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Development Success Stories
Rushton Hurley and The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
19 episodes
4 days ago
Economic development takes many forms. What works in America or Europe might not work in Africa or Asia. This series showcases individuals and organizations around the world—from Appalachia to Zambeze—that have succeeded where others have failed. Produced by the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin
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Non-Profit
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All content for Development Success Stories is the property of Rushton Hurley and The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Economic development takes many forms. What works in America or Europe might not work in Africa or Asia. This series showcases individuals and organizations around the world—from Appalachia to Zambeze—that have succeeded where others have failed. Produced by the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin
Show more...
Non-Profit
Business
Episodes (16/19)
Development Success Stories
15. Soap Operas Creating Change for 30 Cents

Some of the world's most difficult problems – like poor reproductive health and violence against women – are now being addressed through the medium of prime-time serialized dramas also known as: Soap operas and Telenovelas.

Population Media Center (PMC) uses a special type of serialized melodrama for changing behavior on such issues as family planning, elevation of women's status, girls' education, stopping child marriage, protection of children, and protection of the environment.

Characters in locally written and produced programs on radio, television, and social media evolve into positive role models for the audience and, in the process, lead to population-wide changes in behavior.

Bill Ryerson is founder and president of Population Media Center (PMC). He has a 52-year history of working in the field of reproductive health, including four decades of experience adapting the Sabido methodology of entertainment-education for behavior change communications to various cultural settings worldwide. PMC has broadcast its programs in 57 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. Bill will speak about the importance and effectiveness of PMC's work, including that of the shows.

Bill is Founder and President of Population Media Center (PMC) (www.populationmedia.org), an organization that strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies. He also serves as Chair of The Population Institute in Washington, DC (www.populationinstitute.org), which works in partnership with Population Media Center. PMC creates long-running serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience resulting in positive behavior change. The emphasis of the organization's work is to educate people about the benefits of small families, encourage the use of effective family planning methods, elevate women's status, prevent exploitation of children, promote avoidance of HIV infection, and promote environmentally sustainable behaviors.

He received a B.A. in Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from Amherst College and an M.Phil. in Biology from Yale University (with specialization in Ecology and Evolution). He served as Director of the Population Institute's Youth and Student Division, Development Director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Executive Vice President of Population Communications International before founding Population Media Center in 1998.

To learn more, go to:

https://www.populationmedia.org/

Bill's slides: https://tinyurl.com/2fp82fpd

Show more...
3 weeks ago
30 minutes 5 seconds

Development Success Stories
14. Ocean Trash To Jobs

Erin Smith, a Paul Harris Fellow, who lives in Kenya and sometimes Florida, is a trailblazer in both the corporate and environmental sectors.

Erin is the CEO and owner of Ocean Sole, which is transforming ocean debris into awe-inspiring art, and championing environmental causes coupled with creating opportunities in Kenya's coastal communities.

Her career spans continents and industries, from high-tech to fintech. Gaining her education at George Mason, Georgetown, UVA and Pennsylvania, she now works to make a difference in people's lives and for our oceans.

She has appeared on CNN and the Oprah Winfrey Show, sharing stories which blend inspiration, innovation, and impact.
Her presentation today, "What the Flip Flop?," explores the mystery of millions of flip flops littering shores from Kenya to Malaysia.

Ocean Sole works to transform this challenge into an opportunity. They not only clear beaches and upcycle 1.5 million flip flops annually, but also champion marine conservation, empower women, and craft stunning art. You'll learn the journey of these flip flops, the threats they pose to our oceans, and the work Ocean Sole engages in to creatively address this global issue, offering paths for everyone to make a difference.

This presentation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yIAeu-pwbcU

To learn more, go to:

https://oceansole.com

The 60-second video about Ocean Sole:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZV9J62Z2Vk

Or watch this more detailed Business Insider Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK-BHZs7GxE
⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary


Show more...
1 month ago
32 minutes 23 seconds

Development Success Stories
13. Extreme Poverty Transformed by Video (and Courage)

With no experience Chris Temple produced a video that has changed thousands of lives.

But first, Chris survived for two months on $1 a day in Guatemala.

Here is his story.

Chris Temple is now an award-winning filmmaker and activist who demystifies some of the world's most complex situations, leaving audiences more connected and empowered to make a difference.

