Thanks to the media, we have heard countless stories of what happened during those terrifying 35 seconds. We have read the experiences of workers, family men, and pottery makers. But what about the children?

From June 17 to October 17, The Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center shall feature an exhibition of the nearly 100 paintings and drawings created by the young victims of the Haiti quake. Entitled The Healing Power of Art: Works of Art by Haitian Children after the Earthquake, the artworks are the output of a project started by First Lady Elisabeth D. Preval in coalition with Haitian artists including Philippe Dodard and a motley team of psychologists, educators and politicians, to create a safe outlet for the children to express themselves after the quake.

Aside from the artworks, the exhibition includes an 18-minute film entitled Thirty Five Long Seconds: Haiti’s Deadly Earthquake and two short videos, one about Plas Timoun (The Children’s Place), a place that served as a creative haven for the children, and another about a visit to Haiti by First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

Although most works created immediately following the disaster were dark in both the colors and imagery used, they soon became hopeful, depicting scenes of a better future. This serves as a testament to the resilience of children and to the healing power of art.

For many, art is not simply the mixing and splashing of colors onto a piece of canvas. Rather, it is the most open and creative way they can express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It can be a form of healing and a means to engender hope.

Based on a study of sector-based training programs in three cities, the report found that participants were able to earn an average of 29 percent more than a control group in the year after they began training. They also were better able to work longer hours and gain a job that offered better benefits in comparison with those from the control group.

But of course, not just any sector-based training program can ensure the same results. The study from where the report was based on reveals five common elements that may have contributed to the success of each program. Among these are adaptability, a strong link to employers and a rigorous screening process for participants.

The study tracked three different sector-based training programs in different cities. The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, an association of employers and unions in Milwaukee provided short-term training for construction, health care and manufacturing with a focus on African-American men and women. The Jewish Vocational Service of Greater Boston provided diverse participants from a variety of backgrounds with training in accounting and medical billing. And finally, Per Scholas, a charity in New York, offered training for computer equipment and network maintenance for a group of mostly foreign-born men.

This report emphasizes on the importance of focused sector-based training which, I believe, is a better alternative to programs that merely provide people with loans and scholarships. Creating more programs with a focus on employer needs like the ones covered in the study can help to empower more people in the workforce, creating a win-win situation for employers and employees.

This new product, the LifeVillage, is aimed towards areas needing temporary shelters. The product is a series of prefabricated structures with light-gauge steel framing and solar panel roofs. Comparable to the German Huf Haus in terms of concept, which brings together transparent architecture and efficient energy use in creatively designed homes, Envision Solar’s LifeVillage structures not only provide temporary shelter, but also electricity and purified water.

These structures are made to be put up with ease, even with unskilled workers, with the prefabricated materials arriving in two standard shipping containers. A single LifeVillage kit includes energy storage batteries, photovoltaic modules and corresponding roofing, a water pumping and purification system, inverters, and lighting. According to Envision, the light-gauge steel frame that makes up the structure of the shelter enables it to meet international building codes.

The modular LifeVillage kits are not only made to stand alone. While a single module offers 3500 square feet of living space, the kits are flexible enough to connect to create bigger temporary structures, such as for health clinics without available utilities. Each module can generate 50 kilowatts of power which can be used for a wide variety of needs in disaster areas.

While the solar-energy powered structures may not be the best for all climates, Envision points out that they could serve a great use in places like Haiti, India and parts of Africa.

I don’t think the issue of climate would be as significant if we remember that the greatest need for disaster operations tend to come from developing countries in the tropic and sub-tropic zones. These shelters will be able to not only provide simple necessities but also a place decent enough for people to live in temporarily until life returns to normal.

The solution that these two have presented is a modified everyday salad spinner that has been turned into an easy-to-use transport centrifuge. This ingenuity makes it possible for blood to be successfully separated for the diagnosis of anemia without the need for electricity. Dubbed the “Sally Centrifuge” by its creators, what had begun as an assignment for their Introduction to Bioengineering and World Health class has become a possible great help to the aid of people living in rural areas without electricity.

The Sally Centrifuge is currently undergoing a series of field tests this summer in places needing medical aid where resources are lacking. This is all part of Rice University’s initiative for global health, with a focus on developing countries. Kerr and Theis are traveling along with their invention to places like Ecuador, Swaziland and Malawi, where real-world testing of this tool will be done at rural clinics.

Simple ideas that don’t necessarily involve reinventing the wheel are what I believe to be the innovations that truly deserve attention. With a way to make diagnosis quicker, especially in areas too far for urban laboratories to deliver reports in a timely manner, simple works like the centrifuge by Kerr and Theis which is portable, convenient and can run without power, will help global health a great deal. Perhaps as well, this can inspire others to create similar inventions to help the world.

So far, there has been a great amount of funds and programs to keep the country’s hopes for recovery up. These include a $3.8 million agreement with Partners in Health to cover the salaries of more than 1,800 Haitian doctors, nurses, and staff at Port-au-Prince’s largest general hospital who have all been working without pay even since before the quake struck.

There has also been focus on building semi-permanent homes for the people who are mostly living under tarps and tents in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. In partnership with Mercy Corps as well, the Red Cross has also been supporting families outside Port-au-Prince that are hosting homeless Haitians through a $6.1 million cash-for-work program. With other financial assistance problems, not only is the Red Cross paying attention to the Haitians’ immediate needs but it’s also focusing on recovery that will last in the long run.

The organization has already set a way to direct funds both for answering immediate relief needs for the first twelve months after the quake and long-term recovery over the next three to five years. Ensuring the total recovery of Haiti, though, is not entirely dependent on the American Red Cross’ efforts. With still a long way to go before life is restored to normal in Haiti, I find that perhaps it’s not just the first providers of aid on the scene after the earthquake that should be applauded but the last ones as well.

