The five of us piled into the tatty jeep with our drenched rucksacks piled on top of us and we sat soaked to the bone all the way to the hostel. We had turned up at one of the more common hostels in the area only to find out that they had overbooked, and after [...]
Today I’m thankful for… ~Family, in all its forms ~Phones and Internet that bring people together when life does not ~Human imagination and its ability to envision things beyond their current state ~Any dish with yucca and, more, the people who prepare it ~The expectation and ability to go to college ~Teachers ~Farmers ~Children’s books [...]
This holiday season, skip the long lines and crazy shoppers and give the gift of education. There are several ways that you can help disadvantaged youth in rural Guatemala this holiday season at no extra cost to you. Instead of trolling the mall searching for that perfect book, DVD, or gadget shop through the Roots [...]
Not so long ago, I wrote about the recently released HDI report and briefly touched upon some of the figures regarding education in Guatemala, which showed that only 15.6% of Guatemala’s female population are educated to at least secondary school level, compared to 21% of males. These figures have played on my mind ever since. [...]
International travel has always been one of the most inspirational and important parts of my life as a student, and now as a professional in international development. Miriam Beard, the daughter of an American suffragette, once said that “travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and [...]
Roots and Wings is always expanding its online presence to spread our message about the importance of education. Recently, RWI launched a mobile site so that our followers can keep up with us on their mobile devices anywhere in the world. We are also proud to announce that viewers can also visit our newly launched [...]
The Association of Fundraising Professionals has designated today, November 15, as National Philanthropy Day. It’s one of those days, like the UN’s World Health Day or the recent World Kindness Day, that has little do with a single event and a lot to do with something we’d like to see happening every day. Putting health [...]
A quote this week caught my eye. Angelo Campos, a Brazilian graffiti artist and T-Shirt designer, has said that “what is really needed in the long term is more education.” It might surprise you to read that Angelo is a largely uneducated resident of the favela in Rio de Janeiro. This quote came in response to [...]
Last Sunday, the people of Guatemala turned out in record numbers to elect Otto Perez Molina as the newest president of the country. As formerly noted in the RWI blog, the November 6 run-off election took place after initial elections in September. Both elections featured exceptionally high voter turn out, especially among women and youth. [...]
Today, November 8th, Roots and Wings International marks one more year of empowering local indigenous communities through education and culturally responsive community development efforts. Over the last year, Roots and Wings has expanded its programs, donor base, and number of volunteers to spread its message to an even larger audience. More students have been awarded [...]
My first blog for Roots and Wings International will hopefully mark a long-term involvement with an organisation which promotes a cause close to my heart. Not only do I wish to share what I already know and encourage interaction with communities that rarely have an opportunity to have its voice heard, I also wish to [...]
The world population topped seven billion people this week. For most of us, seven billion is an unfathomable number – easier to think of as grains of sand on a beach than human lives sharing the same planet. Western culture, in all of its individualistic tendencies, often hinders us from thinking of humanity as one [...]
In Crisantemo, a book by Kevin Henkes, a little mouse starts school and finds her sense of self challenged by her classmates. Crisantemo (Chrysanthemum in English) had been proud of her uncommon name until her classmates teased her. The mouse’s parents cheer her up, telling her that her name is “absolutamente perfecto,” and Crisantemo bolsters [...]
