The first of the accidents happened when a student named Tham was struck from behind by motorcycle while she was walking. The impact sent the nine year old flying into a nearby wall.  The concussion she suffered caused her brain to swell and she spent two days in the ICU. When her condition improved she was moved into a crowded hospital room where we were finally able to visit. There we talked with her some while she peered at us through the only eye that wasn’t swollen shut.

Not long after Tham was hit, we learned of a more tragic accident involving a student in Yommorat, the community along the railroad tracks. Usna (oohse-na), one of our regular Saturday kids, was on the way home from school when her and her brother took a motorcycle taxi. She was unaware the driver was drunk and when he failed to stop before the oncoming train, the tail of the bike was clipped by the train and the children were thrown off. One of Usna’s legs was caught underneath the train and had to be amputated below her knee.

Tham has since been released from the hospital and rejoined us on Saturdays. Everyone is glad to have her back, especially her friends and classmates who visited and decorated cards wishing she would get well. She’s not as energetic as before, but still just as sharp and shows up to class in a skull cap while her hair is growing back. For Usna, there’s a much longer road to recovery ahead and she will likely spend more than a month in the hospital. Despite the circumstances, however, everyone has been impressed with her toughness. Which is important as she must cope with more physical challenges such as the healing of her wound, a skin graft, and eventually learning to walk with a prosthetic limb.

Two bright students from two different communities. They don’t know each other and aren’t in very close proximity. Yet, their neighborhoods are plagued by the same issues. Sad, unfair and enraging, these aren’t the types of stories I like to share, but they do offer a glimpse into the difficulties of growing up in the communities we’re serving and exemplify why these children benefit from any love and encouragment we can offer in our time with them.

We’re doing more to help Usna and her family during her hospital stay. Because we don’t want to see her fall behind in her school work, we’ve hired a tutor to come and teach her a few times a week. We’ve also given the family $100, a small gift to help with incidental expenses (the majority of her hospital bill is covered by the Thai government). If you’d like to help, make a donation like normal, but email me (insearchofsanuk@gmail.com) directly to let me know it’s for Usna and her family.

~Dwight

Welcome to my new classroom. This is a part of Bangkok called Yommarat. The community stretches along the railroad tracks for 3km or more. Like most of the slums and poor communities in this sprawling city, it’s only minutes from major shopping districts and tourist attractions. Occasionally, you do see a drifting foreigner stand at the street and peer curiously into this community. But there’s no welcome sign here. No access by car. And an attentive group of residents I like to refer to as the Neighborhood Watch.

Unlike the first location, here we don’t have the privilege of a neutral location to meet and teach. A quick glance across the tracks from where we’re teaching reminds you of the proximity of people, as you realize you’re looking into someone’s home. I don’t mean to paint a scary picture. If you make it past the Neighborhood Watch, you quickly realize most of the residents are poor, but very hard working. They rise early and return late from the streets and local markets where many sale something. You also notice the neighborhood is full of children. The two biggest groups seem to be the tiny kids wandering about and a loud pack of scrappy, mischievous boys. As in the other community, the kids all attend school, but may not have a chance to study English until they begin secondary school.

We begin our Sanuk My Saturday program teaching here at the end of February. Don’t forget you can donate to this project this month and receive a Big Fish book. I’m already sending books to California and Western Australia, so I’ll be glad to send a copy to anyone else donating $10 or more. Finally, to give you a real sense of the sound and fury of this new community, I have uploaded a rough–mostly unedited clip of me walking around. If you watch you will hear me asking questions about where the kids can play. That gets interrupted (wait until you see why). Next, they take me to see a pretty pitiful play area that the kids can use. The most interesting part, however, is all the people I pass on the way. Take a look below (or go to the video by clicking here):

“Dream Big. Work smart. Start Local.”

-Dwight

I own Bangkok.

Keep repeating that, replacing Bangkok with the community you live in.

I own [ _____ ].

I’ve renewed my perspective on ownership after hanging out at and visiting so many orphanages. Do you know what little you can claim as your own when you have thirty brothers and sisters? You better believe that when your bed is one of the twenty in a room, “mine” and “not yours” become the words kids hurl right before they throw fists. That’s because exerting ownership over something, changes our outlook. If you can’t relate to what it must be like to live with so many siblings, then you’re from the same privileged background as me, where we learn to own a lot of stuff, but only exert passionate ownership over a few things.