The gallery, which recently made room for a site-specific exhibition of Richard Wilson’s 20:50, first opened in 1985. It has always provided free admission to the general public, and plays host to various special events and exhibitions. Aligned with School of Saatchi, a television program that showcases young aspiring artists, the gallery even includes a dedicated space for Saatchi Online artists to exhibit and sell their work, for which Saatchi does not accept commission.

The Saatchi Gallery was one of the launch pads for the Young British Artists movement of the ’90s, which brought about the creation of “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.” The 14-foot (4.3 m) tiger shark preserved in a tank of formaldehyde was commissioned by Saatchi and was later sold for $8 million.

To ensure that the government won’t drop the ball, the collection includes other works that can be sold to make new acquisitions.

Saatchi “wants to give London and the country something it wouldn’t have otherwise, which is a very agile collection that can respond quickly to developments in contemporary art from all over the world,” said Rebecca Wilson, associate director of the Saatchi Gallery.

The donation could not have come in a timelier manner. Countries in recovery around the world have been experiencing record budget deficits and, though all sectors are feeling the crush, many governments seem to cut heavily on arts, culture and public attractions. I am hopeful that Saatchi’s vision will set an example for others.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Arts and Culture.

According to AIDS statistics published in November 2009, 31.1 million to 35.8 million people in the world are living with AIDS. People newly infected with AIDS in the year 2008 numbered 2.7 million, almost half a million of which were children. AIDS-related deaths were estimated at 2 million.

The two main sources for funding towards AIDS related efforts are traditionally supposed to be the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. PEPFAR has already been authorized by the US Congress to spend up to $48 billion by 2014; however, representatives from the program have already warned grant recipients not to expect disbursements for the next two years at least. As for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, they have been experiencing a drop in donations. They received an astounding $3 billion less than what was expected for the aid of the three diseases combined. For AIDS alone, funding was cut down by an average of 12 percent for grants involving prevention and treatment.

Philanthropy as a whole has been experiencing a steep and noticeable decline in Western countries, while China and South Korea are donating more and more to charity. Recently, Yu Pengnian, an 88-year-old Chinese real estate tycoon, donated his entire fortune of $1.2 billion to a foundation for poverty and cataract operations.

If left unresolved, this drop could progress into a downward spiral where lack of prevention and education will lead to a greater need for funding amidst the further spread of the disease.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about funding.

The problem is rampant in densely populated countries like India and China, where more than half of the people living without toilets reside. People are reduced to carrying these waste materials on their heads to get them away from their living quarters. They deposit this waste in places that are not equipped to deal with it, such as city dumps, canals and nearby bodies of water.

Left untreated, this waste can contaminate water supplies and spread diseases such as diarrhea, which is no small deal when medical attention, a clean area for recovery or even proper food and clean water are not readily available. Diarrhea alone caused about 2.6 million deaths in 2009.

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement, was recently presented with the Sanitation Visionary Award for 2009 during the last World Toilet Summit. His revolutionary twin-pit pour flush toilet organically breaks down human feces and urine and produces biogas and fertilizer out of them. This has reduced the need for human waste scavengers by over 60,000 since the technology was introduced in 2007.

The product from the human excreta can safely be used as fuel for cooking or for street lamps. It can also be sold to electric companies for burning.

Instead of merely finding ways to dispose of or treat the waste, Dr. Pathak came up with a product that solves many problems at once. Furthermore, rather than selling for a profit, he distributes the toilets practically free.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about philanthropy.

• U.S. women’s hockey team captain Angela Ruggiero visited troops in Afghanistan as part of a Goodwill tour. She is also an ambassador for Right to Play, the athlete-driven organization that has used 350 athletes from 40 countries to provide educational teams, sports equipment, and medical supplies to impoverished areas in 20 countries.

• U.S. figure skater Rachel Flatt is a spokesperson for Reading is Fundamental, and has volunteered as a reader in local schools.

• Half pipe Olympian Hannah Teter began selling maple syrup called Hannah’s Gold, tapped from trees near the Teter family home in Vermont, in an effort to raise money for underprivileged children around the world. All proceeds benefit World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to tackling the causes of poverty.

• U.S. biathlete Haley Johnson has adopted a fourth-grade class in her hometown of Lake Placid, N.Y., and is teaching them about recycling and climate change.

• U.S. hockey player Molly Schaus regularly corresponds to kids through her Save the Children fund. Her teammate, Caitlin Cahow, serves as a coach and G.M. for a girls team that raises money for cancer awareness through its tournament participation.

• American Kelly Clark, the 2002 gold medalist in the half pipe, has established a foundation to enable young skiers with financial needs to attend mountain academies such as Mount Snow Academy, which propelled her career.

• Last year, U.S. distance runners Ryan and Sara Hall established the Hall Steps Foundation, funding programs to help youth in poverty throughout the country.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about philanthropy

The money is destined to provide grants to the American Cancer Society’s Midwest division to develop and distribute a breast health kit containing resources on reducing risk and managing treatment; support new healthcare positions and education programs; and fund research. Additionally, grants will be provided to the Milwaukee affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure for a grassroots education program designed to increase breast health screenings; a campaign to encourage women to take action on breast health; and financial assistance for women who are unable to pay for mammograms.

Kohl estimates that some 3,500 Wisconsin women were diagnosed with breast cancer last year. Meanwhile, about half the women in Milwaukee County did not get their recommended annual screenings.

At a time when many companies are cutting philanthropic giving, Kohl’s is in a financial position that allows them to expand their community relations programs with a new focus on women’s causes. The incidence rate of invasive breast cancer in the state of Wisconsin is above the national average, and as a company Kohl’s is passionate about supporting this important cause and making a difference in the lives of women.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about philanthropy