In this conversation, Chris will share his journey as a filmmaker and changemaker, and the philosophy that has guided him through everything: actionable optimism, the idea that we all have the capacity to imagine and help manifest a more equitable and empathetic future.

Chris is a film director and the founder of Optimist, a non-profit studio in Los Angeles. He's best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar, Salam Neighbor, and Five Years North.

His films have been released globally by Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and PBS, and have premiered at Tribeca, DOCNYC, Full Frame, AFI Docs, & MountainFilm. His work has helped raise over $91 million dollars for poverty alleviation and refugee support efforts. He's been honored with the 2016 Muslim Public Affairs Council Annual Media Award; recognized alongside Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie as one of the top 100 visionary leaders of 2015 by YPO's Real Leaders Magazine; and accepted by the U.S. State Department into the American Film Showcase. His work at Optimist has won 1 Gold Telly Award, 4 Shorty Awards, 2 ADDY Awards, 1 Webby Award, and 2 AVA Digital Awards. He was also recognized as one of the 40 under 40 top documentary filmmakers of 2023 by DOC NYC and HBO.

Chris recently directed the feature film This Is Not Financial Advice with XTR and Cinetic exploring the psychology of investing in the modern digital era. Currently, he is making an as-yet untitled feature film about Ethereum and its founder Vitalik Buterin.

You can find his full filmography on IMDB. He loves the outdoors and is a founding individual member of 1% for the Planet.

To learn more, go to:

Optimist's Website: https://optimist.co/

Join the Monthly Doc Club (think book club, but for documentaries!):

https://optimist.co/doc-club/

Review our 10-year Impact Report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JGUp_JKaQDm095x2n9HTnyS6ZYhBRx5W/view

Donate/Get Involved:

https://creative-visions.networkforgood.com/projects/207642-optimist


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2 months ago
35 minutes 2 seconds

Development Success Stories
12. South African Township Economies & Micro-Enterprises

This week's presentation examines the unseen micro-enterprises of the South African township economy through a socio-spatial lens.

Through case studies, Andrew Charman will illustrate the surprising diversity of these small businesses, provide insights into the spatial patterns in which these micro-enterprises are organised, and highlight some of the barriers that hinder the growth and formalisation of businesses in this largely under-reported segment of the South African economy.

Andrew Charman is a Co-Director of the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation, a specialist research, advisory and policy engagement organization. He trained as a sociologist and development economist, studying at the University of Cape Town and Cambridge University.

Andrew has worked across the Southern African region on addressing socio-economic development challenges in a broad range of contexts, both rural and urban. His current work focuses on: i) influencing public policy towards the township economy in support of informal micro-enterprises, ii) implementing development projects to foster economic growth and strengthen social cohesion, and iii) designing and implementing area-based projects to support the development of micro-enterprises and build social cohesion.

With co-authors Petersen and Govender, Andrew has recently published Township Economy: People, Spaces and Practices (HSRC, 2020). The book brings together a decade of research on micro-enterprises conducted in 10 townships in South Africa and Namibia.

Andrew's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-charman-21ab7315/

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4 months ago
31 minutes 19 seconds

Development Success Stories
11. Teens Helping Teens Help Their Community
Wings of Knowledge Youth Initiative

Vahid Motazedian, serves as the executive director for Olinga Learning and the Foundation for the Application of Science (FAS), two California nonprofits dedicated to empowering youth to contribute to the social and economic development of their small, rural communities.

Vahid grew up in Iran, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Oregon. His father studied agriculture and dedicated his life to helping small farmers in rural communities.

Vahid got his BS in electrical engineering from Oregon State University and worked in Silicon Valley for companies including Advanced Micro Devices, Synopsys, Oracle, and Salesforce.

He left high tech in 2015 and moved to Salinas to devote himself to nonprofit work. He dedicates his time and energy to advancing educational programs that equip youth with moral and scientific capabilities and to developing technology solutions that help farmers.

The Wings of Knowledge Initiative, which we'll learn about in his presentation, aims to empower youth to improve their rural communities through participatory action research projects.

It began with simple projects designed to improve some aspect of community life, such as painting murals, planting flowers, teaching children, and trash cleanups.

Over time it grew in scope and complexity to include engineering projects designed to help local farmers.

This presentation shares the story of how small teams of youth in California's forgotten towns are working together to advance processes of science research and technology development within a wider context of improving their communities and the lives of their families.

