Alaffia’s Beauty Products Make Global Impact

A premium skin-care company called Alaffia empowers local people in Togo by handcrafting beauty products prepared from Certified Fair Trade shea butter. Better yet, all of the sales from Alaffia’s beauty products contribute to the livelihood of West African communities.

Alaffia offers creams, soaps, lotions and hair-care products made from the indigenous shea tree. Alaffia operates at a local level, employing women in need and enabling youth to stay in school to complete their educations.

This company is essential to West African women because they have difficulty obtaining employment since they are oftentimes not able to access education. Exclusion from the workforce leaves them vulnerable and often unable to support their families. Alaffia directly employs around 500 women in co-ops throughout Togo to cultivate shea by hand. These women are compensated with fair wages for their work and they bring unique knowledge and handcrafting skills to the job.

The company was founded by Togolese native Olowo-n’djo Tchala in 2004 after he realized the need to combat gender inequality and poverty. Alaffia was founded on Tchala’s belief that everyone deserves equality, empowerment and beauty.

Furthermore, Alaffia uses its profits to sponsor philanthropic projects in Togo. One such project is called “Bicycles for Education,” which provides disadvantaged students with bikes to get to and from school. So far, it has helped more than 6,300 students in Togo. Alaffia donates metal roofs, seats, and school supplies to rural schools through its “School Supplies and Repairs” project to create a functional learning environment for youth.

Alaffia has also provided over 3,200 pregnant women with pre- and post-natal care, and has funded the planting of 25,000 trees to combat climate change.

While philanthropy and environmental benefits certainly set Alaffia apart from other major beauty companies, Alaffia products are also made with unrefined ingredients and contain no synthetic fragrances or genetically modified organisms. They are vegan, gluten free and an ideal alternative line for those with sensitive skin.

These products help Africans profit from their natural resources and create sustainable goods that help our planet, empower local communities, and improve education for students.

Alaffia products can be purchased at natural and organic food stores such as Lassen’s and Whole Foods.

- Jenn Hartmann

Sources: Alaffia, Thurston Talk
Photo: Thurston Talk

Seven Helpful Sites for Policy Jobs

So, you’ve got your education, you finally finished that internship during your undergrad, you have participated in a thousand mock interviews, and your resume has been polished at least 100 times. Now you just have to find that job you’ve been working toward your entire career. Here are seven websites to help you find policy jobs:

1. USAJOBS

USAJobs.gov is a helpful resource when it comes to finding a policy or federal job. According to USAJOBS, “The Pathways Programs offer clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates, and provide meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their Federal service.” Programs include the Pathways Internship Program, Recent Graduates Program and the Presidential Management Fellows Program.

The site also has additional helpful resources that allow users to search federal occupations by college major, look through a comprehensive A-Z list of federal agencies, find an internship, or recent graduate job by a keyword, salary, pay grade, category, location, department or agency.

2. Going Global

Going Global is committed to providing “grassroots intelligence” through their team of in country researchers. They monitor and update the career information and resources that are delivered to users. GoinGlobal.com allows the user to easily find international jobs and policy jobs. Their website provides country specific career and employment information for 30 countries and its database search allows users to search by country, profession or topic.

3. International Organization Careers

According to International Organization Careers, “International Organization Careers is brought to you by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs (IO). IO is the U.S. government’s primary interlocutor with the United Nations and a host of other international agencies and organizations.”

IO Careers allows users to register for job alerts online, search international organization jobs database and filter the search by organizations, grades, professional fields, and locations, subscribe to jobs, assists students and young professionals, lists federal agencies, provides other employment possibilities.

4. Partnership for Public Service

According to their website, “The Partnership is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that believes good government starts with good people. By strengthening the civil service, and the systems that are supposed to support them, we help government serve the needs of all Americans.”

The Partnership goes above and beyond by actually getting involved and challenging policymakers and our government to have quality employees. Their website provides users with ample amounts of resources for programs and services for Federal Management, Federal HR, Political Appointees, Higher Education, Private Sector and Congress.

5. House of Representatives

The U.S. House of Representatives can be a great resource for those seeking policy jobs online. This website allows users to see how to apply for various positions within the House as well as employment positions with members and committees and positions with other House organizations. The site also provides information for new employees and information for former employees.

6. United States Senate

Like the House, the U.S. Senate holds various resources and information about employment and policy positions. According to senate.org, “The Placement Office assists Senators and Senate Committees with filling entry-level through professional staff vacancies by providing resumes of qualified candidates. The Office is nonpartisan and administered by the United States Senate Office of the Sergeant at Arms. Read the Placement Brochure and complete the required Applicant Referral Form to begin registration in the Resume Bank.”

The Senate Employment Bulletin is published as a service to Senate offices that choose to advertise staff vacancies. The listing is posted online and revised throughout the week.

7. State and Local Government on the Net

State employment websites include agencies that conduct studies, publish labor market statistics, and often enforce occupational safety regulations. These agencies process unemployment claims, administer workmen’s compensation programs, handle workplace discrimination complaints, and sometimes sponsor job fairs.

This site states that it is “The Official State, County, & City Government Website Locator.” All 50 states are listed on this page with various websites of departments, divisions, industries and employment opportunities, allowing users to skim through a variety of helpful links that correspond with the state of their choice.

