Women's New Love - Motorcycles

On a hot June day in late 2010, we were in North Carolina camping at Stone Mountain and spending our days exploring the many beautiful miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I remember driving the twisting and turning roads, the amazing views from the overlooks and the at least 75 year-old woman on a bright yellow Harley Davidson 3-wheel trike motorcycle possessing with the biggest smile I've ever seen.  Her white hair was peeking out from under her matching yellow helmet and blowing in the wind.  No she wasn't on the back of the bike in the "B" seat.  She was driving this machine all on her own.

I wish now I could have snapped a photo of her to blow up and put on my refrigerator for inspiration. Empowering for women and also empowering for those of us gaining in age.  Granted our reflexes and motor skills decline as we age which is why Harley Davidson was genius to add the three-wheel trike back to their repertoire in 2009.  All I could think the rest of our trip was I want to be just like that woman when I get her age.  Brave and adventurous.  The body might slow down but there are work arounds that can keep you out there.  You just have to look for them.

Twenty years ago a woman having her own motorcycle was rare.  Though I knew one or two, now it's much more common place.   They now estimate that 1 out of 10 motorcycle owners are women.  Women-only riding clubs have been in place for 30 years but have seen an increase in growth of members and new clubs joining their ranks.

Harley Davidson has now been offering training and safety tips for women and provides a "No Doubts, No Cages" campaign directed for them.  Motorcycle equipment and clothing manufacturers are quickly jumping on the bandwagon with items tailored to women.

An exciting change, one I hope to join in the ranks in the next few years.  As much as I love to ride on the back of a bike, I get excited when I see women riding alone on a big Harley (or other motorcycle) with their hair whipping in the wind.    Plus, I won't be dependent on  my husband to be home so we can ride together.  Two wheels have always meant freedom for me.  At first as a bicycle and later I found it on the back of a motorcycle.  I imagine being in the driver's seat of a bike is even better.

From my cycling groups, I have found the power of women in groups such as this to be amazingly supportive and fun.  Like-minded gals all out for a great time and help each other out.  Sometimes, us girls need to just stick together.

Plus, There is nothing quite like a warm summer evening where you are roaring down a road into the sunset with the wind in your hair (from under your helmet!).  Pure and utter freedom at that moment.

For me, it's my own Zen.

 

Rest and Relax a little...

Fraud by Any Other Name

Indian generic drug-maker Ranbaxy Laboratories recently pleaded guilty to seven federal criminal counts of selling adulterated drugs with intent to defraud, failing to report that its drugs didn't meet specifications, and making intentionally false statements to the government.

As part of the proceedings in Baltimore federal court Monday morning, a whistleblower lawsuit against Ranbaxy was also unsealed. The company will pay a total of $500 million in criminal and civil penalties to resolve the criminal case and the whistleblower suit.

Ranbaxy has been grappling with quality issues for years. In 2008, the Food & Drug Administration took a highly unusual step, barring the importation of 30 drugs from two of Ranbaxy's plants in India. The FDA slapped the company with what's called an "Application Integrity Policy," halting the review of new drug applications from one of the company's Indian facilities until Ranbaxy proved its truthfulness.

The U.S. Department of Justice added more restrictions in January 2012, when it placed Ranbaxy under a sweeping consent decree. This time Ranbaxy was barred from selling drugs in the U.S. that were made at several of its Indian plants until the quality could be verified. The Justice Department also required the company to undergo independent auditing.

Despite the ongoing regulatory and legal travails, in November 2011, the FDA allowed Ranbaxy to proceed with exclusive first rights to sell a generic version of the anti-cholesterol medication Lipitor. One year later, Ranbaxy recalled 41 lots of generic Lipitor after glass particles were found inside them. In March of this year, the FDA permitted Ranbaxy to resume sales of the drug and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs recently signed a large contract to buy the Ranbaxy drug, according to a company insider.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (BSE: 500359) is an Indian pharmaceutical company that was incorporated in India in 1961. The company went public in 1973 and Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo gained majority control in 2008.  Ranbaxy exports its products to 125 countries with ground operations in 43 and manufacturing facilities in eight countries.  In 2011, Ranbaxy Global Consumer Health Care received the OTC Company of the year award.

Ranbaxy was started by Ranbir Singh and Gurbax Singh in 1937 as a distributor for a Japanese company Shionogi. The name Ranbaxy is a portmanteau of the names of its first owners Ranbir and Gurbax. Bhai Mohan Singh bought the company in 1952 from his cousins Ranbir and Gurbax.

Verbal Abuse and Double Standards

 

The woman hired to clean up Rutgers' scandal-scarred athletic program quit as Tennessee's women's volleyball coach 16 years ago after her players submitted a letter complaining she ruled through humiliation, fear and emotional abuse, The Star-Ledger reported Saturday night on its website.

 

"The mental cruelty that we as a team have suffered is unbearable," the players wrote about Julie Hermann, hired May 15 as Rutgers' athletic director after serving as the No. 2 athletic administrator at Louisville.

