Archives October 2016

They Took In One Refugee Family. But Families Don’t Have Borders. – The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/22/world/americas/canada-refugees-syria.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
Just had this article passed on to me. Well written summary of some of the challenges that come around extended family discussions (ie extended family of sponsored groups who are still looking for sponsors) when involved in refugee sponsorship. Worth reading for anybody who is involved in sponsorship or wants to learn more. 

The Sidekick Manifesto | From Poverty to Power

http://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/the-sidekick-manifesto-count-me-in/
Great piece!  This could get posted in every NGO office – a reminder of what our role really is as we engage in the world. Looks specifically at economic development, but equally applicable to other sectors as well. Worth passing on to others. 

The Tallinn experiment: what happens when a city makes public transport free?

The Tallinn experiment: what happens when a city makes public transport free?
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/oct/11/tallinn-experiment-estonia-public-transport-free-cities?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_WordPress
UPDATE: Just to be clear, even though it is clear that some parts of this experiment may not be financially sustainable in the long term – in the current circumstances – I am still a big fan of making public transportation more accessible. Perhaps if some of the funds that so often gets spent on building bigger highways got redirected to public transit, the financial situation would look different. 🙂