Video: https://youtu.be/EwuB3pr4FQ4

To learn more, go to:

https://www.wings.ngo


⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

 

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary


Show more...
5 months ago
29 minutes 36 seconds

Development Success Stories
10. Protecting Wildlife and Livelihoods with Sound and AI

Rainforest Connection (RFCx) is a science- and technology-driven nonprofit detecting and preventing deforestation and supporting biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring in 119 countries.

Founded in 2014, RFCx accomplishes this work by combining the power of acoustics, AI, an international team of field workers, scientists, engineers, and data scientists, and on-the-ground collaborators. By utilizing acoustic data and AI, they can gather data on the presence, distribution, and behavior of a wide range of species, from birds and mammals to insects and frogs, as well as patterns of threats. This information can then be used to inform conservation and management decisions, including identifying key biodiversity areas, establishing protected areas, evaluating wildlife management initiatives, and developing conservation strategies tailored to different species.

RFCx focuses on real-time threat detection of illegal activities, such as logging and poaching, using acoustic technology. To decrease illegal activity and protect threatened ecosystems, they developed recorders called Guardians, which are placed in the canopy and run in real time. The Guardians automatically detect the sounds of chainsaws or gunshots and send alerts to rangers or communities via the Guardian Mobile and Web App, who can then immediately take action to stop illicit activities.

The threat detection pipeline developed by RFCx has been adopted and successfully deployed across 25 countries.

To monitor biodiversity, RFCx aids partners end-to-end and/or in specific areas with their biodiversity monitoring projects using acoustics and AI with planning, executing, and understanding results. They produce long-term solutions to biodiversity monitoring by creating regional Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) that automate species detections of hundreds of species from sound recordings; they have classified almost 1,500 species around the world for automatic detection from 16 CNNs their team has developed. This allows on-the-ground collaborators to detect species and monitor their behavior long-term for the purpose of enabling data-driven conservation decisions and actions. Their team also conducts ecoacoustic analyses, combining species-specific and soundscape results from acoustic analysis with climatic and environmental variables to model ecological processes.

Our speaker, Dr. Sarika Khanwilkar, has dedicated her career to conserving endangered species and improving planetary health through data-driven action. Before joining Rainforest Connection (RFCx), a conservation technology startup and nonprofit, she got her PhD in Ecology from Columbia University and was a Fulbright scholar.

Dr. Khanwilkar has conducted research on the illegal wildlife trade, forest-based livelihoods, and forest health.

She also is a founder of a nonprofit dedicated to tiger conservation and co-founder of one of India’s first research projects using sound to assess biodiversity.

Most of her free time is spent in the forests of central India looking for tigers and admiring trees.

At RFCx, she is Head of Partnerships and actively involved in using scalable technologies for high-impact conservation work across the globe.

To learn more, go to:

https://www.rfcx.org

https://www.arbimon.org
⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary


Show more...
6 months ago
32 minutes 18 seconds

Development Success Stories
9. Thailand's Revolutionary Bamboo Schools

Students play an important role in the management of the school which empowers them to bring social and economic development to their communities, as well as learn leadership, empathy and compassion.

In 1974, our speaker, Mechai Viravaidya, launched the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) to combat Thailand's soaring population growth rate. Using unconventional methods and humor, he made contraceptives widely accessible, leading to a significant reduction in the growth rate to 0.5% by 2003.

The Bamboo School, founded in 2008, stands as a beacon of lifelong learning and socioeconomic advancement.

Mechai’s remarkable achievements have earned him numerous accolades, including the United Nations Population Award and the Bill and Melinda Gates Award for Global Health.

To learn more, go to:

http://www.mechaifoundation.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnmLeWYj6J0

https://youtu.be/iphYDcCNoR4?si=dTHqZa93EZHHs-G-

https://www.ted.com/talks/mechai_viravaidya_how_mr_condom_made_thailand_a_better_place_for_life_and_love?subtitle=en

https://tinyurl.com/MVFdocuments (a folder with articles and more)

Show more...
7 months ago
33 minutes 30 seconds

Development Success Stories
8. Aid Strategies From a Grandmaster

Dr. Ernesto Sirolli is a renowned expert in local economic development and sustainable entrepreneurship.

He is the founder of the Sirolli Institute and the author of two books: Ripples from the Zambezi and How to Start a Business and Ignite Your Life.

