Dear readers: Thank you all so much for the outpouring of support and incredibly kind, intelligent, and valuable thoughts you provided in response to my previous post. I think, however, I may have given off the wrong impression to all of you. I’m not going to stop blogging - not now, and most likely, not for a long time. Throughout my life, I’ve considered writing to be at the very core of my existence. Writing and using words to reach people is what I love doing. It makes up an intrinsic part of who I am. Perhaps some day I’ll stop blogging. Who knows? But I can tell you with certainty that I’ll never stop writing. For me to stop writing would be like ripping out a core piece of my identity, the very fabric that I’m composed of.

I won’t stop writing. What I hope is to continue using my love for writing to make a tangible difference. Through the law and legal writing - to defend an innocent client on death row or to fight the case of indigenous people whose rights have been violated by environmental contamination. Through the news media - to give voice to those who are voiceless, who have no one to speak for them. Through research papers and articles - to bring important issues to the forefront, and to contribute empirical evidence related to human rights issues that can someday be used to guide and influence policy. Through grant proposals - to obtain valuable funding for organizations and non-profits I believe are doing good work. Through books - that will inspire more people to take action and understand some of the underlying moral quandaries behind human rights issues.

Perhaps, one day, I will realize that there are bigger and better things than this blog. That there are bigger and better ways I can use my voice to defend the poor and marginalized. All the things I have mentioned above rely crucially on writing. Writing is an important part of practically any job now, and particularly plays a huge role in the human rights and legal world.

But until I become trained, educated, and experienced enough to contribute in those areas - I’ll be using this blog as a medium to spread the word in whatever little way I can.

So don’t fear, lovely readers. My blog, my writing, and my voice is here to stay for the time being. I love writing, and I love contributing my voice in some way to the greater good. While it’s true that I am disillusioned in many key ways, I don’t think I’ve given up hope as of yet. If nothing else, I believe that social media has helped me build valuable connections with other passionate young people who care about the same issues and similar causes. This valuable community I’ve found would never have been possible otherwise. Even if I don’t change people’s minds, I know that I have become a stronger advocate myself by tapping into this community. I myself have become more dedicated, better informed, and more ready to take action. If nothing else, I’m contributing in this way to the world…right?

I hope so. And I hope you’ll all stay with me in this journey!

The earthquake that has just struck Haiti is a natural disaster of massive proportions, and it’s very difficult for us to wrap our heads around it. The current estimated death toll is 30,000 to 100,000 - which is a huge number. According to Tales From the Hood

And even at the low end of that estimate, it is still a big number. Typhoon’s Morakot, Ketsana and Parma, plus a tsunami in the Samoa Island Group, plus both of last Fall’s earthquakes in Indonesia, combined did not reach a death toll of 30,000.

According to MSF, there are no working hospitals in the country; the National Palace and other major government buildings have collapsed; many of the U.N. offices have been damaged and U.N. officials killed. My prayers go out to all those affected by this disaster. I cannot even really fathom the magnitude of pain these people must be going through.

What has impressed me is the extent this disaster has reverberated through social media channels. Through Twitter and blogging, people shared their sentiments about the disaster. Citizen journalism was at its best, with Haitians reaching out to provide news updates via Twitter despite chaos, confusion and damage to regular communication channels. People across the globe have, amazingly, been able to follow the developments practically in real-time. Earlier today Daniel Morel created a Twitter account, @photomorel, and posted a series of shocking high-quality photos depicting what exactly was happening in Haiti. @marvinady has also posted photos of the devastation; these were some of the first photos of the devastation. Hashtags #Haiti and #Haitihelp are being used to keep tabs on Haiti updates.

Social networking sites have provided something incredibly important that the New York Times or BBC simply cannot provide: a human connection. By following someone on Twitter and seeing their pictures, we feel closely connected to them. Social media, by connecting people, has allowed for an outpouring of empathy that simply isn’t possible through the mainstream media. We’re getting information as it happens from those suffering or witnessing this destruction. It’s not some abstract natural disaster - it’s happening to real people. People we can identify and follow on Twitter and via blogging. This intensely human connection is social media’s most powerful tool.

Social networks have also proved invaluable in gathering much-needed donations for relief efforts. Wyclef Jean took Twitter by storm and mobilized followers to donate to his Yele Haiti Foundation even before most NGOs started their relief efforts. Today afternoon, Yele was the #1 trending topic on Twitter, followed closely by the Red Cross at #2. Non-profits have creatively utilized social networks to make donating as easy as possible. The Red Cross and the IRC have both created ways for supporters to quickly donate $5 or $10 by texting to a certain number; these messages have been Retweeted, spreading like wildfire through the social web. These text message campaigns have been very successful, raising millions in the past couple of days (some are a scam, but these two are not — so do make sure you check out who you’re texting to).

