Charity Talks

Marijana Savic, the Founder and Director of Atina, and Board Director of Global Fund for Children, is this episode's guest.  Atina is a Serbia-based nonprofit that fights against human trafficking.  As Maja and Brooke discuss, not only does Atina help the transition process for trafficking victims, it also works to support the rights of women generally.  Given Maja’s decades of helping these often ignored survivors, it is not surprising that she received this year's TIP HERO (Trafficking in Persons Hero) award from the U.S. Department of State.  (0:37).

Website:  www.atina.org.rs

Maya Ajmera, founder of the Global Fund for Children (GFC), and President & CEO of Society for Science and Executive Publisher of Science News, joins Charity Talks. GFC invests in innovative, community-based organizations around the world to help children and youth reach their full potential and advance their rights. Founded in 1921, Society for Science is dedicated to expanding scientific literacy, access to STEM education, and promoting scientific research. It also founded and produces the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. In this episode, Maya and Brooke discuss how GFC and Society for Science are helping young people globally.  (0:24).

Websites:  https://globalfundforchildren.org/; https://www.societyforscience.org/

Dan Hubbard, the founder and Director of 4Amanda.Org, is this episode’s guest. 4Amanda is a non-profit foundation that provides emergency financial support to cancer patients.  The foundation is named for Amanda Pagans-Hubbard, Dan’s deceased wife, who with Dan set up the foundation before her passing.  As Dan and Brooke discuss, the financial challenges that coincide with cancer treatment are often as crippling as the disease.  4Amanda is dedicated to helping those cancer patients and their families with the fiscal difficulties that accompany the diagnosis and treatment.  4Amanda has only existed for a couple of years, but it has already made a huge difference in the lives of many suffering from cancer.  (0:36).

Website:  https://4amanda.org/

Joey Savoie, the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Charity Entrepreneurship, is this episode’s guest.  CE’s core mission is to launch high-impact nonprofits by connecting entrepreneurs with effective ideas, training and funding.  As Joey and Brooke discuss, each year CE dedicates hundreds of research hours to identifying the most effective charity ideas.  It then recruits aspiring entrepreneurs, and through its two-month incubation program, provides them with training and funding to turn these idea into high-impact organizations.  CE’s systematic approach has already led to the launch of 32 highly effective charities in the areas of animal welfare, health and development policy, mental health and happiness, family planning, capacity building and health security.  (0:26).

Website:  https://www.charityentrepreneurship.com/

Titus Syengo, the Executive Director of Teaching at the Right Level Africa (“TaRL”), is this episode’s guest.  TaRL began as a joint venture between Pratham and J-PAL (whose Global Executive Director — Iqbal Dhaliwal — was a guest on Charity Talks last year).  Its primary goal is to strengthen children’s foundational literacy and numeracy skills by using its evidence-based approach.  As Titus and Brooke discuss, TaRL is supporting governments and organizations in over 14 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, helping them to build the capacity to design, deliver and scale impactful programs.  TaRL’s goal is to help every child across Africa build foundational skills for a better future.  (0:29).

Website:  https://teachingattherightlevel.org/

Sean Mayberry, the founder and CEO of StrongMinds, joins Charity Talks.  StrongMinds treats depression suffered by women largely in Africa. For African women, depression is a leading cause of disability. Yet, due to the lack of investment in mental health services, approximately 85% of people in low-income countries – if not more – receive no treatment.  As Sean and Brooke discuss, StrongMinds addresses this by providing group interpersonal therapy delivered by lay community health workers.  To date, StrongMinds has provided group talk therapy to approximately 260,000 women and adolescents in Uganda and Zambia. 80% of clients are depression-free after treatment, and those results are sustained six months post-treatment.  As a result of this success, StrongMinds has brought its treatment model to the United States, where it is already getting positive results.  (0:22).

Website:  https://strongminds.org/