“When your bed is one of twenty in a room, ‘mine’ and ‘not yours’ are fighting words.”

It’s time to operate in the entitlement that ownership of our community brings. This means changing the way we perceive and aim to solve problems. I will always remember driving through downtown Atlanta and among the litter and debris that had accumulated in the gutter was a chunk of cardboard that read:

Another Atlanta Mess

I laughed. But now I realize that it’s not enough to only see problems. We need to claim responsibility for problems in our communities and most importantly, we MUST see ourselves as powerful. In Bangkok, Another Atlanta Mess is the equivalent of the saying, This is Thailand. Sure, it’s our favorite way to curse the air and nod in agreement that surely every deity and monk in the nearby temple must hate us for things to have gone wrong so well. BUT the commonality in both phrases is the implied sense of impotence we concede to every time we mutter them.

Did you forget I own Bangkok?

I am not impotent. I can’t accept the This is Thailand mentality and mire in the belief that the color of my skin or the color of my passport disqualifies me as an agent of change.

No. Street begging elephants aren’t ok with me.

“I can’t accept the ‘this is Thailand’ mentality and mire in the belief that the color of my skin or the color of my passport disqualifies me.”

No. Losing count of the number of sex workers you pass walking home is not just part of the normal daily routine.

No. I won’t be satisfied until the same little boy I see so often bent in half clutching a 7-11 cup has a better option than begging in the rain.

How have we been numbed to those hurting in our communities? Are we so afraid of responsibility that a global crisis won’t move us as quickly as a facebook status update?

To be effective leaders we have to own and teach each other to take ownership of our communities.

I own [ _____ ].

Claim it and unite with others doing the same.

Where is your city? Where is your community? Wake up, take ownership and throw your hand in.

~Dwight

Social entrepreneurship has a home on many websites on the web, so why are entrepreneurs still sleeping outside? If we really believe they have a role to play in changing development and reforming how we conceptualize philanthropy, then we have to respond to the dangers of being internet homeless.

Can you spare some change?

I mean it’s cold out and I can’t even buy a retweet.

Do you know what it’s like trying to keep these ideas for change warm while you walk by overlooking me?!

Enough is enough.

LISTEN UP! Hands off the keyboard and where I can see them.

You MUST create a place where our community can thrive.

Don’t allow change to be held hostage. Here are my demands:

• Balance Content with Community – If we really wanted to encourage good, we would not only equip people with great content, but balance it with peer to peer interaction. Writing a blog and inviting users to comment does not constitute a discussion. We need more dynamic content shaped with and for the participants. This means creating places where people can meet, collaborate and complain.  Instead, the over emphasis on content leaves us buried in reading and hurting for connections with fellow change makers.

• Let Me Plug & Play – We’re social entrepreneurs. Why isn’t it easier to plug into your site and promote what I’m already doing offline? There should be a framework we can use to celebrate our ideas, discuss our cause, and utilize tools to better our enterprises. Furthermore, sites should be more social media friendly. We have blogs, the obligatory facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube, and endless other accounts we can’t remember we signed up for. Remember entrepreneur is also slang for over-worked. Updating all of that, enacting a business plan that saves the world, and transferring our content to your site isn’t realistic.

• Be Less Trendy & More Practical – Everything trendy is not helpful. I’m all for promoting social entrepreneurship, but we have to evaluate and balance the content we’re publishing. Why is there so little content that gets us from point A to B? We can’t overlook the process. I’m sure I’d get internet famous if only wrote blogs with titles like, “Top 10 Books on Social Entrepreneurship” or “Top Reasons To Spend Your Startup Budget on a Flight to Our Conference.” Sure the site gets traffic, but I’m not any closer to finding funding for my project or bringing my design to the market. Nope. How can I progress when most of my resources are telling me, “What you’re doing is cute, but read the required reading and pay to come to our conference—THEN you can be one of us.” As strongly as we promote the field, we should be making sure we’re ready to nurture newcomers by helping them understand the process required to make their social venture successful and ushering them into the community mentioned above.