He is also a popular public speaker and has given a TEDx talk titled "Shut Up and Listen".

In 2016, he received the IOEE International Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship Education at the House of Lords in London.

Dr. Ernesto Sirolli is a community iron man. In 1971, he began practice in the field of international aid in Africa. That experience prompted him to develop Enterprise Facilitation (EF). The EF model and Trinity of Management tool trains communities, NGOs, and corporations how to capture the passion,energy, and imagination of their own people. Dr. Sirolli resides in the USA, has companies in Europe and Australia, and founded the Sirolli Institute (23 years of social enterprise) with these two principles:

1. Never initiate, never motivate - always respond.

2. Work with passionate, self determined people.

Dr. Sirolli received a Laurea di Dottore in Political Sciences from Rome University, and a Ph.D in Philosophy and Sustainable Development from Murdoch University. He is a professor at Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP).

Sirolli has worked globally with entrepreneurs to create over 55,000 jobs in +400 communities and with companies to find their "super powers." Today he will explain that "only beauty will save us."

To learn more about the Sirolli Institute:

https://www.facebook.com/sirolliinc/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernesto-sirolli-61279511/

https://www.sirolli.com
⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary


Show more...
8 months ago
42 minutes 5 seconds

Development Success Stories
7. Does Giving Cash Outperform Aid?

GiveDirectly sends cash directly to people living in extreme poverty, no strings attached. GiveDirectly is the first – and largest – nonprofit that lets donors send money directly to the world’s poorest.

They believe people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives, and cash enables that choice.

They have successfully delivered over $700M to approximately 1.5M people across 15 countries since their founding. Cash transfers are arguably the most-studied anti-poverty intervention, with proven positive impacts on recipients' economic, health, and education outcomes.

GiveDirectly has advanced the cash research base with nearly 20 randomized control trials from its own programs, generating rigorous evidence on key design and implementation questions across varied contexts.

Ilan Wallentin currently serves on GiveDirectly's Development team, having spent the previous two years as the organization's Chief of Staff under the leadership of Secretary of State for International Development, Rory Stewart.

https://youtu.be/38kFLfqsk50

To learn more, go to:

General -- https://www.givedirectly.org/

Research -- https://www.givedireGiveDirectlyctly.org/research-at-give-directly/

Donations -- https://donate.givedirectly.org/


⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary


Show more...
8 months ago
28 minutes 17 seconds

Development Success Stories
6. Libraries without Borders

From Refugee Camps and Storm Shelters to Trailer Parks and Laundromats, Libraries Without Borders (Bibliothèques Sans Frontières or LWB) is an international non-profit that strengthens the capacity of people in vulnerable situations by facilitating access to education, information, and cultural resources.

In more than 50 countries, Libraries Without Borders creates innovative cultural and learning spaces that allow those affected by crisis to learn, to play, to strengthen their communities, and to construct their futures.

Speaker: Azure Grimes

For more Info:

https://www.librarieswithoutborders.org/

https://www.librarieswithoutborders.us/


⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary


Show more...
9 months ago
24 minutes 44 seconds

Development Success Stories
5. The "Uber" of African Tractors

Jehiel Oliver, the founder and CEO of Hello Tractor, an agricultural technology company that connects tractor owners with smallholder farmers in need of tractor services in Africa.

Jehiel has been honored with numerous awards for his work in social entrepreneurship including being recognized by Foreign Policy Magazine as a Top 100 Global Thinker and a World Economic Forum Circulars inaugural cohort member.

He was appointed under the Obama Administration to serve two years as a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa, where he most recently chaired the technology subcommittee.

Prior to Hello Tractor, Jehiel worked in consulting and investment banking. He lives with his wife, mom, and two daughters in Nairobi, Kenya.

This presentation will cover the journey of Hello Tractor using GPS, geofencing, Telematics, and the "Internet of Things" (IOT) to solve one of the world's most pressing problems: climate change and global income and food insecurity.

Also discussed:

  • An innovative financing partnership with MasterCard
  • Fraud reduction
  • Farm management
  • Market entry strategies
  • Farm productivity


To learn more about Hello Tractor:

https://www.hellotractor.com

To learn more about Jehiel:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jehiel/


⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠

#PositiveChange

#Inspiration

#Rotary


Show more...
10 months ago
28 minutes 45 seconds

Development Success Stories
4. Flowers Driving Economic Development

The Chicago Eco House and Southside Blooms transforms vacant lots into sustainable urban flower farms, turning blight into economic opportunities for majority-Black inner-city communities.

