Voices of Humanity. - Derek Huber

Join me in this episode where I interview the founder of Seed Effect a nonprofit using microfinance to create sustainable change in South Sudan. This is a unique organization with a very impressive team and business model. Check them out at www.seedeffect.org

In this episode of the Voices of Humanity podcast, I visited with Cassandra Lee, a Co-Founder of the nonprofit Justice Rising to talk about their work in the Congo. Justice Rising works in war-torn regions to alleviate the pains of poverty through the use of Education. Their schools have been successful in providing education to children affected by war, poverty, and sexual abuse. www.justicerising.org

Dylan Roberts is a proud Texan, born in Dallas and growing up in Austin, he became a die hard Dallas Cowboys fan and first learned film making at Austin Film Society. He graduated from the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) in 2012, having majored in broadcast journalism. At the age of 18, Dylan began traveling internationally as a journalist, photographer, and editor. Through media, Dylan has been able to travel all over the world to countries including Iraq, Lebanon, Paraguay, Uganda, Gaza, Somalia and more. From these experiences, Dylan joined forces with Christian Stephen, to establish Freelance Society in 2013. Together, they worked to expose stories primarily in complex countries, such as Vicar of Baghdad. A documentary featuring a Anglican priest working inside the red zone of Baghdad Iraq, while under ISIS threat. Dylan is the CEO and manages multiple international projects and production teams simultaneously. Creating content for VICE Media, The Economist, Vocativ, The Nation, Ryot News and more.

Show Notes! In episode 10 of the Voices of Humanity Podcast, I sat down with Charles Davidson for the final podcast from Project Congo. In this episode we talk about the details of the investment into goats for child soldiers and about some of the former child soldiers we met now running a very ambitious organization to stop the recruitment of children into the militia. This is the final podcast from Project Congo so don’t miss it!

This week I had the pleasure of traveling with Forgottensong to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During our 2nd day in Uvira, Congo we began our meetings with former child soldiers about establishing and funding sustainability projects to end the recruitment of child soldiers in the Congo. In this podcast I talk with Lauren Blanco, the associate director of Forgottensong about sustainability, our NGO partners AJDC, and what it means to invest in long term sustainability projects as opposed to simply giving aid.

Episode 08 is a podcast with the guest from our first podcast episode, the founder of Forgotten Song, Charles Davidson. Charles and I have partnered our organizations together to highlight and bring awareness to the recruitment of child soldiers in the Congo. We will be traveling there next week to take part in this project and document the work being done. As a part of that we will be doing a few short podcast (among other things) as we travel through Africa. This is the first of our series on project Congo. Here we talk about our partners in the Congo, details of the project, and our hopes for the future of child soldiers in the Congo. Subscribe to the podcast and stay tuned for more updates! www.TheDerekHuberProject.com www.ForgottenSong.Org

David is the founder of Silent Images, an organization that provides amazing storytelling and media work for the nonprofits out there doing incredible work but with no budget for a marketing department. Check out this podcast where we talk about photography, how David approaches a story, the challenges of forming a nonprofit, and the stories his team captures across the globe. This was a great episode for me because David Johnson is doing exactly what I hope to do with my project and we talk about the difficulties of branding that dream. www.silentimages.org

Michel Chikwanine authored the book Child Soldier When Boys and Girls are used in war. It’s a phenomenal illustrated children’s book that does a wonderful job of taking this brutal heart-wrenching story and making it appropriate for children. Michel is a native of Congo now living in Canada. His story is one of unbelievable tragedy, and of a young man's resolve to not be ruled by hate. Michel is a truly amazing individual in that he has taken his life’s hardships and made them a growing point for the entire world. Check out this episode of the podcast where Michel talks about being abducted and forced into being a child soldier, his escape, and how he became a refugee in Canada. Even at an hour we just scratched the service of his story, but you can search him on YouTube to see some of his speaking engagements, and of course, check out his book to support his work against child recruitment.

Ben Carlson is a social entrepreneur producing coffee in Burundi working directly with local farmers to create the best coffee possible. Ben (and his wife) are the owner/operators of Long Miles Coffee Project. Long Miles Coffee Project is a socially responsible business that is focused on creating specialty coffee. By partnering with hundreds of local farmers and helping to improve processing and agricultural practices, he can ensure the farmers are getting paid the best possible prices for work. This podcast brings us from South Africa to Zanzibar to Burundi. The stories as a result of these travels are both inspiring and entertaining. Learn how Ben got his start, why he says his wife is the smart one, and the difficulties of traveling through Africa. Please enjoy this podcast and check out their site at www.longmilescoffeeproject.com

Episode 04 of the philanthropy and nonprofit podcast brings a special guest from Burundi who came on the show to speak about the atrocities being committed by the government in Burundi. Due to our guest fleeing persecution and having family back in Burundi he had to remain anonymous. Burundi is currently producing more refugees than Syria, yet is hardly getting a mention in the news. Many speculate Burundi is on the brink of genocide similar to the one experienced in Rwanda in 1994. Our guest talks of the raids of police on Burundian citizens who oppose the current president’s violation of the Burundi Constitution. This podcast does have some graphic language, stories, and descriptions.