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Hello I am happy that you are back, and I am happy to be back.
As you know, this course is called Social Entrepreneurship: A Grassroots Revolution,
and what I would like to talk about today is some model social entrepreneurship projects.
I have four of those. One is from South Africa, another is from the United States, the third is from India, and the fourth is from the Middle East.
I would like to remind you that we do have a MOOC website, and there is information on our MOOC course, at that site.
Quite a bit of variety of information.
We have a Facebook address; all you need to do search for "social entrepreneurship program,"
and I would also like to remind you about the optional book. You can order that though the Facebook site, or the MOOC website, and it is important that everyone note that this book is not required excel in this course. It is truly an option.
In my previous video recordings, I have shared some information about social entrepreneurship, the definition, and several related issues.
So it is my hope, and also my expectation that you have a decent feel for what social entrepreneurship is.
There are different aspects to learning, and understanding, and taking a look at definitions and stated issues, and written issues is a part of learning.
Another step, in learning, I think, an important step, is that of the teacher providing examples; and that is what I would like to do today.
I am going to be providing some examples of what I consider to be "model" social entrepreneurship projects from several parts the world. My source for these examples is a project called, "CNN Heroes".
CNN stands for Cable News Network. This is a television network that focuses on news in the United States.
the web address to CNN Heroes is on the screen, and whenever you have time, I would like for you to go to that site and look around.
You will see several different years represented, with several CNN Heroes for each year.
Even though CNN does not call these projects "social entrepreneurship," that indeed is what they are. These are classic examples of social entrepreneurship projects.
I have selected 9 CNN Hero projects to share.
This presentation discusses the first four.
The first of the 4 CNN Hero projects that I will be covering today is: Youth Education In South Africa by Thulani Mandongo.
The second is a project helping poor elderly in the United States, by Zach Hudson.
The third is a project to help the blind in India, by Chandrasekhar Sankurathri... excuse me... Sankurathri, and the fourth is a medical transport project in the Middle East, by Yuval Roth.
Each of these people became aware of a problem, in their society, and they could not walk away from it.
They had to try to help, and they did.
I find it interesting that it is so easy for us, as we are living our our busy lives, and indeed just about everybody is overbooked in life...
I find it interesting that as we are living our busy lives, that is so easy for us not to see some of the things that are around us.
It reminds me a little bit of Anne Mahlum, you may recall from an earlier video recording I mentioned Anne.
Her project.. she is the long-distance runner who was running by a homeless shelter for men, many, many times she... I think she saw that homeless shelter but she she did not see how to help, until one day an idea came to her.
And, my point here is that it is that way for, I think, maybe most of us even though we might not be long distance runners, and we might not literally be running through our community.
But, figuratively most of us are running through our communities, and sometimes it is difficult to see the problems, and even when we see the problems sometimes is very difficult to figure out how in the world can we, as one person, help.
But indeed, the problems are there, and the general answer "to how can we help?" Is innovation.
Sometimes having that innovative idea is difficult.
So the first project I would like to take a look at is youth education in South Africa, and here is some of the key points about this project.
There are about 40,000 people, in a slum, in Kliptown, South Africa.
About 10,000 of these are children.
There are many problems in the slum, including crime, unemployment, and school dropouts.
Thulani Mondongo helped start the Kliptown Youth Program to provide intensive tutoring to help the youth graduate from high school, and it is interesting that some have even been able to go on to a university.
400 students are in the program, and they received two meals a day, a school uniform, tutoring, and much encouragement.
On Fridays and Saturdays, fun activities are organized, such as sports, drumming, and dancing.
The program has a library, and 300 donated laptops with access to the Internet.
There is a "Kliptown Helping Kliptown" orientation, a belief that each student who succeeds will help their family and others in the community.
So, here some points from this project, that attract my attention.
One is that Thulani is from the area, he was raised in Kliptown, and so he knows the situation, and in a sense he is doing... his project is about something that he has been familiar with, and that is a strength for any social entrepreneurship program.
One of principles that which to try to follow whenever we can is, "do what we know," and Thulani knows this area, and he knows these people.
Another very interesting point to me about this project is that the problems in the slum are tremendous.
40,000 people in the slum, and so this is a a huge problem.
What Thulani has done is he has picked a small piece, and he has created something that is workable, and is trying to solve a small piece the big problem.
I think there is a lesson there for all of us.
Sometimes, I know in my life, and probably yours also, I see a problem and it seems so big and I think, "how in the world could... can I help with that problem" and somehow I am able to walk away from it because of maybe of its size.
So here is a lesson for us.
When we are confronted with a huge problem it might be possible
just take a piece of it, carve out a piece that
is workable, and we might be able to make a difference that way.
Another part this project that I find to be interesting is... certainly there would be extremely strong community support for this project;
both the people in the Cliptown slum, as well as the people in Cliptown who are not living in this slum.
An additional point that attracts my attention is that this is a fairly simple project.
The children are attending school, that is not a part of this project, this project involves intensive tutoring and some other assistance.
So, structurally, this is fairly simple and I view that as a strength of this project.
The next, classic illustration of a good social entrepreneurship project, that I would like to share, is a project involving helping poor elderly in the United States and Zach Hudson is the person who started this;
and here some of the key points about this project.
Zach Hudson was raised mainly by his grandparents, and a great grandmother; and he believes that what he is doing by helping poor elderly today is giving back to old people who helped him so much.
Zack is a community police officer in Florida, and he sees many problems seniors experience.
He started Seniors Intervention Group to help.
