Who are the people of Darmang?

You read this blog and you hear all about how this project is the project of the 'people of Darmang,' 'by the 'people of Darmang,' 'for the people of Darmang'.


But who exactly are the people of Darmang?


I don't think there is really any simple answer to that question, or any question of that sort. But it is nonetheless crucially important as it is the very foundation of Project:Darmang. It gets at the very heart of everything beautiful in this project- why these wonderful people are so deserving of a better reality, why we are so inspired by them.


It gets at why this project is profoundly impacting lives around the world- from the city of Seattle, to the beaches of Flordia, to the hills of Fullerton, the streets of Colorado Springs, to the mountains of Boulder, to Hillsdale and Decorah, to the snow of Sweden and the sun of New Mexico, to the chaos of Maryland, and to the very heart of the village of Darmang.

The people of Darmang are people like Nancy...


Nancy is a student, a scholar, and an inspiration to me. At the age of sixteen, Nancy is one of the only youth in Darmang that passed the exams out of the JSS, or middle school. She did not do this because of the great education she received or the quality of the school- in fact she did it in spite of that.


The schools of Darmang do not produce scholars, scholars, like Nancy, produce themselves. She did so by always feeding her hunger for knowledge in any way she could, conventional or not. Her family, all four of them, chose to live in one small bedroom so they could afford to pay school fees for Nancy and her sister.


Nancy is remarkable in that her brilliance comes from the ragged streets of Darmang, the hustle of the streets of Accra, and the markets of Tema. It comes from questioning everything in pursuit of knowledge and refusing to be limited by circumstance.


Nancy is now attending Secondary School, or high school, one of the very few who have made it out of Darmang to pursue education. I told her once she graduates and applies for the university, I'll be waiting at the airport in America to pick her up and take her to Harvard because she deserves nothing less. And while she has no idea what an airplane feels like, or even what Harvard is, she understands her own potential and the potential I see in her and I know that she will one day realize it in remarkable ways.

What the #@*% is a pungler?

What the @#$% is a pungler?


That's exactly what I said. That's what I said when Ben Andrews started talking about how he had pins with unicorns instead of business cards.


Hmmm... 
I was intrigued (to say the least).  


The answer, it turned out, is actually simple: a pungler is a person who supports movements to do social good through the power of online retail. In other words, it is the perfect marriage of savvy shopping and social good.


So you shop online at your favorite stores (amazon, tom's, itunes) through pungle (it's a website p.s.) and the power of your online shopping is tranformed into clean water, education, large scale disease prevention, and the realization of fundamental human rights. And Project:Darmang is now a part of that movement.


We have joined the pungle community to help create global change. We want you to join with us.


It's simple, it's profound, and it's going to be powerful in changing the lives of not only the people of Darmang, but of people like you and me, and people all accross the globe.


Be a pungler.

The Demise.

Daunting title.


We considered changing it before posting, but we thought that it was fitting. 


The project is not in demise. The community is not in demise. This blog is in demise. 


Every single blog entry has less and less hits. And I have to admit, if that's the worst problem Project:Darmang is facing then we're in pretty good shape. But, really. Why not hits? 


The problem of engagement is more than just this blog's problem. It is the problem of Project:Darmang and of projects just like it. How do we get people interested in this community thousands of miles away? A people who, to them, are no more than iconic images. How do we appeal to the human conscience without painting the people of Darmang as weak, suffering, or dire people? A people they are not. 


How do we inspire people to be a part of this change, to invest this community, to engage in a mutual partnership for the betterment of the human person? 


Well, we don't. People inspire themselves to join this movement- they are moved by the prospect of doing good, of supporting their fellow human beings, of becoming a part of a community like ours. Whatever it is, we want people to know that we appreciate it. We also want people to know it's okay to expect something in return. We all engage in this project because we want something. 


It is not in the spirit of altruism. 


The basis of all human relationships is reciprocity. The basis of our interactions is reciprocity.  We do, and should , expect to be enriched, inspired, and moved as a part of our dedication to this movement. 


So join us. Join us for whatever reason you find within your heart. And join us to get something out of it. There is potential for Project:Darmang to forever change your reality and rattle your existence. For me, it has. For you, only time will tell. 

Why Water?

"So why water?"

I sat there pondering how to answer her question, Why water? Why not books, why not school supplies, why not bed nets? 

"Well," I said, "that's what they asked for." 

The people of Darmang did not ask us to support them in buying books, or bed nets, or school supplies. They asked for support in getting water. Clean, safe, and stable sources of water.  They asked us to use our wealth of resources and networks to reach in directions they cannot. They asked not for a crutch or a handout, they asked for capital to invest in their own human development. 

This kind of capital is not the material capital many economists discuss, is does not take the form of money or property. It is not the kind of capital business men discuss, it does not accurue wealth or material value. This kind of capital cannot be quantified or materialized. This kind of capital rears a high quality of life. It translates into possiblity, opportunity.


During the dry season the people of Darmang walk upwards of three hours a day to fetch water. For farmers that means three hours less on the farm per day. That means three hours less productivity. That means that the cycle of poverty deepens.


For most families it is the children that fetch the water. That means three hours less in school each day. That means years lost over the course of a child's education. That means that the cycle of poverty continues.


So this capital translates into something far greater than material wealth or property value, this capital is an investment in the human development and potential of the people of Darmang.


That is why they want water. And that is why I am supporting them, every step of the way.