Local youth are trained as florists and farmers through our workforce development program.

Why flowers? The floral industry generates $35 billion a year. 80% of flowers sold in the USA come from out of the country. Chicago has unused assets in blighted, vacant lots. Youth are unemployed and underemployed - they’re bored. The problems we are facing need systemic solutions, and this program ties together nature, economy, hope, faith, community, and good old-fashioned American progress, all while developing the inherent creativity of young people.

Our speaker is Quilen Blackwell, the president and co-founder of Southside Blooms and Chicago Eco House, a 501(c)3 nonprofit in Chicago with the mission of using sustainability to alleviate poverty on the southside of the city.

Quilen’s background in renewable energy and community organizing is well suited to his role as president of Southside Blooms and Chicago Eco House. His organizing credentials include work abroad as a volunteer in the United States Peace Corps organizing rural farmers in Thailand, as well as helping working-class residents of suburban Milwaukee attain affordable housing domestically.

He later worked in the biofuels industry where he procured feedstock such as used cooking oil and soybean oil for biodiesel production.

Quilen holds a bachelor’s degree with comprehensive honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master’s degree in environmental policy from the University of Denver.

To learn More:

https://southsideblooms.com

https://chicagoecohouse.org

https://instagram.com/southsideblooms

https://www.instagram.com/chicagoeco/

https://facebook.com/southsideblooms

https://facebook.com/chicagoecohouse


⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • YouTubeChannel⁠⁠
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

# minority

# underprivileged

# economic development


Show more...
10 months ago
32 minutes 58 seconds

Development Success Stories
3. Bikes Eliminating Poverty

For the rural poor, particularly girls in school and young women, bicycles are literally a lifesaver.

Without access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, people continue to live in poverty and die from preventable diseases. World Bicycle relief is changing that.

More about World Bicycle Relief:

  • Website: ⁠⁠ https://worldbicyclerelief.org
  • Smile (short inspirational video)
  • YouTube Channel
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Like and repost on social media:

  • Follow this podcast: ⁠Facebook⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠⁠
  • Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠YouTubeChannel⁠⁠
  • How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠
  • Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

  • Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
  • Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠
  • Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

⁠World Bicycle Relief - The Power of Bicycles

  • YouTube: https://youtu.be/xvDpP0Vl3tI
  • Full Meeting: https://www.siliconvalleyrotary.com/meetings/meeting-09-07-2020

World Bicycle Relief mobilizes people through The Power of Bicycles. They are committed to helping people conquer the challenge of distance, achieve independence, and thrive. In this presentation, we'll look at the connection between bicycles and education, gender equity, health care, and economic development.

Our speaker, Dave Neiswander, joined World Bicycle Relief (WBR) in 2007, and in January 2018 was appointed CEO after serving other roles, including nine years as Africa Director of the organization. Based in Zambia for six years and South Africa for three years, Dave helped build the foundational elements of the organization including program design, partnership engagement, geographic expansion, and the Buffalo Bicycle social enterprise strategy.

Prior to joining WBR, Dave had a fifteen-year career in investment banking and was a Senior Vice President at FBR Capital Markets in Washington, D.C. Dave has a Bachelor of Science in Business from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠

Synthesized speech using: ⁠⁠Speechelo⁠⁠

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

Show more...
10 months ago
20 minutes 25 seconds

Development Success Stories
2. Rebuilding the Appalachian Economy

Brandon Dennison is the founder and CEO of a non-profit social-enterprise incubator in southern West Virginia lays out his organization's blueprint for rebuilding an entire economy in coal country.

The presentation will assess the current state of West Virginia's economy, then pivot to a series of solutions being tested by Coalfield Development to overcome the many challenges faced.

Success is not assured, but the country needs Appalachia to succeed, or else many of the deep-seated frustrations that are contributing to America's political divide today will only deepen.

On an even larger scale, the entire planet needs this region to develop as well. Workers in this region have many of the skill sets needed to mitigate the damaging effects of climate change. And the sensitive biodiversity of the region, embedded in some of the largest areas still forested on the East Coast, can serve as a key climate-resilience and carbon-capture area.

