Please, if you have a skill, a contact, a project, a group, a website,
a story, a quote, a criticism or even half an idea please let it be
known to all by commenting on the discussion boards of Google and/or
Facebook in the next three weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex's Comments To Start The Ball Rolling:

If you put good out into the world, good will come back at you.

Global citizenship will be the key to Canada playing a role in ending
extreme poverty. If you visualize a "key" it can be turned two ways.
You can lock things with it, essentially hiding potential rewards; or
you can unlock things with it, revealing the splendors of freedom,
dignity and opportunity. It is a choice. It is an individual choice
and also society's choice. What we do with this choice in regards to
Sub-Saharan Africa can define our place in history.

Since there is no single cause nor remedy poverty, it is our duty to
advocate for those without voices in order to paint a truer picture of
their struggles. We must show our fellow Canadians that there are
things in Africa that are working. That there are success stories!!
The statistics may be often quoted; but there are faces behind each of
them... beautiful, glowing, sad, happy, wonderful and human faces that
are yearning to be recognized.

Our ultimate goal is to develop leadership skills and become
influential champions of human development. How we use our privileges
and opportunities defines what kind of person we are.

Canadians can...
- travel to new destinations:
- respect different cultures, views and lifestyles
- be impact focused
- donate to charities that are socially progressive
- be a role model
- read foreign authors to gain a new perspective
- help immigrants adjust to Canada
- encourage contagious optimism
- create mentoring opportunities for student leaders
- learn and build from the best practices of other successful
organizations
- engage businesses and their employees to think about poverty and the
greater global context of their operations
- understand that development is about expanding people's
opportunities to lead a life they value
- persevere through uphill battles
- buy fair trade coffee whenever possible
- write to Stephen Harper
- write to Angelina Jolie
- write to Hans Rosling
- combine rigorous research with rigorous dreaming
- turn a new and untested idea into action
- challenge the status quo by asking questions, asking questions,
asking questions
- making associations between seemingly unconnected ideas
- follow the footsteps of Gandhi, MLK, Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela
- support orphan drugs via the Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative
(*** incredible potential here)
- feed a man a fish
- teach a man how to fish
- teach a man how to teach a fellow man how to fish
- be humble
- refuse to be confined by expectations or labels
- redefine risk as opportunity
- start a newsletter
- sponsor a goat farmer and an upcoming barber via KIVA.org
- bake cookies for charity and sneak a couple for ourselves
- place "we" before "me"
- make a viral video for Youtube displaying your flair and hatred of
poverty
- write an email to a Zambian pen pal
- diagnose the root causes of poverty
- keep though records of our progress
- celebrate the eradication of smallpox
- contribute to the near-eradication of polio
- fight for the near-eradication of guinea worm
- appreciate what we take for granted
- sign a petition and understand the concepts behind it
- write a song against child slavery
- design better vaccines carriers instead of better mp3's players
- play games with the map of Africa to learn the countries
- play soccer with a dozen school boys on a dirt field
- believe in oneself
- add something else to this list