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Art, storytelling and other forms of cultural expression
form a important of the healing process in underserved
communities. oneVillage has developed a program to
address this, we are now in the process of developing
a program to build human networks emphasizing end
to end human services. one aspect of this is a process
of allowing people to tell their stories and express
themselves as a way to build trust in communities.
The
extraordinary things that we have done in our lives
can be sources of inspiration for others contributing
to a collective consciousness that can overcome division,
distrust and hatred and build a world that more readily
accepts and encourages the potential inside of each
of us to not only exist but blossom. As we share in
our experiences of the extraordinary, we develop a
high level of not only knowledge and wisdom, but a
�will to power� based on a larger sense of solidarity
that congregates around a common vision or dream such
as the vision of a sustainable and socially just society.
Stories
of hope and wisdom show how persistent people have
successfully navigated the oftentimes tricky and challenging
curves that life can throw at us and have achieved
their goals. These stories can inspire us by showing
us how ideals can be transformed into practical knowledge
and tangible accomplishments which can make the world
a better place to live. OVF bases itself on the idea
that learning and the expansion of knowledge becomes
most contagious when people are inspired to learn
by the remarkable examples of others who have similar
dreams and aspirations.
The
oneVillage Foundation's
Storytelling and Events blog is a place
for sharing stories with other communities. The blog
is now in the early stages of development and is limited
to using words and photographs, but as it develops
video clips, drawings, audio, or any combination of
these will be utilized. It is the countless stories
of hope and struggle that motivate us to do more and
be more effective in what we do to make the world
a better place.
One
of the goals of the oneVillage Foundation is to develop
a storytelling
web portal that seeks to teach and inspire people
to effective action through real life stories and
human events that expand our notion of the feasible
and the possible.
oneVoice™
&AIDS Relief Portal
oneVoice™ Storysharing Environment
oneVoice™ is an open source story-sharing environment
designed to allow people to collaboratively create,
capture and share stories in any format (video, audio,
graphics, animation or text). These stories become a
part of a person's or group's robust, ever-growing,
online living profile and could contain ideas, insights,
knowledge, recommendations, best practices, questions,
fears, needs, dreams, goals, desires, predictions, reminders,
etc.
oneVoice™ will use keyword and contextual information
from these robust profiles to match and connect people
or groups across multiple dimensions in an environment
that fosters fluid knowledge and service exchange while
significantly raising awareness and fostering critical
thought and discussion on crucial global, local, personal
and interpersonal (relationship) topics.
Such matchmaking abilities will be focused on bringing
those individuals and groups expressing specific needs
directly in contact with those individuals or groups
best suited to meeting those needs. The first communities
of people to use oneVoice™ will be AIDS orphans
and those groups (NGOs, NPOs, CBOs, FBOs, etc.) who
are devoted to assisting these children. These need/offering
matches will be passed to the HIV/AIDS Relief Portal
where the needs of an individual or group can be met
and managed by the group/groups best suited to meet
those specific needs.
HIV/AIDS Relief Portal
The core functionality of this web-based set of tools
is to facilitate involvement in, and raise awareness
about, HIV/AIDS relief. There are many amazing organizations
working hard in the war on HIV/AIDS. This portal is
an IT tool to help these groups showcase their efforts
and receive the resources they need, by matching willing
donors with responsible recipients. Potential donors
will be able to easily get involved in various ways,
donating time, money, services and goods, and also stay
current with non-profit organization (NPO) happenings.
Through a real-time tracking system, donors can monitor
their donations and the beneficiaries thereof, following
how much has been given and specifically what has been
done with it. The site presents model projects that
are accountable, transparent and efficient.
Because the solution is totally scalable and web-based,
organizations are able to manage volunteer efforts and
donations in one area, or across several countries around
the world.
The project is committed to local ownership and leadership,
while leveraging a global network of resources. It recognizes
the strength of the human network, facilitating bottom-up
development by on-the-ground NGOs and top-down support
from corporate and private funders.
Vision
Our aim is to embrace the economic significance of the
NPO sector, and provide a way to channel more resources
into HIV/AIDS related NPOs and CBOs. A website portal
will be developed to be the online arm of oneVillage
in the war on HIV/AIDS.
The site aims to:
• Raise awareness of HIV/AIDS initiatives by facilitating
interactive communication between communities about
HIV/AIDS relief projects
• Promote a culture of volunteerism, involvement
and responsible citizenship for all people, including
those with disabilities, in the war on HIV/AIDS. The
site will provide a single point of entry to discover
easy ways to get involved.
• Create a system that channels resources -
goods, services, funds and intellectual capital -
into the hands of HIV/AIDS related NPOs, NGOs and CBOs,
and facilitates full accountability of donations and
uses thereof.
Goals
• To develop an online portal that easily connects
volunteers and donors (in the form of individual, community
or corporate entities) with HIV/AIDS related service
organizations.
• To provide matchmaking, scenario building and
decision support
• To provide content that is current and of a
high quality, i.e., potentially fewer listings of participating
organizations, but the content of all those that are
listed is relevant and current.
• To raise awareness of existing HIV/AIDS related
NPOs/NGOs/CBOs - many don't have the traditional
tools of development agencies, e.g., a website, marketing
pamphlets, annual reports, etc. This is maximized by
providing a single point of reference - the website
portal. By promoting local initiatives, those already
in upliftment will be encouraged through the knowledge
of similar efforts. Those wanting to get involved may
be inspired enough to take the plunge.
• To get people into previously disadvantaged
areas - physically and virtually. The site should
help users to overcome the fear factor that many have
about coming to South Africa and going into disadvantaged
areas - this can be achieved through stories of
people safely working in those areas.
• To promote accountability and reporting of relief
campaigns, for example, by allowing recipient organizations
to display real time project progress and donation tracking,
resources allocation, etc. This will help to attract
investment into HIV/AIDS related initiatives.
• To promote "ecotourism" - attracting
tourists to South Africa to volunteer in HIV/AIDS related
initiatives while allowing them to experience the country.
This could include social tourism and cultural exchange.
• Where possible, to involve community members
by having them update their own information. For certain
NPOs this will be done from community IT centers. The
training required to achieve this will empower the local
community with ICT skills.
To create a support framework for local service organizations,
helping them to be volunteer ready, accountable and
web literate.
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