river cruise, the Eiffel Tower, an open bus tour, Montparnasse, and the Arc de Triumph, and a few others! Suffice to say, I don’t think my feet have ever been so tired =)
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