Help for seniors ranges from picking up a medication pill that fell behind the sofa to rebuilding a home.
So these are quite diverse types of activities that are a part of this project.
This project sometimes saves lives.
The simple act of an eighty-year-old standing on a step stool to change a light bulb could result in a fall and death.
Help with the cost of food is sometimes provided.
Seniors who had to sometimes choose between food, and medication can now have both.
Another important point is that many community organizations provide volunteers to help, totaling several hundred volunteers.
Some of the points that attract my attention to this project is that, this is a project that could fit into just about any part the United States, especially any large city.
There are going to be elderly people who are in need, similar to the people that Zack is helping.
Another very important point about this is, there is extremely strong community collaboration, and assistance.
With many community organizations supporting this, and providing... it is amazing... hundreds of volunteers.
Another interesting point to me is the range of services.
If a senior citizen needs help for five minutes in the home then they can ask for help from Zack, and the people in this project.
If they need help refurbishing their house, which could take weeks or months, that is also a possible project for this effort.
So, the range of activities is extremely wide.
Another point that attracts my attention is that this also is a fairly simple project.
I like simplicity in projects.
I view simplicity to be a strength, and so the structural part of this project involves identify needs in the community, and then finding people who are willing to help them.
It is not expensive, it is not highly bureaucratic.
I like the simplicity of it. Another point that I like about this project is that Zack, the person who started this project, he is giving back.
He greatly appreciated what his grandparents, and great grandmother did raising him, and I think it is pretty neat that he is wanting to give back to older people.
The next project is a project to help the blind, in India (by) Chandrasekhar Sankurathri in India;
And here are some the key points about this project.
Blindness due to cataracts is curable, but many people with cataracts in India do not know that a simple surgery can allow them to see again.
Since 1993, Chandrasekhar's eye hospital has performed more than 137,000 cataract surgeries.
And, this is significant, about ninety percent have been free.
Chandrasekhar views the surgery his hospitals provides, not just helping people see, but improving their overall lives.
So he see something bigger than improving eyesight, as a occurring.
Chandrasekhar does not believe he is special.
He says, "I am just an ordinary human being trying to do my best to help others."
I might mention that Chandrasekhar was a biologist in Canada when his wife and two children were flying from Canada to India when a bomb exploded in the plane, and everyone was killed.
He honors his family through this project.
So here are some of the points from this project that attract my attention.
One is the the big payoffs for a simple medical procedure, cataract surgery.
Transitioning from very limited eyesight to, I suppose, blindness.
Transitioning from that to sight.
So that, in and of itself, is is very big for the the person who is experiencing this.
But beyond that, and this is a point that Chandrasekhar mentions, that he is not just bringing sight to people, but he is helping people live more full lives.
People with sight have a better chance to get a job, people with sight can raise children better.
Another interesting point to this is, the number of surgeries...
137,000.
Significant good has been done, and in all likelihood will continue.
I am also impressed with the humility of Chandrasekhar; he does not view himself as special.
Another point that attracts my attention
is, how big this project is, how expensive this project is, and how complex this project is.
Chandrasekhar actually started an eye hospital, and so in contrast to the last couple of projects I have mention, that I have applauded because they have been simple, I do need to mention this one is complex, and expensive.
It is that this issue is simply one of the dimensions that makes it more difficult for start-up.
But It is clear that Chandrasekhar has been successful, even though this is a big, and complex project.
The next project that I would like to talk about, and this will be the last one in this presentation, is a medical transport system
in the Middle East, and Yuval Roth is the originator of this project.
Some the key points for this project are the following:
This project helps people receive live saving health care.
Palestinians are transported from the west bank, into Israel, to receive medical care not available in the West Bank.
200 volunteer drivers donate their time and vehicles.
Gas money is from financial donations, but the drivers donate the rest.
The name of Yuval's group translates, "On the Road to Recovery."
There are two hundred volunteers who drove about 55,000 miles in 2010
Hundreds the Palestinians have been helped.
Yuval believes he is helping Israelis and Palestinians become closer.
Yuval is Israeli, while the people being helped are Palestinian
Yuval is serving some of the needs of a category of people, which has historically been hostile to Israelis.
Yuval started this project as a way of dealing with his brother being killed by Hamas, a sometimes violent organization that attacks Israelis.
This is another project that, in some ways, is amazing to me.
Yuval, an Israeli, is helping Palestinians.
Palestinians represent a category of people that some would call, the enemy of the Israelis.
Yuval's brother was killed by Hamas, Yoval... I am amazed that what he has done.
He has decided he wants to help the Palestinians and so this is a a very significant issue related to this project.
The task that he is performing is very simple, it is transporting Palestinians from the West Bank to Israel to receive medical care.
But, he is doing much more, and this is very intentional on his part.
He is trying to build trust between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
He clearly wants to reduce the conflict, and he is working for peace with this medical transport project.
Another point that attracts my attention is that this is a simple project.
As I mentioned I like these. It is lining up drivers, it is is lining up people to be transported, it is coordinating that, it is a fairly simple project and I like it.
I would like to reflect briefly on these projects.
Four people who step forward to make a difference have been covered in this presentation.
These people did not seek attention. They sought to help others.
Their commitment took them to these projects.
I think it might be true that true heroes do not seek attention.
I greatly appreciate the work that these social entrepreneurs have done.
I believe they provide great models for us.
In my next presentation I have 5 other examples of projects that I think serve as good models, and I look forward to making that presentation as well.
Thank you for being here.