- Eastin Shipman

Sources: USAJOBS, Going Global, International Organization Careers 1, International Organization Careers 2, Partnership for Public Service 1, Partnership for Public Service 2, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate 1, U.S. Senate 2, State and Local Government
Photo: Business Marketing Blog

Global Links Turns Trash into Treasure

Everyday, the United States healthcare industry generates an astounding amount of medical surplus and without intervention, the surplus is destined to end up in landfills. Meeting humanitarian need with surplus, Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based medical relief and development organization, gives an entirely new meaning to the phrase, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

The usable medical waste that the U.S. health care industry generates is a treasure to communities in under-developed nations that lack the equipment and supplies necessary to provide even the most basic care to their patients, resulting in needless suffering and deaths.

How Global Links Works

Global Links focuses mostly on countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and developed unique partnerships with the Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization, in-country Ministries of Health and the medical and administrative leadership of public health systems.

Their staff makes yearly assessment visits to their nine program countries, meeting with local health authorities, medical personnel, and other health organization officials. In the U.S., hospitals save surplus medical supplies and equipment for Global Links trucks to regularly pick up and transport to the office/sorting facility for the Medical Supply Assistants to sort and shelve the donations appropriately.

From the beginning, Global Links has relied heavily on volunteers to accomplish the majority of the labor-intensive sorting, preparation and packing of the recovered materials. The volunteers sort the donations by size, type and expiration date, ensuring they are in working order.

Chris Meyer, a Global Links volunteer and Jefferson Award winner teamed up with Global Links to recycle usable wheelchairs and donate them specifically to areas in need in the Caribbean.

“I liked how the organization tied itself to a local mission of keeping things out of our landfills by reusing them in countries where people would die without them. I started out packing boxes of donated items before it evolved into what it is now.” Meyer told the Pittsburg Gazette.

Gauging the Impact

Since its founding in 1989, Global Links has shipped over 410 tractor-trailer loads of an desperately needed medical materials to facilities in developing countries. The estimated total of value of these loads exceeds $173 million. Global Links has been cited by PAHO/WHO as an “important partner and ally in our strategic planning efforts in the region.”

This is not only good news for the developing countries but also good news for the Pittsburgh area. Global Links has been nationally recognized and awarded for its environmental impact and sustainability, redirecting more than six million pounds of medical materials to developing countries that would have piled-up in landfills.

The impact of Global Links is unparalleled. On December 9, 2014, Global Links’s posted a photo on their Facebook page with the caption, “These children had life-saving heart surgery thanks to suture donations from Global Links!”

On their Twitter handle, they tweeted a photo of a newborn baby with the caption, “@GlobalLinks3: We are the only group that donates sutures to this hospital in Malawi. No sutures=no surgery.”

- Eastin Shipman

Sources: Global Links, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Photo: Globak Links

Meet the Team: Diana Ahmed

Name: Diana Ahmed
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Role: Political Affairs Intern

How did you get interested in global issues?
I got interested in global issues for the first time when my father took me to a small, countryside village in Egypt. I realized that there are people suffering on a daily basis. With no access to clean water or standard living conditions, I saw what it mean to be living in poverty. From then on, I questioned why many people had little to nothing, while others did not know what to do with their abundant earnings. I became more interested in politics, and decided to major in Political Science in college for that reason. To be able to make a difference in at least one person’s life, would mean all the world to me.

What do you do when you’re not fighting global poverty?
When I’m not fighting global poverty, I am busy with classes and my job as a Resident Assistant. I do love to go to outdoor preserves, the beach, and travel when possible! I am usually up for anything, and the next thing on my bucket list is to go sky-diving!

What have you learned/found interesting about The Borgen Project?
I found it so interesting how The Borgen Project started with one man and now involves thousands of people in a national campaign that fights global poverty. I think if there were more people who persevered like that, our world would be a much better place. Even though I just started as an intern, I have already been able to tell many people about The Borgen Project and even sparked some interest among a few!

Any interesting tidbits to share?
I’m actually Egyptian and have lived in Egypt for over six years!I am also planning on going back there in the fall for grad school!

Global Washington Battles Poverty

With a conflict as large and diverse as global poverty, it can be difficult for people, particularly small or independent nonprofit organizations, to feel like they are making a legitimate difference in the lives of others around the world. Larger associations have been popping up recently that serve to unite all advocates, and one particular association is Global Washington.

Headquartered in Seattle, Global Washington works to strengthen “Washington state’s vibrant global development community and [increase] the impact of [its] members.” By using this approach, more areas of global poverty are covered and relief is provided through a number of outlets.

Global Washington connects businesses, companies and non-government organizations with opportunities to support numerous global development projects as well as to create engaging strategies that promote global welfare and focus on global development issues.

There are numerous benefits to having one association umbrella over the global development community. This “mutual friend” in Global Washington allows new connections to be made between businesses and fundraisers or philanthropist. Through Global Washington’s work, new partnerships have been formed that serve to strengthen smaller organizations in the fight against global poverty. Global Washington also allows every country around the world to be interconnected through the numerous businesses, organizations and individual philanthropists that take part in the work.

According to Global Washington, one in three jobs in Washington state is dependent on trade and global development, and each state in America holds similar statistics. Global Washington has over 300 nonprofits working internationally, serving to improve millions of lives, creating thousands of jobs and providing a sense of stability and hope for the future. Foundations such as World Vision and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have partnered with Global Washington to provide support and improve living conditions, health and sanitation and education.

Global Washington is ushering in a new wave of global poverty reduction by creating one association that can adopt numerous organizations, businesses and individuals. Unifying all actions against global poverty increases the rates and effects of poverty reduction. With so many vast challenges and struggles to battle, strong unity among dedicated advocates is crucial to accomplish the work of reducing poverty’s harshest realities. Global Washington is setting the bar for future businesses and organizations to work together in order to fight global poverty.

- Alaina Grote

Sources: Global Washington, Seattle Foundation
Photo: Google Plus