This was truly a social media response, and I’m proud to see my fellow citizens working together to disseminate important news and ramp up donations. This is social media at it’s best: people collaborating and reaching out to do something good.

Immediate disaster relief is vital, but we can’t forget that the hardest work is yet to come. This earthquake will have a devastating longer-term effect on Haiti. Already a poor country, Haiti will suffer immensely from the aftermath: failed and broken infrastructure. It will be difficult to pick up the pieces and rebuild the country again. While I’m glad to see the impact of social media, I only hope the momentum lasts enough to provide continued support for future rebuilding efforts. So keep Haiti in mind even after a few weeks when the situation may not be all over your Twitter of Facebook feeds!

Here’s a quick roundup of some excellent posts to keep up with news on Haiti/figure out where to donate:

• Change.org War & Peace: Haiti Rescuers are Racing Against Time
• UN Dispatch: Haiti’s Coming Public Health Challenges &  Haiti Earthquake: The Day After Part II
• Helpful tips on what to do about Haiti and who to donate to, from an experienced aid worker
• Some background thoughts from Marginal Revolution: Why is Haiti so Poor?
• Aidwatch has a nice post on navigating the complex terrain of disaster relief
• Good Intentions are Not Enough: good post on wisely choosing NGOs to donate to
• Make sure you check out Haiti.Ushahidi.com for crowd-sourcing disaster map, news, info

My personal recommendation for donations is Partners in Health:

In the past decade, as we all know, social enterprise and business has become incredibly popular. The idea is incredibly compelling: utilize business practices while also bettering the world. Unleash the power of the market to solve social problems. We can make money and do good.

Along with its increasing popularity, the demand for learning about social enterprise has shot up. Many top universities are beginning to teach social enterprise, either through individual classes or even through majors and concentrations. Here are some examples:

• Duke’s Fuqua School of Business actually has an MBA Concentration in Social Entrepreneurship!
• Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management has an MBA Social Enterprise (SEEK) Major, a very comprehensive program
• NYU’s Wagner School has a Social Entrepreneurship undergraduate minor
• Stanford’s School of Business has an Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship
• Yale’s School of Management also has a Program on Social Enterprise

And there are many, many more examples of cutting edge social enterprise programs.

But here’s where I question this approach: can we actually teach social enterprise? A while ago, I read the excellent book “How to Change the World” by David Bornstein, and the book discusses Ashoka’s original methodology of discovering social entrepreneurs. The social entrepreneurs they found were people who understood a gap in their society or community, and then found some way - often an innovative way - of addressing that gap and ultimately benefiting society and individuals. These social entrepeneurs are incredibly hard working, often laboring in obscurity and with low pay to solve social issues. They are driven by their unwavering passion and grand vision of how the world should be. From the website:

Perhaps our most important criterion, entrepreneurial quality is the defining characteristic of first class entrepreneurs. It defines leaders who see opportunities for change and innovation and devote themselves entirely to making that change happen. These leaders often have little interest in anything beyond their mission, and they are willing to spend the next ten to fifteen years making a historical development take place.

It seems to me that social entrepreneurs are people who are incredibly passionate about a new or better way of solving a social problem.

It also seems to me that many of the highly successful Ashoka fellows don’t have MBA’s or advanced degrees that teach them about social enterprise. Instead, they succeed because of their deep understanding of a social issue and of the needs of their beneficiaries, or those they ultimately hope to help. This strong understanding does not come about through an MBA, but is the result of being part of the society or communities you are aiming to help or reach. It comes from going into the field and speaking extensively with rural farmers, women lacking access to credit, or refugees trying to make a living in IDP camps. It comes from immersing yourself into these communities and learning so much about the needs of those you want to help that the solution crystallizes before your very eyes. Read Paul Polak’s book, “Out of Poverty” to understand how simple and powerful solutions can be found by simply going into the field and understanding local needs.

The most important thing for a social entrepreneur’s success is a vision of how precisely to solve a problem. If you have a strong vision and a good method of achieving that vision, success is possible. Second is resilience, determination, passion. Social entrepreneurs have to be highly driven to follow their vision above all else, despite innumerable obstacles in their way.

Surely an MBA in social enterprise can teach you about the workings of the market, or how to write a business plan, but aren’t these things you can pick up eventually? On the contrary, you can’t teach someone through school how to gain a vision, or how to be relentless and passionate.

