As part of the Non-profit blog exchange I get to visit and blog about another non-profit blog. I’ve had the pleasure, therefore, of entering the world of World’s Touch, an organisation which does the following:

Worlds Touch
is a nonprofit organization partnering with successful
charities in developing countries to provide information and communications
technology (ICT).

• We provide information systems for international grassroots organizations working to end poverty.

• We design and build web sites for community groups.

• We train and support non-profit management.

• We bring cultural sensitivity to every project.

The Executive Director, Trish Perkins, is writing their blog, and is currently (as befits her nom de plume Traveller Trish) going round Nepal (and India), whilst simultaneously working on IT and web projects….it’s impressive stuff, and you are plunged headlong into the narrative and the world which Trish is moving through and experiencing. After all, what is a blog for if not being able to communicate the "personality" of the organisation, giving an insider feel to what you do, how you act and how you work. Here’s a taster from a recent post, detailing a singing game…:

"The party got going after that, and it was just a really uproarious
and fun party at that. Sudeep played a bunch of oldies but goodies in
English on the piano and people sang at the tops of their
lungs…Country Roads, She’ll Be Comin Round the Mountain and others.
In between, the disc jockey played Hindi, Nepali and English songs for
dancing. At one point, we played this game I loved during the Anne’s
evening a few weeks back. One team starts with a song and then, when
they stop, the next team has to start a song with the last syllable of
the previous team’s song. And they all know so many songs, they can
just jump up and belt them out.

"This time, they divided the boys against the girls, and it was
hilarious. My dentist was the moderator, but he kept making up rules in
the middle and then changing them when he felt like it. It was really
quite funny. Jit’s wife, who has been a film actress and a model, was
Ms. Johnny-on-the-Spot when it came to different songs. Diwaker went
around filming with his video camera when he wasn’t playing the guitar
or dancing or being Mr. Entertainment.

"And we danced and danced. When none of the women would take to the
floor, the guys would get out there and just dance themselves. And
unless I was prostrate from the last twelve dances, I’d be out there
with them. I could say that I don’t know WHEN I’ve had such a good
time, but actually I can. It was about three weeks ago at the Anne’s
evening. And before that? Well, I remember one party when I was in
college…"

Great stuff. Who wouldn’t want to be there? Makes a change from my badly punning titles and cynical asides. I think I’m going to have to get more narrative in my approach, because it’s really engaging.

It’s also interesting to think of social entrepreneurship (as SSE considers it) and the impact of individuals when they catalyse movements and make contacts, building teams to help things happen and change to occur. This happens in the villages of Nepal and India, just as in the estates of East London or Liverpool.

I also found myself reflecting on the virtues of virtual volunteering (web design, ICT help and so on) and face-to-face interaction. Does Patricia have more impact on her travels, interacting and teaching and influencing, or in front of her screen back in the US? New technology throws up countless opportunities for connections and help that weren’t there before, but the power of Trish’s blog may be that some things are better done face-to-face. I wish her well from afar.