• Keep It Real–Real Inclusive – People who are successful already are NOT the only ones who deserve your attention. Focusing only on success stories neglects that we’re a motley crew of everything from PhDs to wikipedia degrees and doesn’t necessarily reflect all the realities of entrepreneurship. Sometimes being an entrepreneur sucks. Who can you expect to help when you can only grasp the puffs of lint in your pocket and the smell of ramen makes you nauseated? We should be honest about struggles and failures as much as we flaunt the triumphs. When you make a place for people to be honest about their experience, your online community will thrive.

Spare change. Don’t let “friendly little startups” like mine, turn into “friendly little stickups.” Help us change the world and I promise nobody will get hurt.

~Dwight

“A social entrepreneur? Is that what you call business people with good hearts?”

Philanthropy is changing so quickly that it has outpaced the terms used to describe it. I spend a lot of time advising people on how to be a part of social change. This includes explaining to them that a complete grasp of all the terms thrown around by professors and NGOs aren’t required to be a part of this movement. Assuring groups I speak to that, “You can trust me because I’m an expert.” I’m still learning to be a dramatic speaker. So I insert an extended pause after that statement for added stress (note: If you try this with your friends you’ll need to pause here for the laughter anyway). Then, I’ll adjust and readjust my glasses until I feel smart, and finally in my most enlightened voice add, “As a matter of fact, I got my degree in social change from Wikipedia.” I’ll look around to collect all the raised eyebrows and begin to explain why ALL of us –despite whether you think you’re qualified or not– are capable of transforming our communities.

The definitions according to Wikipedia:

• Philanthropy – Any altruistic activity intended to promote good or improve human quality of life (more).
• Social Entrepreneur – Someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change (more).

The importance lies not in the terms, but in how easily attainable they have become. Thus, for the School of Wikipedia or the School of Hard Knocks, I highlight the following:

You have a role. If you don’t know what that role is then you’re like the majority of us. What makes you thrilling is not having it all figured out. Change makers are the ones actively pursuing their roles and encouraging others to do the same.

These concepts are not new. However, new technology is now able to connect people around the world who are working for social change. So what do we call it? We’re not sure yet because the words we use to describe them are still being created. Many “experts” make frequent visits to wikipedia to look them up too!

Same-Same, But Different. There are those studying social entrepreneurship at top business schools. Others are barefoot in places you can’t pronounce making these principles happen. I’m somewhere in the middle with my degree from Wikipedia and heart to serve. Regardless of where you are, we need a combined effort where none of these is better than the other.

“We’re going to need a new generation of citizen leaders willing to commit ourselves to growing, and changing, and learning as rapidly as possible.” – Katherine Fulton

As we continue the discussion on creating change around us, look at the lecture below from Katherine Fulton who goes into greater detail about the evolution of philanthropy. For those who already define yourselves as philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and change makers, take heed: Be broad. When possible, speak plainly and work together. Nurture the community by helping people define their roles and contribute.

~Dwight

The Community is Growing – Through the internet, travel, and your help spreading the word we’re gradually growing. Please get involved no matter where you are by joining us on facebook or by sharing great content on twitter. If you have written or done something that fits here please contact us so we can share.

Splintering Your Brand – The conclusion of this series is coming up, where I’ll give some simple, practical tips to help in your project management. As a bonus, I’ll be sharing an interview with Tom Potisit of the Global Expedition for the World’s Greatest King. After flying around the world Tom recently held an exhibition to sale his photographs. Hear how his project developed and how he’ll use the money he raised to reinvest into his country.

Microphilanthropy – Before the end of the month I plan to announce our own microphilanthropy project. This means we will be directly helping people and reporting the results here. Donations will be accepted on the website (tax-deductible for US residents). This project will be our own version of the 100 Friends project. This is a big step and we’ll need you to play a role.

The Urban Garden Project – This project is moving along. We have already raised about 6000b ($200 US) through our May charity tweetup event. The next big event is LUSH, a poolside dance party at the Fraser Suites Sukumvit on June 19th. We’ve had some obstacles overcoming the issue of limited space for making a garden accessible in community centers and slums. BUT we’re persistent and we’re engaging more people on this project to find a way to make it happen (If it was easy, someone would have already done it).

Washington Leadership Academy – I’m speaking next week in Bangkok to encourage students to get active helping people. In addition to my lecture they’ll visit the UN and some other ngo’s and non profits. After a few days they’ll have a chance to put what they’ve learned in action and I’ll tag along for their projects outside the city. Should be fun and I will report back more to let you know how it goes.

“Dream big, work smart, start local.”

~Dwight