Who are Americans?

Bikes for the World (BFTW) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2005 and sponsored by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, that has donated more than 22,500 bicycles to 15 organizations in 10 countries and in the USA. The donated bicycles that are shipped overseas are shipped to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean through partnerships with other non-profit organizations.

The program operates around the Washington DC area, including Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Delaware and other areas in the Mid-Atlantic region. In 2007, BFTW became the largest bicycle re-use program in the USA … donating more than 7,900 bicycles.

The mission of BFTW is assist poor people overseas by providing bicycles for transport to work, school and health services and to provide community service opportunities for Americans to assist others overseas. The programs also reduce waste by recycling used goods.

In addition to bicycles, other bike-related items (parts), used portable sewing machines (provides income opportunities), and used cell phones are collected by BFTW. Read the rest »

Healing the Children (HTC) is an American nonprofit volunteer organization (Spokane, Washington) that provides medical services to children around the world who lack access to needed medical care.

Since 1979, thirteen HTC chapters across the USA have provided services to over 146,000 patients in countries such as Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Croatia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and many other countries, including many countries in South America and Caribbean.

HTC also helps American children who have no access to medical care. Read the rest »

The East-West Center was established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific and the United States. The Center is located on a 21-acre Manoa campus at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, and a second office is located in Washington, DC.

374 students from 50 nations will be studying at the East-West Center this fall. Educational programs and exchanges help current and future leaders develop a deep understanding of the Asia Pacific Region. The Center has a global network of more than 55,000 alumni and 600 partner organizations.

About half of the Center’s budget comes from the U.S. Congress and the remaining financial support comes from individuals, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, alumni and other sources.

The center conducts research on many issues of significance to the region, provides educational programs, seminars for policymakers, professionals and scholars, organizes outreach activities to the public, provides scholarships and other services. Read the rest »

The Alpine Fund is a nonprofit organization based in Kyrgyzstan that uses the local mountain resources to help the country’s most vulnerable youth. The Alpine Fund was founded in 2000 by American climber Garth Willis, and also maintains an office in Minnesota, where it is registered as a nonprofit organization.

The Alpine Fund serves youth from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan who are orphans, lack family support or no longer attend school. Orphanages, residential facilities, hot lunch programs and other local child protection organizations refer children and young adults to the Alpine Fund programs.

About 37% of the Kyrgyzstans’s population is under 15 years of age, and face difficult times in becoming self-sufficient in a country where 44% of the residents live below the poverty line. Youth in state run orphanages leave at the age of 16, and many have no way to finish their high school education and little opportunity to find a good job. Read the rest »

International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), founded in 1988, is an American nonprofit (Washington, DC) with a mission to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of Tibet. ICT also has offices in Amsterdam, Brussels and Berlin.

The goals of ICT include securing humanitarian and development assistance for Tibetans, advocating for Tibetans imprisoned for political or religious beliefs, monitors and reports on human rights, working with governments to develop programs to help Tibetans, mobilizing the international community, promoting self-determination for the Tibetan people through negotiations between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama.

ICT projects include: Read the rest »

How much does it take to make an American happy? 

Too much … according to the Happy Planet Index study measuring how effectively the world’s finite resources are being consumed in comparison to their happiness in 178 countries around the world. The study was conducted by London-based New Economics Foundation.

How effectively do countries convert their environmental resources into happiness? The basic formula computes life satisfaction (happiness) and life expectancy (how many years you live) and divides this total figure by the ecological footprint. The answer is your Happy Planet Index.

No country scored near the top in all 3 categories - happiness, life expectancy and ecological footprint.

On a scale of 0 to 100, the highest score was 68.2 by the Pacific island of Vanuatu. Vanuatu’s lowest factor was a moderate level of life expectancy at 69 years. Read the rest »

Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) is an American nonprofit (Baltimore, Maryland) that empowers and equips young people in the USA to address global issues such as poverty, health care, climate change, peace and security through awareness raising, advocacy and action. The vision is for every young American to contribute to peaceful, healthy, fair and sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.

The AID network includes more than 20,000 students on over 1,000 university campuses, along with several thousand other young professionals. Many students have formed AID chapters on their campus.

Environmental issues focus on such areas as carbon emissions, green campuses, and urban environmental concerns. Read the rest »

The World Public Opinion.Org organization just released an August 28 titled, “Muslims Positive About Globalization, Trade”.  The World Public Opinion.Org network is a consortium of research centers in 22 countries.

A segment of the article revealing their findings are shown below:

Contrary to the common assumption that Muslims view globalization as a threat to their society, a new poll of Muslim countries finds that globalization is generally viewed

Read the rest »