Brandon is Ashley Dennison's husband and father to their boys: Owen and Will. Born and raised in West Virginia, he is Founder and CEO of Coalfield Development, which incubates social enterprises designed to diversify Appalachia's coal-based economy and cultivate opportunity for people facing barriers to employment.

Dennison graduated from Shepherd University with a B.A. in History and a B.S. in Political Science. He holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from Indiana University.

In 2017, Brandon was named West Virginian of the Year by WV Living Magazine. He is winner of the JMK Social Innovation Prize, is a DRK Entrepreneur, and is an Ashoka Fellow. In 2019, he was awarded the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy, and Employment.

As a college student, Brandon Dennison volunteered with his church to repair homes in West Virginia's coal country. He never forgot seeing people his own age desperate for paying work. In 2010, Brandon founded Coalfield Development Corporation as a community-based non-profit organization designed to rebuild the Appalachian economy from the ground up. Coalfield Development Corporation offers on-the-job-training, education, and mentoring to people in the southern coalfields.

Brandon was quoted in the Bill Moyers "Making Change" series, saying, "Our responsibility is to create opportunity, then to provide encouragement and build the self-confidence necessary for pursuing opportunity."

Coalfield Development has created more than 250 new jobs, over 50 new businesses, and more than 1,000 professional certification opportunities for unemployed people, many of whom were laid-off coal miners.

Learn more: ⁠https://coalfield-development.org⁠

⁠⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠⁠   

Website: ⁠⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠ ⁠Meetings’ ⁠⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠⁠ ⁠YouTubeChannel⁠⁠⁠ How to become a member in ⁠⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠⁠ Find a ⁠⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠⁠ Find an ⁠⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

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10 months ago
22 minutes 35 seconds

Development Success Stories
1. Ending Malnutrition

Two billion people globally suffer from malnutrition, aka hidden hunger. Hitting Africa the hardest, many lack access to healthy food, relying on starchy flour for every meal.

This poor diet, lacking vital nutrients, tragically leads to 8,000 preventable child deaths each day.

While developed nations enjoy fortified foods like cereal, milk, and salt, two billion people worldwide lack this basic human right. In parts of East Africa, as many as 95% of the population depend on small rural flour mills for their food source to survive.

Sanku enables local flour mills throughout East Africa to produce fortified flour, currently reaching approximately six million people with healthier meals everyday. Adding life-saving nutrients to food means children can fight disease, grow up healthy and educated, and live productive lives. By preventing health problems before they occur, Sanku's solution may have more sustained impact at scale on the lives of people living in rural sub-Saharan Africa than any current health intervention today.

Our speaker, Felix Brooks-church, strongly believes that access to nutritious food should be a right, and not a privilege, and has dedicated his life to developing a technology and business model capable of providing the basic human right to better nutrition to the millions of children and adults excluded by status-quo efforts.

Felix co-founded the social enterprise called Sanku in 2013 with the mission to end malnutrition by guaranteeing that every meal, for every mother and child, contains life-saving nutrients, forever.

For the last seventeen years, Felix has lived in the Global South, refining micronutrient delivery systems and developed economic models for sustaining food fortification at scale for small mills throughout East Africa. He led all aspects of product development and engineering for the award-winning Sanku Dosifier technology, and designed the innovative business model that will ultimately sustain Sanku's operations at scale with minimal external investment.

Felix has grown the organization from a two-man start-up to over 100 East African employees, passionately dedicated to ensuring close to six million people now have access to nutritious food every day. Sanku's big bet vision is to end malnutrition for 100 million people by 2030.

To learn more, go to:

https://projecthealthychildren.org/

⁠⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠⁠   

Website: ⁠⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠ ⁠Meetings’ ⁠⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠⁠ ⁠YouTubeChannel⁠⁠⁠ How to become a member in ⁠⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠⁠ Find a ⁠⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠⁠ Find an ⁠⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠⁠

 

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary




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10 months ago
33 minutes 40 seconds

Development Success Stories
Development Success Stories

Rushton Hurley introduces this series, which explores the diverse world of economic development around the globe.

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10 months ago
2 minutes 24 seconds

Development Success Stories
Economic development takes many forms. What works in America or Europe might not work in Africa or Asia. This series showcases individuals and organizations around the world—from Appalachia to Zambeze—that have succeeded where others have failed. Produced by the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin