#not allowed to send messages to our flat gc about things needing to be cleaned anymore bc

[uselessnocturnal]

i cannot STAND incompetence. and by that i mean: wash your dishes if you’re going to be away for a while instead of leaving them by the sink, give the stovetop a wipe if you’ve gotten oil over it, do a quick google rather than ask me how to do something, don’t throw trash into unlined bins.

[liuglobal]

During the last week of March, the Senior Class of Global College traveled to... Washington D.C.! 

This trip to D.C. was an important step in understanding where international aid, investments and funding comes from for many local, grassroots or highly developed organizations. Having apprenticed with and learned from organizations in China, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Australia, Spain, Morocco, (the list continues!) many Global students are contributing to projects that receive funding from abroad. What does this entail? Well, many organizations (whether they are formal governmental organizations, or non-governmental, for-profit or nonprofit, etc.) rely on program-specific or general funding support. Almost all of these organizations included in our D.C. visitations work as grantors. Being able to ask about aid-reliance, investment regulations/limitations, and funding sources mean a lot especially since Global students have personally visited similarly funded organizations.

I’d like to first quote the organizations and groups we visited. Then I share interviews with GC students.

Our class had the pleasure of discussing any and everything that came to mind with…

1.       The Fund for Global Human Rights

“Since 2003, the Fund for Global Human Rights has had one goal: to move human rights forward by providing resources and tools to the people and organizations on the ground who have real potential to generate positive change. The Fund’s grants and technical assistance are focused on crucial and difficult work that otherwise might falter for lack of resources, bring financial stability to human rights groups, and help human rights defenders increase their visibility and impact. The Fund supports a wide range of human rights issues, such as defending indigenous land rights in Guatemala, promoting women’s rights in Morocco, pressing for accountability for war crimes in West Africa, and ending the practice of bonded labor (a form of slavery) in India” ( http://globalhumanrights.org/).

2.      ONE DC (formerly Manna CDC)

We participated in a “Gentrification Tour” with ONE DC. “Founded in 1997 in the midst of neighborhood change, ONE DC's approach to community development addressed structural causes of poverty and injustice, an orientation that stemmed from a deep analysis of race, power, and the economic, political, and social forces at work in Shaw and the District. As a result, ONE DC’s organizing work centers on popular education, community organizing, and alternative economic development projects. In its history, ONE DC has distinguished itself as one of a few organizations in Washington, DC that moves beyond service provision to build sustainable community capacity and leadership so that low-income people of color can speak for themselves. They seek to create a community in DC that is equitable for all.  The walking tour showed us the physical side of gentrification in the Shaw neighborhood. With a fantastic tour guide, we discussed the effects on the community, along with stories of how ONE DC organizes with residents to stand up for community-led, equitable development” (http://www.onedconline.org/ ).

3. The National Endowment for Democracy

           “The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes more than 1,200 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries.  From its beginning, NED has remained steadfastly bipartisan. Created jointly by Republicans and Democrats, NED is governed by a board balanced between both parties and enjoys Congressional support across the political spectrum. They post information about all of their grants/ grantees and activities. Their oversight is facilitated by the US Congress, the Department of State, and independent financial audit. Funded largely by the U.S. Congress (50%), the support NED gives to groups abroad sends an important message of solidarity to many democrats who are working for freedom and human rights, often in obscurity and isolation” (http://www.ned.org/ ).

4. The Bank Information Center

           “The Bank Information Center (BIC) studies and closely watches the actions of the World Bank to influence them and other international financial institutions (IFIs), to promote social and economic justice and ecological sustainability. BIC is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that advocates for the protection of rights, participation, transparency, and public accountability in the governance and operations of the World Bank Group and regional development banks. All too often, powerful interests prevent local voices from shaping development policy and projects. Many of the current economic and social crises affecting the world’s poor are in large part a result of their marginalization.  By opening political space around development decision-making, BIC aims to ensure that local communities and civil society organizations have an important voice in decisions that affect them. BIC assists these groups through its information dissemination and capacity building activities, coalition building, project and policy monitoring, and advocacy support services. BIC is supported by private foundations and organizations that work in the fields of environment and development. BIC is not affiliated with any of the Multilateral Development Banks, nor does it receive any funding from them” (http://www.bankinformationcenter.org/)

5. Oxfam (https://www.oxfamamerica.org)

           We visited Oxfam to briefly understand the power of economics and statistical data in uncovering global wealth disparities and poverty.

When debriefing together as a class, everyone spoke about their favorite parts of the visitations and the most impactful takeaways. I’ve included some interview excerpts, so you, our lovely reader, can feel a part of this experiential education!

 Interview with Natalia

It’s your first time in D.C., right Natalia?

Yeah it is!

What are your impressions so far? DC reminds me of those little houses that you buy on Christmas, to make a little town. It’s very clean-cut and flat-ground, and colorful and cute. Everyone’s dressed in suits and all perfect… The President lives here, which kind of sucks.

Would you return to D.C.? 

Yeah I would definitely come back! I think there’s more than meets the eye here. I was speaking with Brianna about how there’s no edge, I just don’t think we’re in the right place to see the edge (We were staying in Capitol Hill district). It’s a cool place and I wanna come back.

Can you tell me some of your takeaways from the ‘Gentrification Tour’ we did with O.N.E (Organizing Neighborhood Equity)?

I really liked that tour. I really liked it because it was such a great learning experience. You hear about gentrification in New York all the time, but if you’re not from those neighborhoods, it’s really hard to imagine what they used to be like, and to imagine what gentrification is actually doing. To actually see it in today’s tour, how they actually showed us places. (Here in D.C.) there used to be lots, with just nothing. All of the sudden, the city put enormous buildings that just don’t fit in. These buildings are supposed to be for development, but instead, you have thousands of people who are displaced and don’t have a home. They take low-income housing, knock that down, and put in more luxury housing that nobody needs. It’s really crazy. Our tour guide was so passionate! She knew so much, and she is really fighting the good fight. It made me want to stay, and join ONE D.C. and help, to direct my energy towards this. But you know, NYC also needs it.

 Interview with Eva

What was your favorite part of the Washington D.C. trip?

 I really like the Global Fund for Human Rights. I really liked that organization.  From the way I see it, they act as a middle-man for big organizations and donors and making sure that money goes to the right projects, programs and organizations on the ground in-country. I think that accounts for a gap that’s traditionally been there when it comes to foreign aid. And while I still don’t really like dependency factor of foreign-aid, they provide a service that is really necessary. The fact that their aid is ‘General Support’ aid and it’s not like, specifically limited to a specific program or person, really helps to fill that gap. It helps people who can’t get other forms of grants to pay for salaries or specific projects.

Do you think that the next Global Class should visit the Global Fund for Human Rights?

 Yeah! I think that’d be a really great thing.

 Interview with Noelle

What did you find most interesting during our D.C. trip?

 I found the Global Fund for Human Rights to be very interesting because the structure is an intermediary between grant money and getting that support on the ground. I think it’s great to have the main goal of getting money on the ground, and I find it really similar to my internship with World Faith.  Also, the “Fund” has a lower profile which allows them to involve themselves more effectively and successfully.

Article written by Mary Kate Mueller, Senior Class Editor.

Photography by Gioia Berlin