TED Community » dany masado

More About Me

I'm passionate about

dance, marathons, medicine, social change. languages, broadway, random knowledge

An idea worth spreading

Peace is not the absence of war, peace cannot be achieved without justice

Talk to me about

anything you find interesting. I love knowledge for knowledge's sake. If that fails, talk to me about how I can improve myself and improve the world. I find happiness in the happiness of others

People don't know that I'm good at

singing, sewing.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +63.60 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A reply on Conversation: The Kony 2012 Controversy: Does this discussion apply?

  Mar 16 2013: I agree with you Marquis, that campaign was pure marqueting genius and while we were busy branding it as slacktivism, we should have been studying how they did it and why people responded so much. Other non-profits could learn from it, though they might want to avoid the white savior complex that reeked in the video
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong

  Mar 16 2013: I understand what you mean by that but having been raised in a collectivist society, saving myself or choosing myself is not separate from caring for my family or for the world. I couldn't be happy if I didn't have enough money to take care of my family, nor could I be happy if I didn't work hard to ameliorate the world in which my future children will be born. And quite honestly, my wanting to save the world isn't as noble as it sounds, given that I do it because it gives me a sense of purpose, despite the guilt aforementioned in my first comment
• +7

  A comment on Talk: Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong

  Mar 11 2013: This talk seems to say everything that I have been facing as a young woman with a background in global public health, who is dedicated to designing poverty alleviation projects. Having grown up in Cameroon, Africa, I had that upbringing where we are told we are responsible for one another and must take care of one another. For me this meant going to medical school so I get a high salary job and take care of my family. Unfortunately, I went in the direction of public health because I derived my sense of purpose in addressing poverty and social injustice. Everyday I struggle to justify my choice because the non-profit world does not pay as much as medicine would have paid me. I struggle to justify whether I did the right thing in investing my energy caring for the world rather than caring for just my family. The economic sacrifice of working in the nonprofit world makes me feel so guilty because my family could be better off, and yet I cannot think of another way to use my skills because I feel a sense of purpose and a sense of mutual responsibility for my fellow humans. I couldn't stop with my activism if I tried, because I think about social injustice the way most people think about their favorite team's stats or their favorite celebrity's latest antics.
  What's a girl to do?
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!

  Jan 22 2013: I'm denying that hygiene promotion is effective, I'm merely pointing out the fact that as a public health trained activist, I went to Ghana believing that the studies I had read for my research papers provided me with a fairly accurate picture of the state of water and sanitation in developing countries. My stay in that region of Ghana quickly taught me how important it was for me to listen to the community. People were aware they needed to drink clean water, they need to filter or boil their water, and needed to wash their hands. But what good was all of that education if the boreholes and pumps in the village were locked, firewood was scarce, as was the water during the dry season. It didn't matter how much they knew about good hygiene if they lacked the resources. When I went to Kenya on the other hand, the community where I worked did need a combination of education and provision of resources.
  So the lesson remains to listen to those you wish to help. And more precisely for me, it's important to listen with humility and respect without patronizing the people
• +5

  A comment on Talk: Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!

  Jan 16 2013: This is by far one of the best TED talks I've watched to date. It resonates with me both as an activist and as an African girl because I myself, have committed those same stupidities while wanting to help my own people. I recently traveled to Ghana for research on water and sanitation, and I went with the firm belief that I would teach my people that clean water is good, teach them how to filter that water. Turns out that education on clean water wasn't what they needed, it was resources to clean water, it was access to clean water that they needed. It was a wake up call, a dose of humility for my own "diaspora savior complex". This talk is everything for me because it encapsulates the metamorphosis of my activism, and I'd like to think that I'm better for it, and still learning

• A reply on Conversation: can we reform the discussion surrounding gender inequality?

  Jul 5 2012: Michel, if you read the short paragraph introducing this conversation, you will notice that I did point out there are issues that men are facing which don't get enough spotlight, and this is why I welcome people to engage in a conversation where these issues can be addressed. I am glad you are remind us to give attention to the other side too
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  A reply on Conversation: can we reform the discussion surrounding gender inequality?

  Jul 5 2012: very well said Debra. This is the reason why I asked what we will tell both our sons and daughters when in the adult world, we are pitching one gender against the other. Remembering that we might have children of both genders helps put in perspective the pressing need to acknowledge issues from both sides

• A reply on Conversation: can we reform the discussion surrounding gender inequality?

  Jul 4 2012: David, I think you make a valid point, especially in reference to the fact that all men are required to register for the draft, which women don't have to do. The graduation rate for women is much higher, but nobody sees this as alarming because it indicates progress in the women's empowerment movement. We do need to be able to address men's issues as well as women, avoid dismissing either gender's problem under the idea that either one has it worse. domestic violence is still a problem so is rape (no matter that the rates are down, they could be better). however, I also see a bias in the way rape is addressed in that there isn't enough coverage on male rape (especially in the military). Wasn't it recently that the definition of rape was changed to include males too? I think that is grounds for dicussion
• +3

  A reply on Conversation: can we reform the discussion surrounding gender inequality?

  Jul 4 2012: Noah does have a great point though. We do need to really define what we mean by equality. We often say that there is an undeniable bias toward males in the top positions, yet nobody seems to point out the fact that Another thing to point out is that men have the highest percentage of job related injuries or fatalities, not counting the obvious life expectancy difference. Do we attribute this to gender inequality too, or do we simply say that it's the way things are?

• A reply on Conversation: can we reform the discussion surrounding gender inequality?

  Jul 1 2012: I am so glad that you are raising your children do defy the stereotypes, to simply be who they want to be, outside of gender role restrictions. I also wholeheartedly agree with you that the media does tend to sensationalize the negative rather than give us more positivity. It would indeed help to have a little hope that things are on their way up