English 9 B Advanced, 2007-08

For your first blogging project, each of you will do research into an NGO that interests you. What is an 'NGO'? A 'non-governmental organization'. These are groups of private citizens who join together to provide some valuable service that governments don't seem able or willing to provide. Most of them are international groups that provide aid of some kind to people in need. For example, the Red Cross and Red Crescent give emergency relief to people who have suffered disasters like earthquakes. Doctors Without Borders provide medical care to people who otherwise would not have it.

This blogging project relates to our first AOI unit, in which we are asking the question, 'Is there value in doing things for others?' Doing research into one of these NGOs will teach you a lot about certain parts of the world and certain kinds of problems people there struggle with. It will also give you a chance to think about the AOI question as it applies to the work your NGO is doing.

Here are some web pages that will help you get started learning about NGOs. The first step is to find out what kinds of NGOs exist. The second step is to choose an NGO whose work interests you.

http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/what-are-ngos.html 

http://library.duke.edu/research/subject/guides/ngo_guide/

http://www.geneva.ch/IGO.htm

http://www.politicalresources.net/int2.htm

http://www.idealist.org/if/as/Org?assetTag=NON_PROFIT_TYPE&sid=