Overview...

What started as an awareness raising and ethnographic styled walk through Sierra Leone, this site now details the encounters of a not so academic academic who spends more time occupying Wall Street and squats than a university...

Friday, July 2, 2010

Narrowing Down...

So I've finally gotten through my list of Non-Profit organizations working in Sierra Leone.  336 organizations.  I had a list from just a couple years ago of something like 100.  Shows how far the country has come of late.  Lots of good resources there, but a lot of the organizations don't do a great job of contact info or media resources, so there would still be further opportunities.  My goal with this list is to identify organizations that I would either feel comfortable working with or like to.  I will need contacts on the ground not only when I get into the country but also as I travel through the country in some of the other areas and cities.  It would be nice to have a few friendly little rest stops, places for a meal or bath, as well as to chat with local people/workers and hear about the specifics of getting projects done in that locale.

So all told I have narrowed it down to 57 non-profits that we will look further into, and likely contact with an introduction to the project.  I have been trying to find smaller local organizations that would feel closer to the ground.  I also have been looking to focus on organizations that, though they may focus on specific issues, do not get into specific ideologies - whether religious, economic, or whatever.  Helping children or refugees is fine, but sometimes if you have a designated 'how' - god, privatization, reconciliation/justice, etc. - organizations can fall into awkward stigmas.  As the post below says, we are trying to stay as clear of this as possible.              

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