[thepottersson-blog]

"Emotions cannot necessarily be accurately described," she says. Using brain scans, "We can see the discrepancy between what you say and what your brain says, and reduce the margin of error."

(Don't bother expressing yourself.) http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-10-08/this-is-your-brain-on-advertisingbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

[thepottersson-blog]

A statement from Uganda's presidency described North Korea as "friends who have helped Uganda for a long time."

Critics in this East African country see the presence — and honoring — of a delegation from North Korea as another sign of Museveni's diminished commitment to democracy after spending nearly three decades in power.

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2014/10/31/3484804/uganda-north-korea-ties-grow-amid.html#storylink=c

[thepottersson-blog]

Here’s why it matters when a human rights crusader builds her advocacy on lies

"What anti-trafficking NGOs are saving women from is a life outside the international garment trade, which, according to folks who sell us our clothes, is no kind of life at all — even though folks in those jobs tell me they can barely survive. About one-seventh of the world’s population of women works in the garment industry, which very rarely pays more than half a living wage (including to folks who work fast fashion retail in U.S. urban centers). This helps keep women in poverty around the globe." By Anne Elizabeth Moore

[thepottersson-blog]

the buy-one-give-one model is an archetype for that classic aid mistake of giving fish, rather than training fisherman. While TOMS gives shoes in over 50 countries, their products are made only in Argentina, Ethiopia and China. That means in most the communities they give, their “shoe drops” constitute an economic bomb to any local industry that may have existed prior to the introduction of free international shoes.

Jonathan Favini, The bad news about Tom's Shoes

[thepottersson-blog]

Outreach Uganda. Outreach Uganda is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Colorado and dedicated to helping empower Ugandans rise out of poverty. To do this we work with village groups in Uganda to bring hope and improve lives, especially in the areas of education, women’s empowerment, and self-sufficiency through job creation.

[thepottersson-blog]

Badala. "When I was seventeen, I was struck with a startling realization. People are dying by the millions just because they don't have enough to eat. Half the world's children are sick because they don't have access to clean water. There's a whole continent of people crying out for mercy...I traveled to Africa to see extreme poverty first hand. I became best friends with kids with no homes and widows who were forced into prostitution just to feed their families. My best friends aren't asking for handouts; They're asking for a leg up."

[thepottersson-blog]

Here's the trouble with dumping stuff we don't want on people in need: What they need is rarely the stuff we don't want... Increased used-clothing imports accounted for about half of the decline in apparel industry employment in Africa between 1981 and 2000. Want to really help a Zambian? Give him a shirt made in Zambia.

Charles Kenny, Haiti Doesn't Need Your Old Shirt

[thepottersson-blog]

"Empowerment": Too often the word is used as a smokescreen for increasing consumerism, a cousin of L'Oreal's 'because you're worth it' whereby you can presumably empower yourself by buying shoes and pretty little journals, which is somehow worthier than simply buying things because you need or like these things.

Dr Brooke Magnanti, What the hell does 'empowering women' really mean? Does anybody out there even know? Anybody?

[thepottersson-blog]

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Bead for Life fights extreme poverty by creating opportunities not handouts, for African women living on less than a dollar a day. We empower these women to earn money by teaching them to create beautiful jewelry from rolling beads with recycled paper. Bead for Life provides women with entrepreneurial training in an 18-month program, providing education and tools to create businesses in the local economy before they graduate from the bead making program.

[thepottersson-blog]

31 Bits. We value both the creator and the consumer. The artisans in our program are receiving a sustainable income and holistic education, empowering them to rise above poverty. Our accessories are marked by fresh colors and crisp design. Our customers exemplify sophistication and compassion.

The heartbeat of 31 Bits is made of love, creativity, community, endless laughter, compassion, story telling, fashion, and frequent dance parties. 

[thepottersson-blog]

The Biology Of Altruism: Good Deeds May Be Rooted In The Brain

Angela Stimpson donated a kidney to a complete stranger. Why did she do it? Researchers found that the brains of Stimpson and other altruists are sensitive to fear and distress in a stranger's face.

This study associated altruism (unselfish concern, social conscience) with the amygdala, the brain's integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation

[thepottersson-blog]

This is a Ugandan paper bead souvenir necklace made out of the cover of Half the Sky, a book about projecting your own privilege onto women in oppressed environments. 

[thepottersson-blog]

This is the MAKE/ Kit, a labor-sharing kit that lets you assist impoverished ladies in Kampala with their daily workload by making necklaces and mailing them to Uganda. 

[thepottersson-blog]

[thepottersson-blog]

Buried under brands including Vogue, Céline, Shopbop, MAC AIDS Foundation and Born Free is artwork by Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu. Buying this tote will make you feel like you've helped end mother-to-child HIV transmission. 

[thepottersson-blog]

Fofana is at the forefront of a revival of West African cottage industry crafts. Fofana’s work is unique in the respect that he is able to translate between two cultures, West African and Western, using the traditional techniques and materials of West Africa to produce pieces that transcend their origins whilst still speaking their African heritage.