The Spark Blog – Page 10

Spark Ventures | news, report from the field, zambia | 1 Comment

Greetings from Lusaka, Zambia

Greetings from Lusaka, Zambia. I’m sitting in my hotel room suffering from jet lag, which happens to be keeping me awake far past a reasonable bedtime, so I thought I’d draft my first blog for this trip.It’s an exciting time to be investing in Africa....

11 July

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Report from the Field: Arriving in Zambia

Spark CEO, Rich, has arrived in Ndola, Zambia to visit our partner organization, Hope Ministries. Rich will be blogging from the field during his visit, giving us a glimpse into the lives of the children and people in Zambia.Rich is doing prep work before our...

10 July

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Zambian Recipes: Cooking with Spark

Last month, we held a Nutrition Training for the moms and guardians of Hope children. Led by two local nurses, the group discussed which of the locally available foods are the most nutritionally dense and how they can be prepared in the healthiest of ways.Interested in...

27 June

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Nicaragua: Business Development Project

For the past three weeks, a team of four MIIS graduate students on the west coast has been working remotely with Spark on an intense amount of research, in what is quickly growing to be the foundation of blue prints for a social enterprise that we’ll be...

19 June

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Meet Marcia: Spark’s New Finance Manager

We’re excited to welcome our new Finance Manager, Marcia, to the Spark team! We asked Marcia a few questions to help us get to know her and the background she comes from.Where are you from?I grew up on a farm in a pretty small town...

19 June

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Reflections from Zambia

Coming to Zambia was my first time leaving theUSA in my 20 years of life. As you can imagine I was pretty nervous for the trip. Over 24 hours of travel as well as immersing myself in the culture of a new foreign country were...

18 June

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Zambia Field Update: Nutrition Training

Last week, we held a Nutrition Training for the moms and guardians of Hope children. Overall, the event was very successful and provided a new means for nutritional and community outreach.The training was facilitated by two local nurses and led in a participatory, interactive style,...

30 May

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Report from the Field: Zambia Clinic May 2013

This week, we opened the doors to one of the biannual clinics during which Hope provides medical care to the 350 children they serve. The lack of healthcare for children in Zambia is one of the most difficult challenges this country faces. Supported by a...

23 May

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Zambia Field Update: How Toilets Bring Sustainability

The capacity building efforts that Spark Ventures supports in Zambia run the gambit. This includes supporting professional development opportunities for the teachers at Hope Community School, lending the expertise of a Spark board member to conduct financial audits, and, most recently, funding the construction of...

01 May

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Nicaragua: Partnership Next Steps

Whenever I travel, these days that being mostly for Spark, I tend to write quite a bit. Whether in an electronic format, paper journal, or leaving notes for myself in my iPhone, I carry either pages or fragments of information and thoughts. The last time...

30 April

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A Perfect Day in Granada

If you ever fly United Airlines, their Hemispheres magazine has a great feature in each issue called “Three Perfect Days in…”. Each month they highlight a different city and recommend restaurants, hotels and activities that make for a perfect vacation in places like Toronto, Munich,...

25 April

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Carlos & the Best Job in the World

Of course one of the most important aspects of Spark’s Partnership Trips is the time that we spend with the children served by the programs. In the case of Las Tias, there are two centers that are run on weekdays: one for adolescents and one...

22 April

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Dinner Numero Dos with Las Tías

Thursday night’s dinner will be one I won’t forget for a while. Our team of six had a full day- in the morning we had gone to the Younger Children’s Project and had a chance to spend several hours playing games with the kids, making...

21 April

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Pescado grande y los Educadores contentos

One important aspect of our Partnership Trips is to provide opportunities for trip participants and the local staff to interact in meaningful ways. Last night the entire staff of Las Tias (about 12 administrators, teachers and social workers) joined the six of us from Spark...

18 April

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Las Tías, Nicaragua: Partnership Development

Las Tías leadershipArriving in Managua last week, Nicaragua greets you with a massive wave of heat and a medley of distinct smells and sounds. The capital is a combination of endless strings of honking cars, vendors selling everything from plastic toys to flags to fruit...

15 April

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A Day in Las Tías, Nicaragua

8:30am; 95 degrees. I step outside the local supermarket, my eyes squinting in the bright sunlight, trying to hunt down a taxi. Though the interviews I was to start conducting in half hour were only six or seven blocks away, normally a 15 minute walk,...

10 April

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Reports from the Field: Nicaragua

I'm in the younger kids' house, just having seen Sandra. The Director of the young children's project and one of the three executive members of the organization, the first time I met her I sensed a distance from her and what I perceived to be...

08 April

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Stay tuned: Blogging from Nicaragua!

Our Director of Partnerships, Lucy, is heading to León, Nicaragua to visit our new partner organization, Las Tías!We introduced Las Tías to the Spark community at our Fall Event in November. Need a refresher? Las Tías was started by 8 women merchants to serve vulnerable...

02 April

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Sydney & her new friends

The February Groupon trip is over, but I can’t resist sharing at least one more highlight…Our youngest traveler on this trip was 13. As a seventh grader among adults ranging from mid 20s to mid 50s, Sydney impressed our travelers...

14 February

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More to do:

Greetings from Lusaka, Zambia

Report from the Field: Arriving in Zambia

Zambian Recipes: Cooking with Spark

Nicaragua: Business Development Project

Meet Marcia: Spark’s New Finance Manager

Reflections from Zambia

Zambia Field Update: Nutrition Training

Report from the Field: Zambia Clinic May 2013

Zambia Field Update: How Toilets Bring Sustainability

Nicaragua: Partnership Next Steps

A Perfect Day in Granada

Carlos & the Best Job in the World

Dinner Numero Dos with Las Tías

Pescado grande y los Educadores contentos

Las Tías, Nicaragua: Partnership Development

A Day in Las Tías, Nicaragua

Reports from the Field: Nicaragua

Stay tuned: Blogging from Nicaragua!

Sydney & her new friends

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