The Spark Blog

Spark Ventures | business development, nicaragua, report from the field, socent, social enterprise, social entrepreneurship, spark ventures, zambia | No comment

Spark’s Busy Summer Vacation

What have you been up to on your summer vacation? Here at Spark Ventures we have been busy! With business development projects in Zambia and Nicaragua, exciting progress is being made towards providing sustainable revenue streams for both our partner organizations.At various points throughout...

07 August

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Reflections from Zambia

This July's Partnership Trip to Zambia was a small but incredible group - three spectacular women joined Rich in Zambia, getting to know the incredible children and leadership at Hope Ministries. Now that they're back, we asked each of them to send us a few...

30 July

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Motivation, Appreciation and Dance Lessons

Day five of the nine day Partnership Trip to Zambia is long. We build up your endurance during the first several days and then pack about as much activity into Thursday as humanly possible. Memories are created that will last a lifetime – for the...

26 July

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Spark Ventures | community programs, healthcare, public health, report from the field, zambia | No comment

Photo Journal: Healthy Teeth & Bright Smiles

In May, during the bi-annual clinic at Hope Community School, we helped introduce a new dental hygiene program. It was a best practice that we learned from our partner Las Tías of Nicaragua and when we shared it with the school in Zambia, they were...

22 July

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Guest Blog: Head Teacher Ng’oma, Hope Community School, Zambia

Chimfembwe Ng’oma is a key leader of our Zambian partner Hope Ministries who completed his education degree from Kwame Nkurumah University in Kabwe, Zambia twenty years ago. He was hired by the government to teach and was stationed for his first six years in what...

19 July

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Hope Community School: Photo Journal

Our Zambia Partnership Trip is well underway this week. So far, our group has participated with students in one-on-one reading time, creating a mural and sharing music lessons. Below is a photo journal of some of the highlights thus far:After School: Boys hanging outLunch Time:...

18 July

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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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Spark Ventures | news, nicaragua | No comment

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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Spark Ventures | nicaragua, report from the field | No comment

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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More to do:

Reflections from Zambia

Motivation, Appreciation and Dance Lessons

Photo Journal: Healthy Teeth & Bright Smiles

Guest Blog: Head Teacher Ng’oma, Hope Community School, Zambia

Hope Community School: Photo Journal

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

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