Many of us are asking ourselves, "how much is enough and what do I need?  What really makes me happy?"  We know we complicate our lives with consumerism and the comforts of “more”, but somehow seem trapped in it.  I’ve been fascinated by the buzz about Happiness research over the last two years which compares data on wealth, education and marital status with results of happiness surveys.  What they are discovering (surprise, surprise) is that money actually doesn’t make you happy, but in fact, relationships and social interaction have a much higher correlation with happiness.   

As the holiday season comes into play, I thought you all would enjoy this video called “What about me.”  

Much more to come on this happiness topic…

When I was in Kenya a few months ago, my friend Wendy Mukuru handed me an article in the Sunday Nation newspaper that was really powerful. The article was titled, “Being Poor in Kenya: a life of insults.”   The author, Sunny Bindra,  paints the picture of life being poor and opens up with: ‘Who would anyone want to be poor in Kenya? We treat the poor no better than chewing-gum stuck to our shoes.’

He goes on to describe the hardships of falling ill and navigating your way through a system when you are poor.  He continues with:

“Poverty is Problem Number One in Kenya. We can lose ourselves in all the fancy discourse we like; it doesn’t go away. The chattering classes can analyse the likely political scenarios in December; they can discuss how many tourists are coming to Kenya this year; they can have forthright debates on Tony Blair’s legacy…  If they lifted their noses from their glasses and closed their mouths for a moment, they would see that they are a tiny minority, an affluent little island of fun surrounded by a heaving, seething sea of abject misery…There is no easy answer to this problem. A certain amount of poverty is inevitable, after all. But to strip a large part of the population of all esteem is inhuman and unforgivable.

The causes of poverty are complex; its solutions have many dimensions. Better health, better education, better opportunities are pre-requisites. A thoughtful approach to economic participation is necessary... But more concern, more awareness, more sensitivity is within each person’s grasp. A poor person is just you with less money. Step one is to realise this”.

He points to a few important things.  One is the simple “I am you.  You are me” philosophy that if we can put ourselves in the shoes of others, all benefit (even if we think we are better off).  His other point is why I believe in the market-based approach as one strategy to solving poverty- it brings dignity and voice to the poor, who are producers and consumers in their own right.  They are the ones who know what they need and want most—so mechanisms which help producers and providers understand the needs and true realities of their experiences are the most powerful mechanisms to change.

To read the full article, click here.

I then came across a very cool video on Youtube about two men in Nairobi who are providing a mobile phone service from their wheelchairs.  I have no idea if this is legit, but I loved the idea as it represents so many creative ways that people are making a life and income for themselves.

One of the most interesting social enterprises I learned about in Tanzania was APOPO.  Apopo trains sniffer rats to detect explosives and diagnose disease. This unusual idea has been developed into a competitive technology by a group of Belgian and Tanzanian researchers and animal trainers.  What an exciting solution because as many of you know, dangerous landmines are a significant issue in many countries and detection processes can be slow and expensive.  In addition to the landmines, rats are now being used to sniff out tuberculosis.  Below you can find a short video describing their work in detecting mines left over from the Mozambique civil war.

A new site was launched last week that I have really found interesting.  The MDG Monitor shows how countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With the 2015 target date fast approaching, it is more important than ever to understand where the goals are on track, and where additional efforts and support are needed, both globally and at the country level.

The MDG Monitor is designed as a tool for policymakers, development practitioners, journalists, students and others to:
TRACK progress through interactive maps and country-specific profiles
LEARN about countries' challenges and achievements and get the latest news
SUPPORT organizations working on the MDGs around the world

...on another related exciting note, the World Bank also released the African Indicators Report on Wed, which showed that several African economies are now showing signs of the positive growth needed to end decades of poverty, poor growth and stagnation in the continent.  African countries had recorded strong growth between 1995-2005, reversing the trend of economic collapses and stagnation between 1975-1995.

When I moved to Geneva recently, I was quite shocked (and I must admit, entertained) at the sight of a recent controversial political campaign poster.  As you can see, there is a white sheep standing on the Swiss flag, kicking the black sheep off.   The largest political party, the Swiss People’s Party, created this poster to drive home their election platform against immigration.  Now this sure didn’t make me feel any more welcome, and it certainly made me consider the aftermath of this for many legal, law abiding immigrants in any county who usually are important forces in supporting the economy in many ways for generations to come. 

Don’t the other white sheep look bored in this poster? 

So, I was glad to get a phone call from David several days later, who founded the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRR) http://www.tnimmigrant.org   For eight years, David has been working to try to build bridges between immigrants and native-born Tennesseans. The purpose- to build a welcoming environment for immigrants and prevent a resurgence in the kind of racism we saw in the Jim-Crow, segregationist South. Immigration brings out fears, and fears lead to intolerance and xenophobia if not addressed.

According to him (and the obvious example above), the same fears experienced in the South are growing in Europe.  So, he has been developing tools that bring together people who thought they were anti-immigrant with immigrants themselves.

TIRRC has a project called "Welcoming Tennessee" which is half public relations campaign, half community organizing campaign. The goal- change people's hearts and minds about immigrants and then demonstrate with scientific polling that you have improved the climate for immigrants in a specific geographical area. This program is becoming a national model in the U.S., and from my conversation with David, he would like to export this to Europe.  Would be cool to come back to Switzerland down the road and have the major party with campaign posters that have the black sheep and white sheep together drinking tea.