WAMC: 51% Show # 1073 (2010-02-04)

51 % The Women's Perspective

51% Show # 1073

(2010-02-04)

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ALBANY, NY (WAMC) - One hundred thirty two people were saved by rescue efforts after the Haiti earthquake. At least 110,000 people are reported dead...and the scope of the tragedy has drawn humanitarian aid from all over the world. Josette Perard, cofounder of the Lambi Fund - a non-profit organization in Port-au-Prince that helps Haiti's women build sustainable, healthy communities, says her group is already back at work. Airline Ambassadors, a group we've profiled on this show, immediately began working to use its commercial airline connections to bring supplies to Haiti. The What If Foundation, which provides food and education for children in one small Haitian town, has also been coordinating aid. And Dr. Siobhan McNally went to Haiti to do what she can. A pediatrician from the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Dr. McNally volunteered to spend two weeks treating Haitian women and children. She spoke with me before she left.

7:14 McNally in Haiti

Dr. Siobhan McNally is a pediatrician from Massachusetts who spoke with me before leaving for a volunteer medical mission to Haiti. For more about Circle of Health International, the organization sponsoring her trip, go to cohintl.org

The Kurdish region of southeast Turkey is one of the most underdeveloped and impoverished parts of the country. A clash between the Kurds and the Turkish government forced more than million people to move to local cities. They come from different cultures - they don't understand each other. But Dorian Jones of the World Vision Report has details about an educational initiative that's centered around one place where all women meet - the washing machine.

3:18 Washing PRX

From Turkey, let's turn to Africa. The world of Newport, Rhode Island is a long way from the slums of Nairobi. Yet there's a small organization based in Newport, Rhode Island, with a mission to educate the orphans of Nairobi. Co-founder Justine Axelsson says Flying Kites when two privileged American girls volunteered in Kenya...and discovered their mission. Flying Kites proposes a different model in caring for the orphans of Nairobi's slums. Instead of offering basic, subsistence care, the three young co-founders want to create top of the line housing and educational opportunities for a small group of the most desperate children.

5:52 Flying Kites

The website for more information is flyingkitesglobal.org.

And finally personal finance expert Manisha Thakor has some simple steps to dealing with our own personal economies. When bills are high and money is tight...who should you pay first?

4:59 Cash Demands

For more personal finance advice, visit Manisha Thakor's website at manishathakor.com.
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