In the letter submitted by all 15 team members, the players said Hermann called them "whores, alcoholics and learning disabled" and they wrote: "It has been unanimously decided that this is an irreconcilable issue." The players told The Star-Ledger that Hermann absorbed the words and said: "I choose not to coach you guys."

The 49-year-old Hermann, set to take over the Rutgers' program June 17, told The Star-Ledger she didn't remember the letter. The newspaper said when it was read to her by phone Wednesday, she replied, "Wow."   Read more:

It is very easy for a person in a leadership to have a mental attitude of:  “Do as I say, not as I do.”  And, while I am not a psychiatrist, I would venture to say that this behavior was learned/acquired at a very early age by our parent who learned/acquired it from their parents, so forth and so on…

Whether correct or not, this technique of mental abuse has been used over and over and over again in military boot camps and afterwards; in high school, college, and professional sports; and, in our businesses.  It has been used in Law Enforcement as well as in Fire Departments as a motivation methodology; but, does that justify its usage?  It has been rumored for many years that if anyone “speaks out” against this approach that they will be subject to charges of insubordination leading up to and including termination.

Interestingly, General Patton, used this technique and the hatred his men had for him as a result of this abuse, to unite his troops into accomplishing the seemingly impossible time and time again.  He was referred to as “blood and guts” Patton but he achieved results that pleased his superiors.

Is verbal abuse something we need to change for our current and future generations or should we live by:  “If you cannot stand the heat, you need to get out of the kitchen?”

Useless Auto Styling Trends

Recently a new car came into our family which required many, many hours at different dealerships and perusing numerous models and makes of vehicles.  As I strolled among the shiny new cars, I noticed some items that made me stop and think why?  I was relieved to find an article that also touted these same things in Popular Mechanics and was vindicated in my confusion.

Fake fender vents.  These haven't been needed since the 1970's and look out of place.

Automatic "shifters".  When the new Chevy Camaro came out, I was so excited.  I love muscle cars and thought Chevy did a great job in the look of the new Camaro.  My excitement was dampened when I found out the one I was drooling over was a V6 and had an automatic transmission.  The shifter does indeed give one the illusion that you are getting a manual transmission.  There is just something not as exciting about pushing a "+" or a "-" on the shifter while in "manual" mode.   I was relieved to hear you can order one in with a manual transmission and a real clutch.

What is with the oversized grilles?  Ford has entire lines that look as if they are aliens ready to eat you at a moment's notice.  Modern cooling systems don't require such a frightening appearance.  F-150 trucks have more chrome on the grille than a 1957 Ford. 

The last two items brought to light was the tail lights which was felt to have been stuck in a time warp as well as interior lighting of the vehicle and daytime running lights.  I had a hard enough time adjusting from the automatic headlights in my truck back to the old-fashioned ones I have to manually turn on in my car.  I'll concede that one to the experts. 

Hump Day Art

Time for a break slick...

If You Want to Dance, You Have to Pay the Band

Yahoo is eyeing the one social network it can afford that would make it feel young again.

The company is considering buying Tumblr, according to two separate reports on AllThingsD and Adweek. UPDATE: The deal was made official on Monday.

AllThingsD reports that Yahoo would consider an investment or corporate alliance in addition to outright buying all the Tumblogs; Adweek is more confident, stating that "Yahoo is in serious talks" to buy Tumblr. Both cite a valuation of $1 billion. The site, known for cat GIFs and amateur porn, expects to turn its first profit this year.

And so another social network that hasn't proven profitable might earning a 10-figure buy. It seems it's become an annual tradition. If you'll recall, Facebook scooped up Instagram in 2012 in a deal that at the time was worth $1 billion, although ultimately worked out to $736.5 million, after the company's stock dropped.

What's up?

It's the need for the young.

Tumblr may be Yahoo's best shot at gaining an audience of young people.

The aging tech company, which Marissa Mayer took over as CEO to much fanfare last year, is struggling to attract web users in their teens and 20s while it holds onto an older audience tethered to the company with 90s and early-aughts-era email accounts. Though Yahoo itself doesn't offer solid numbers, the app Hunch estimated in 2011 that 42 percent of Yahoo email users are between 35 and 64. Only 27 percent of Gmail users are in that age bracket.

Yahoo is missing the the sweet-spot demographic of 24- to 35-year-olds that advertisers climb over each other to get. And it certainly is missing teens, the young adults of the future that brands also spend lots of money to impress.

Brand Demise

Recently 24/7 Wall St. has predicted ten brands that will disappear in 2014.  Reading the list, some make sense.  Martha Stewart Living Magazine - Really, Martha, who has time or resources to raise their own speciality chickens, grow various plants for natural dyes to make the most fabulous Easter eggs for the holidays?  The exhausted public just goes to Wal-Mart and grabs a box of PAAS and goes on with their day.  Few of us have the ability to hire staff to look after our prize chickens.

Nook - Makes sense, tablets are overtaking e-readers as they offer much more functionality.  Amazon and Apple are taking over this market.  I for one am a convert to a tablet.  Much more convenient than a laptop and am a complete application junkie.  When they get an app that can make me breakfast, I'll be in heaven.

