SLO TV

I recently came across this story from Zimbabwe while listening to an ABC podcast about grandmother’s, mental health and the friendship bench.  Having benefitted from access to counselling when going through my own difficult times a few years back it struck a cord. Inspiring and a reminder of the ingenuity and strength of local solutions. From very small beginnings the friendship bench has been exported to Kenya, Botswana, Malawi, Zanzibar and perhaps surprisingly, New York City. I'd recommend you spend a few minutes listening and watching Founder and CEO Dixon Chibanda explain the why and how behind Friendship Bench and, when you are done, to have a think about how you could make a place for a bench in your company's community health programme.

I think this was the first TED I ever watched. It shows the power of turning numbers into information with passion and pictures, something I wish I was much better at!

An entertaining talk with a serious message about the unintended consequences of good intentions underpinned by preconceived ideas...

Sharing the benefits that mining can generate as fairly and locally as possible is one of the keys to building good relationships with local communities. The big question is: What does 'fair' look like? You may be surprised.

Some interesting insights into perspective...

Interesting similarities between actionable items in Afghanistan and the common themes we see influencing relationships between companies and communities.

The answers are not always as obvious as they may at first appear.