Wouldn’t it be more worth it for aspiring social entrepreneurs to pursue graduate studies in the specific field they want to affect change in, to understand the needs of their clients or beneficiaries better?

Do those who study social entrepreneurship in the classroom eventually become social entrepreneurs? Or are social entrepreneurs those who have a vision and the passion to see it through, regardless of educational background?

Ultimately, there are certain business principles that can be taught to make the lives of social entrepreneurs easier and more efficient. However, social entrepreneurship itself cannot be taught; such success ultimately depends on qualities gained outside the classroom - vision, issue understanding, and passion.

An old man walks along a beach and sees a young boy throwing something into the water. As he approaches, he sees hundreds of starfish lining the beach, washed in from the tide. The young boy is rushing around, throwing the starfish back into the water one by one. The old man asks why he bothers, it’s pointless. There are too many starfish to help them all. As he flings a starfish deep into the water, the young boy replies, “It mattered to that one.”

The moment I heard this quote, I absolutely loved it. It’s a beautiful story that reminds us that change starts small, and with the individual. Sure, we can have grand visions of eradicating poverty or ending torture - but we must not lose sight of the individual while pursuing these grand visions. Sadly, I think this often happens in development/human rights work. When we become so caught up in our abstract theories and statements, we lose sight of what really matters: the individual. The farmer enduring daily poverty, the refugee displaced by conflict, the victim of torture in Guantanamo Bay. Let’s not lose sight of these people in our quest for “social change.” Let’s not forget to hear the voices of the poor and marginalized when we’re devising solutions to help them.

It makes me wish I could have a more direct impact on people’s lives. Makes me wish I could just directly help a “starfish.” All this work I do, whether it’s marketing/communications for non-profits or writing a senior thesis on transitional justice — is it making any impact? I have no idea. That’s why I really, really, want to be able to work in the field next year so I can see what is happening on the ground. If the opportunity to work abroad doesn’t work out, I’ll at least begin volunteering in something more tangible - whether it’s tutoring or working with immigrants/refugees. I just want to know I’m making an impact. Sometimes, all this non-profit work seems to be anything but.

Maybe it’s just me, but I increasingly see a problem with activism: it can easily slip from passion to elitism. I’ll be honest; as I became more passionate about human rights issues, I started feeling incredibly upset. I started wondering: “Why doesn’t everyone else care? How can they hear about genocide, conflict, women’s rights, torture, lack of access to justice, and not do something about it?” And yes, it made me mad, it made me frustrated and disappointed. But I realized that while I can try to encourage some people to care, many of them just won’t. I also realized that simply because they have different priorities in life, it doesn’t mean they can’t still play a role in activism - and it certainly doesn’t mean that they are “bad” people. Indeed, instead of getting angry at all these people, I should continue to work on human rights issues myself and continue trying to involve them in my work. Ultimately, inclusion will be far more effective than anger.

A lot of activism - whether related to human rights, development, or any NGO work - can turn off the general public when it becomes elitist. It becomes a battle of morals and can even lead to looking down upon those who don’t donate, who don’t seem to care about the issue, who don’t come to events/participate in your non-profit, etc. People start thinking they are “better” simply because they care more. In the case of some development and human rights issues, it starts to seem like the average joe is dismissed as completely ignorant.

But of course, this isn’t realistic. It’s not realistic to expect everyone to be passionate about the same thing; everyone has different roles in life. Not everyone is cut out to be an activist/non-profit person/social entrepreneur. People have their own talents, skills, interests. And an activist is not, in any particular way, a more selfless person than a non-activist. It is just too simplistic of an assumption.

Ultimately, elitism isn’t going to get activists anywhere. Instead of alienating people, activists need to be patient about reaching out to everyone. I feel that there is even some amount of elitism in the online community because I can tell a lot of young people are feeling left out from the discussion. Those who don’t know as much about the issue feel they cannot contribute. I feel that’s one of the reasons Nick Kristof succeeds, because he appeals to the everyday person while also bringing up important issues. He gets people to care and makes everyone feel like they have a say in social change, whether or not they are ‘experts’ or NGO professionals.

Not everyone is going to be an expert on your cause or topic, but that’s also not reason enough to write them off immediately. Yes, everyone has a different role in life — yet, I think every person has the time to contribute in some way to social change. I genuinely believe that everyone can become more informed & civically engaged, but only if activists take the time to make sure that they are being inclusive and making everyone feel like they can play a role. Bottom line? Social change needs everyone - not just NGO experts or scholars. This requires more inclusion, less alienation.