The $5 philanthropist

Human Capital. Knowledge Economy. The ruler of Dubai just announced he is donating a modest sum to establish a new educational foundation in the Middle East aimed at "creating a knowledge-based society" in the Middle East. The amount he donated? Ten billion dollars.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister and ruler of Dubai and vice president of the United Arab Emirates, has announced that he is donating $10 billion to establish an educational foundation in the Middle East, BBC News reports.

Delivering a keynote address to the World Economic Forum, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said "There is a wide knowledge gap between us and the developed world in the West and in Asia. Our only choice is to bridge this gap as quickly as possible, because our age is defined by knowledge."

Quite right. Our age is defined by knowledge. Want to lift any country up the ladder of economic development? Best to start with an investment in building that country's Human Capital.

Now here's your chance:

As some of you might know, I met a man named Yves Habumugisha on my trip to Rwanda. He works in Rwanda and Burundi on behalf of Food For The Hungry's Rwanda office, an international development organization. Yves' passion and his knowledge and his ideas for community development inspire me immensely.


Over the last few months, I have been raising money to pay for Yves to complete his Masters degree in International Development.

Yves has been completing the degree by online correspondence but this last semester requires physical attendance at Southern New Hampshire University.

Food For The Hungry Rwanda is contributing USD$1200 plus the cost of his airfare and Yves was recently awarded a partial scholarship worth USD $1500. This means, including money already raised through the fundraising page I created, we only have CDN $1,740 left to raise!!!

This is one of the best charitable investments you can make. Without a doubt, investing in Yves education will have an exponential effect on the communities in which he works in Burundi and Rwanda.

As those closest to me know, I have fallen in love with Rwanda and am counting down the days to my return this fall.

We only have a few weeks to go before payment is due. Please give generously!

I will be attending Yves graduation in July.

Labels: burundi, development, education, humancapital, rwanda

As promised, here is the video interview for Pod 3. Hope the Pig-e-Banks are working out for you guys this weekend.

For Hugh Boyd's Pod 3



Add to My Profile | More Videos

Labels: africa, burundi, charity, nutrition, philanthropy, pod3, rwanda

Rwandan Genocide Memorial
Originally uploaded by tomgivemeaning.

8:50pm, Saturday November 18th, 2006
Goma, DR Congo

My heart is broken. My last stop before leaving Rwanda was at one of the many Genocide memorials in Rwanda. On this trip, I have spoken of the great hope, the beauty, the strength. Here today, I saw the effects of pure evil. But equally damning was the conscious apathy, the deliberate ignorance, the practiced deflection of responsibility. I want to write about what I saw today but it won't mean much to you. It will only sound awful. I was left with this opinion:

The act of bludgeoning a 2 year old child to death is as brutal as being able to stop that murder and choosing to do nothing.

I can't write anything more. I want to end this entry with a call to action. To support the counseling efforts of the survivors, to support the orphans, to give a damn about what's going on in Sudan, to do all and more.

The truth is, I don't know enough yet. This was the most frustrating way to leave Rwanda, to experience at the end of this trip. I am filled with rage, devastation and incredulity.

As I sat at the mass grave looking at the stacked caskets that each contained the severed body parts of numerous people, I told myself that these people didn't die in vain. They died for peace and for unification of their country. It seems feeble but it was nevertheless my hope. But this country has not fully healed. The need for more trained counselors, for better basic and psychological care of the orphans and for a continual promotion of peace and reconciliation is needed. I hope to identify suitable projects to finance through GiveMeaning.

I am also humbled by my own pettiness. There is thankfully nothing in my life that compares to what the people of this country have suffered. That Rwandan's are able even to provide the semblance of forgiveness is amazing. That they have found peace and a way to live with one another makes me feel a fool for thinking I have reason or rationale to hold on to my resentments.

To every single person reading this blog: Come here. See what I've seen.

Labels: africa, genocide, kigali, rwanda

Hotel Rwanda
Originally uploaded by tomgivemeaning.

7am, Saturday, November 17th, 2006
Hotel Des Mille Collines - Room 127

Where I wake this morning,t one man decided to make his stand amidst a sea of apathy

Millions were killed, many felt powerless, those in power did nothing.

Here, one man made his stand. 1268 lives were saved.

We all stand for something.

Imagine if each of us stood up for what we believed in.

If we all fought tooth and nail for one thing that was beyond ourselves and our families.

If we gave more than we could and did all that was in our power and never relented.

We are each and every one of us a massive force.

To live and die without using this power, is to have wasted the very essence of life itself.

In this moment, I want to express my profound gratitude to my family, especially my parents.

Sitting here in the Mille Des Collines, and thinking back to growing up as a little boy with all of the effort my family put into ending Apartheid, I'm overcome with emotion.

Labels: africa, rwanda, tomstrip