Haphazardly Trying to Make the World a Better Place. Inspired by my time as a student at the University of Notre Dame.
What would you say if I gave your donations to someone whom (until recently) I never met, who used it on a country I've never been, and helped people I've never seen? What you would get is this video: First, it must be said that this is far less sketchy than it seems. Rohan was a friend of mine long before I sent him a dime. I trusted him enough as a friend before I entrusted him with part of this project. That, of course, does limit how often I can do things like this. Second, there is a specific reason I wanted ...
[caption id="attachment_2489" align="aligncenter" width="481" caption="Hank & John Start VidCon Early in the Morning (thus the rare shot of empty seats)"][/caption] VidCon. In a word? WOW. As one friend put it, "it's like the internet exploded into real life". It was surreal, amazing, & awesome to meet people that I've only been able to see through my computer screen. Even though there wasn't nearly enough time, I'm in awe at how seamlessly online friends turned into "real life" friends. In most cases it's like you've known someone for ages and are just hanging out. [caption id="attachment_2488" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="This photo makes me look more ...
It's the first of April, and I'm standing in a dimly lit room with a bright projector light blinding me. In front of me, some high ranking officials who came to hear me speak. This is no April's Fools joke: this was my presentation to Save the Children USA's Global HQ. [caption id="attachment_2423" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Save the Children's USA HQ (pic by Madge Canning)"][/caption] After an hour of Keynote slides, graphs, and videos I was pleased to see that my presentation was well received. Lots of nodding heads. But I needed one more thing. I need to drive the message home. It ...
Less than 24 hours ago, Apple surpassed Microsoft to become the world's biggest tech company. As someone who used to spell Microsoft with a dollar sign, I can't believe what I'm about to say: this is a bad thing for the world. The only thing I love more than Apple is what I use my Mac gear for: fighting poverty in developing countries. In this regard, unlike Microsoft & Bill Gates, Apple & Steve Jobs don't seem to care much about poverty and global development. [caption id="attachment_2235" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="One runs the biggest tech company in the world, the other is a global ...
This is what I mean when I say I want to “YouTube with a Purpose”. If it wasn’t for YouTube, most of you wouldn’t be reading this. If it wasn’t for YouTube, I’d never get to meet Hank and John Green. If it wasn’t for YouTube, Hank would never have thought to donate to some guy with a crazy idea for a project in Bangladesh.
Photos, deleted scenes, and much more after the jump.
Continue reading ‘Hank, John, and a Journey Through the Chittagong Hill-Tracts’
[IMPORTANT UPDATE: Vonage has recently delisted Bangladesh from their Plan Look-up Table. But, Dhaka landline numbers are still shown as being under the "Call Asia" plan if you manually check a phone number. I am getting conflicting reports as to whether or not Vonage has cancelled their unlimited calling to Bangladesh and started charging 19 cents a minute. Customers such as myself whose family heavily relies on this plan have not received any warning or notice of its discontinuation. This is not how Vonage should be treating their loyal customers. I can no longer recommend Vonage in good conscience. More updates as I get more details.]
I wish I found this out before my parents spent hundreds of dollars a month calling me in Bangladesh. Vonage – the internet phone company with the annoyingly catchy song in its ads – now offers free calls to Bangladesh as part of its Call Asia international calling plan. My family already uses Vonage – I gave it as a gift to my mom and dad almost two years ago so they could keep in touch with me while I was studying at Notre Dame.
For ten bucks a month more, I just added the Call Asia plan which gives them unlimited calling anytime to all Dhaka and Chittagong landlines (but not any cellphones). I double checked to make sure it works with landline numbers in regions like Baridhara, Shantinagar, and Gulshan (where my relatives live). After setting it up for my dad online – I had him give me a call. The call was surprisingly clear – better than the phone cards my other relatives use. It was even better than many of my local calls to cellphones.
What’s really neat is that Vonage also offers things like free call conferencing. So, after talking for a bit my dad call-conferenced my aunt into the conversation who lived elsewhere in Canada. All of that at no additional cost or per minute charges. I spent most of the conversation going “wow”. This solution is also ten times better than my use of Skype – whose quality is heavily dependent on the bandwidth I get on my end. With Vonage, my family can take full advantage of the DSL line we have back in Canada and just call me on a Dhaka landline instead.
I know I am coming off sounding like a commercial for Vonage. I am not affiliated with them nor am I getting paid by Vonage for this glowing praise. I’m just completely amazed that something like this exists.
I'm Shawn - a 29 year old Canadian from Toronto. Before starting this project, I was a graduate student on scholarship at Notre Dame University. My life took a turn after I met Dr. Jeffrey Sachs (author of the book "The End of Poverty") when he came to give a speech at Notre Dame. That speech inspired me to withdraw from grad school, liquidate my savings, and begin this journey to try and make the world a better place - one meaningful difference at a time.
