Tracking Charity

Eduardo Tamaniz Diego

Impoverished kids love the soccer ball that powers a lamp — until it breaks

The Soccket is a soccer ball with a twist — a generator inside that turns kicks into power that can run a small lamp. Its American inventors and celebrity backers say it provides hours of light so poor children in homes without electricity can study at night. But this bright idea has run into some technical problems.

Impoverished kids love the soccer ball that powers a lamp — until it breaks
Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes.

TOMS Shoes rethinks its 'buy one, give one' model of helping the needy

TOMS Shoes rethinks its 'buy one, give one' model of helping the needy
K. Subramania is one of Essmart’s first dealers in rural India. He bought a solar-powered light from Essmart, and since then he's sold at least 300 of them to his customers.

A start-up in India treats the poor as discerning customers, not aid recipients

A start-up in India treats the poor as discerning customers, not aid recipients
Nigerian pupils work on OLPC computers in Abuja, Nigeria, in May, 2007.

Let's talk: How can technology change the lives of people in poverty?

Let's talk: How can technology change the lives of people in poverty?
Volunteer Health Worker

Thousands of health workers in Senegal receive no pay. Is that fair?

Thousands of health workers in Senegal receive no pay. Is that fair?

Are volunteer programs empowering — or exploitative?

If you serve as a volunteer, you know that it can feel good to devote your time to assisting others in need. But do you ever feel that you’re performing a job that deserves a paycheck? Volunteers around the world weigh in.

Are volunteer programs empowering — or exploitative?
Relief supplies for Haiyan victims

Read these 3 tips before you offer help to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan

It's hard to see the devastation in the Philippines without wanting to do something to help. Reporter Amy Costello covers the business of doing good and has this advice for helping.

Read these 3 tips before you offer help to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan

What to Consider When You Are Considering Donating

As part of The World’s investigative project Tracking Charity, we recently held an online chat with experts in the realm of giving. Our question: How do you know a good charity when you see it?

What to Consider When You Are Considering Donating

Discussion: How Do You Know a Good Charity When You See It?

When people find out that I reported from Africa for many years and am now producing a series called Tracking Charity, they frequently ask me this: "Which charities do you think are doing really good work on the ground overseas?"

Discussion: How Do You Know a Good Charity When You See It?
Dorothy Kalema holds up her bed net with large holes.

Bed Nets for Malaria: Losing the Arms Race?

Governments and charitable organizations have distributed millions of insecticide-treated bed nets across Africa, to repel and kill mosquitoes that spread malaria. But mosquitoes are growing resistant to the insecticide. Health experts say a resurgence of the deadly disease may be coming -- one that could have been avoided.

Bed Nets for Malaria: Losing the Arms Race?

Reporting on Malaria: An Ethical Choice, and Photographs Untaken

I recently returned from Africa, a place I reported on for many years. I thought I knew the territory pretty well, so I was surprised to find myself facing some ethical dilemmas that I hadn’t confronted before.

Reporting on Malaria: An Ethical Choice, and Photographs Untaken
The World

A Global Investigation into "Doing Good"

In the months ahead, reporter Amy Costello will travel the world bringing you stories that look critically at the multibillion-dollar international aid industry.

A Global Investigation into "Doing Good"
A boy waits for medical attention in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after 2010 earthquake.

Haiti Medical Volunteers: Learning from Mistakes

Doctors who worked in Haiti after the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake are asking a difficult question: Did some medical volunteers harm patients? Amy Costello reports on the medical community's attempts to learn from mistakes made in Haiti.

Haiti Medical Volunteers: Learning from Mistakes
Jennifer Hemsley, adoptive mother.

International Adoption: When Altruism Becomes Industry

The US leads the world in the number of children adopted from abroad. Critics say this unending demand for infants from poor nations – together with the huge sums American families are willing to pay – transformed an altruistic act into an industry plagued by corruption, kidnapping, and fraud.

International Adoption: When Altruism Becomes Industry

TOMS Shoes: Does Buy-One-Give-One Work?

TOMS shoe company is the subject of an investigation by reporter Amy Costello. Costello was The World's Africa correspondent for many years.

TOMS Shoes: Does Buy-One-Give-One Work?