February 12, 2014, written by Alison Hofmeyer, Communications Consultant

It is a prevalent topic all over social media these days.  The UN is beginning their season of round table discussions and conferences, along with DESA, UNDP, and many non profits.  Anyone perusing Twitter or their Facebook feed will be bombarded with philanthropic projects, emotional pictures, and statistics about the world's poorest people and communities.  And we do the same thing!  Our posts are genuine and real, but intended to captivate an audience, to engage people in our mission to empower communities, and to ignite passion in the hearts of people all over the world.

But what does it really mean to serve humanity?  What does it look like the empower the most depraved people in our world?  These are the questions that everyone is now throwing around.  What policies can we put in place to protect people from oppression?  What aid can we give to get communities fed and back on their feet?  It is a worthy topic and questions we hope to be able to answer some day.  However, our solution for right now is instead to stop talking and start doing.  These are desperate times.  People don't have time to wait for our 10 point plans and well thought out agendas.  At the rate children are dying of malnutrition and women dying from childbearing, there is no time to wait.  Our LifeBox Containers are designed to be an emergency response.  However, they are a long term solution, allowing a community to use it to grow and thrive and build.  

I wonder, what is your solution?  In what capacity would you want to serve?  How do you fit into the fight for humanity?
We would love to have you on our team.

(February 10, 2014) Today's post comes to us from a faithful supporter of ACI and a friend of President David Neely's, Alan Foster.

My name is Alan Foster.  I am a small business owner specializing in facility maintenance.  I was asked a couple of years ago by David Neely, President of ACI, to partner with his organization.  They needed an outside perspective on what specifics are involved with maintaining a building used for education.  As this dialog progressed, i soon realized his organization was building a class room made from a shipping crate and that it was going to be shipped to Africa.  I was amazed about this idea and further amazed that he had the foresight to get others involved so that no detail was missed.  I was so moved by the idea that i partnered with ACI. I not only worked with his team of architects, engineers and eventually a school for the prototype but my company donated other resources to help get this project underway.
 
It was refreshing to find an organization that truely focused on the end result.  I watched ACI gather the different trades and experts needed for this project.  They way that David gathered these individual pieces and networked them into a common goal was impressive. Their idea of finding the right people and resources to complete projects for those less fortunate is a great one.  Its too bad they are so terribly underfunded.  They have a great vision and many more opportunities to help those in third-world countries.  I challenge all who take time to read this that they can make a difference.  With each individual effort comes a great movement for change and care for our fellow man.

(February 4, 2014) This second Talking Tuesday post is written by Robert Bye, newest member of the ACI team.  Robert brings years of legal and technological experience as well as a passion for people.


Disruptive Technology for Disadvantaged Communities

 I first heard about Affecting Change International a little over two years ago. I was talking with David Neely, President and CEO, about his upcoming trip to New York to speak at the Infopoverty World Conference at the UN.  As a technology leader for the past decade, I was intrigued by the thought of using technology to address the problem of poverty in disadvantaged communities. I knew that David Neely had spent 11 years living in Kenya and was familiar with the needs of disadvantaged communities in that region. However, I was skeptical and needed to hear more.

Last year, David invited me into his office to explain more about what ACI was doing. He told me about all the work that had gone into developing the LifeBox Container for classroom instruction.   He described how the LifeBox would be solar powered and could be used to charge cell phones in remote areas. It could also potentially connect with cellular networks to create a Wi-Fi hotspot.  My mind went straight to the possibilities for technology, and I knew I had to get involved.

In the two years since I first heard about ACI, the world of technology has changed dramatically. My field of cloud computing has revolutionized how computer networks are built and technology is consumed. Instead of having to purchase servers and put them in an expensive data center, it is now possible to access technology on an as-needed basis as a service.  Costs are coming down rapidly, and in many cases are free as companies like Google are looking for more users for their advertising platforms. At the same time, hardware costs are coming down rapidly because of the Android platform and emerging vendors in China. Over the next several years, these disruptive technologies have the potential to dramatically improve opportunities for disadvantaged communities.

I believe that LifeBox is the missing element that will bring together all the necessary technology pieces. It could act as a hub of activity in these disadvantaged communities for both education and commerce.   I am excited about the potential for ACI to have a real, measurable impact on communities. To succeed, these communities will need to embrace the technology and take ownership. That is why I think the ACI tagline is so appropriate: Helping Disadvantaged Communities Learn to Help Themselves.