Aid Still Required
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” – Margaret Mead Today we proudly inaugurated the first Aid Still Required Academy in Deuxieme Plaine, Haiti, for 119 children, 30 of whom are orphans. The original inspiration came from the local community itself, a few hundred farm families earning…
-from the desktop of Maureen Charles, ASR Board Secretary Today is World Water Day, and in Aceh, Indonesia, where an estimated 160,000 people perished and over a million were displaced in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami, thousands of people have been without safe, clean, accessible water for over 7 years. Imagine all that ocean water rushing over your land, taking the leaves of your loved ones, and leaving you with no livelihood, and ironically, without water. Imagine going 7 years without a shower, unable to pour yourself or your child a glass of water without first hauling it for miles in heavy jugs or buckets……
Today we remember all the lives that were lost seven years ago…and Aid Still Required is proud to stand beside survivors as they move forward in their lives. In Aceh, we are working with local NGO partner Yayasan Lamjabat to develop self-sufficency and ecological awareness through reforestation, small business training for women, and clean water. In YL’s work with village farmers, the tree planting not only provide fruit and spices for nourishment and sale, it also improves water tables, stops soil erosion, and assists in halting climate change. ASR also supports local women’s empowerment through handicrafts and small business training.…
On the first anniversary of the Haiti 2010 Earthquake, Aid Still Required is launching our Haiti initiative with #HealingHaiti, a Twitter campaign involving top musicians, athletes, and celebrities in Twitter outreach to their followers, numbering in the millions. Campaign participants include Paul Pierce, Blake Griffith, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Greg Oden, Pau Gasol, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Maroon 5, Tom Morello, Erykah Badu, Mia Farrow, Lauren Conrad, Maria Bello, Ed Begley, Jr, Stephen Collins, Madeleine Stowe, Paul Haggis, Spike Lee, Hans Zimmer One year later estimates place rubble removal between 2 to 5 %. A…
Today marks the 6th anniversary of the December 2004 tsunami, 230,000 people across 12 countries killed in minutes, whole villages lost, millions displaced. Sitting in our kitchen in Santa Monica, CA, the day after Christmas, waiting to hear if friends in Thailand were alive, Hunter and I asked the question “What can we do to help?”, the question which turned into the creation of The Aid Still Required All-Star CD compilation, and the question that set us on the adventure to ultimately founding Aid Still Required as a 501c3 nonprofit. Our mission: championing forgotten people and issues and keeping the…
Today, when we go to the market or Target or even the convenience store we are asked 9 times out of 10 if we would like to add a donation to our purchase to save the whales or feed the children or save little Timmy’s music education program. That’s pretty new. (There have been donation boxes for as long as I can remember, but this is still pretty new). It is an easy, near effortless way to make a contribution to an organization that is working to make someone, somewhere’s life a little better while buying our (toxic) laundry detergent or tonight’s (gentically modified) dinner. NGOs have learned how…
We were so pleased and excited to be able to attend and contribute to the United Nations 2010 Global Creative Forum in Los Angeles. Held March 1, 2010, at The Armand Hammer Museum in Westwood, The Forum was chaired by Chicken Soup for the Soul CEO Bill Rouhana, and was created to bring together Hollywood, The United Nations, and a variety of world organizations. The morning began with an intimate, thought-provoking conversation between United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and actor Michael Douglas, who also serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. The UN Secretary -General made a special request…
Andrea is seen here with Malalai Joya, also known as “the most famous woman in Afghanistan.” In 2003, at the age of 25, Joya stood up at a constitutional assembly and denounced the NATO-backed warlords. She was elected to parliament in 2005 at age 27, and in 2007, she was suspended for her persistent criticism of the warlords and the government. Currently on tour of the US to promote her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, Hunter and Andrea met Joya at the home of CODEPINK Co-Founder Jodie Evans. Joya is petite and soft-spoken until she starts speaking about the…