There were others but the one that stood out to me was J.C. Penney which saddens but doesn't surprise me.  As a lifelong customer of Penney's, I was disappointed when they went to the new pricing scheme.  Penneys is not Apple.  The store does not possess a product unique to them so trying to give it that feel, backfired.  The monthly glossy book like catalogues advertising their deals did not entice me even when they color-coordinated the pages.  I was flipping through it looking for the coupons that I loved so much.  After two months, the advertisements went into the recycling without so much as a peek from me.  It is no surprise that Penney's losses are in the billions.  I haven't shopped there but twice since they changed.

Before they started redoing the store interiors to appear more trendy and posh such as hanging black chandeliers over certain women's fashions as if the set of Twilight had just been brought forth, the store was always teeming with customers.  It was a challenge to find a register without a line (I figured out that one back in women's intimates usually was the best bet).  I did almost all my shopping for clothes and household items at this very store.  Now admist the bright lights and the new makeup counters with their gleaming white marble floors, it's a ghost town.  No one is in Penney's.  Oh and why did they turn up the heat in every Penney's I've been into in the last year?  Are they trying to save on A/C or is that some other type of gimmick that they figure will entice you to buy what?  Fans?

Penney's offered lower-middle income families affordable products that were of better quality than the massive retailers.  We can't afford Macy's and their designers especially in this economy but we don't want to go to the other end of the spectrum and buy cheaply made clothes from a discount house that fall apart in a few months.  I'm cheap but I like good quality.  Penney's was the middle of the road for me.  Maybe the coupons and the sales didn't save me much more than the current pricing method (though I swear it did), but I perceived it as a big savings.  Wow, I save $125.32! as it used to say on the bottom of my receipt.  So now I go to Kohls which send me coupons almost every day and when I do, I pass the mall and look upon it wistfully, hoping against hope that the powers that be at my former favorite clothing store, finally wakes up and smells the coffee or the profit losses at least.

I for one hope they can save Penney's and put it back to rights.  Take down those looming black chandeliers and rip out the bright makeup counters.  If I wanted fancy, I'd head to Macy's or Elder Beerman but I just wanted practical.

Students Help Washington Get Wealthy

Congressional Democrats have pounced on a nonpartisan government report showing the Department of Education this year is forecast to earn a record $51 billion profit off student borrowers, denouncing the Obama administration and urging for structural reforms.

Members of the House of Representatives including George Miller (D-Calif.), John Tierney (D-Mass.) and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) cited news reports in The Huffington Post that highlighted the Tuesday estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, which showed that the Education Department was forecast to report higher earnings this year than Exxon Mobil and nearly as high as those of the four biggest U.S. banks by assets combined.

"We don't see students or their parents as profit centers, and we don't think it's an appropriate concept to be acting like a market-driven bank here," Tierney said.

Miller criticized a policy that is leading to "immense profit being extracted from students and families that are struggling."

The critical comments have alarmed policymakers in the Obama administration, who along with lawmakers are racing to avert a scheduled doubling of interest rates on some new federal student loans that is set to occur on July 1.

The House Education Committee on Thursday approved Republican-led legislation that would tie student loan interest rates to the U.S. government’s borrowing costs. Two Democrats voted for the bill. The full House is expected to vote on the measure soon, as rates on subsidized Stafford loans for future borrowers are scheduled to double to 6.8 percent.

Typical College Student...

“While we welcome action by the House on student loans, we have concerns," the White House said in a statement.

Some Republican senators have introduced similar legislation, as has the White House. President Barack Obama’s plan, however, features lower rates than the House Republicans’ plan, though unlike the Republicans’ plan it does not cap interest rates in case the U.S. government’s borrowing costs rapidly increase.  Read more: 

Female Viagra?

Since Pfizer came out with Viagara in 1998, the hunt for the female equivalent in a pill has in full force; however, the same principle that the little blue pill operates under, increasing blood flow to a vital area for the male, does not work in the same way for a woman.  A condition referred to as H.S.D.D or hypoactive sexual-desire disorder affect 10-30% of women in the age range of 20 to 60.

Supposedly this pill, Lybrido (now seeking FDA approval in the U.S) is to target "the psyche" and not the physical body of the woman to increase sexual desire.  Monogamy is one touted to be one of the major causes of H.S.D.D. or in other words, boredom with the same partner for the long-term.  This brings out the age old question if humans are really "programmed" for a monogamous relationship.   There are arguments for both side of the coin.

Advocates for the pill feel that it could help flailing monogamous relationships especially where the woman feels she is not holding up her end of the bargain or is discouraged by her lack of sex drive.  While medical issues for a low sex-drive should be checked prior to handing out a "magic pill", it could actually help save marriages.

There are those who feel that it will put undue pressure on women to "perform" and make it "wrong" to not have a sex drive.  Not every woman wished for an active sex drive.  There are also people who wonder that if the sex drive is awakened in women who have lived with H.S.D.D for years that it may spike an infidelity trend such as Viagara did especially when the pill first came on the market.

As with everything, there is positives and negatives.  For some this pill may be the answer to save or improve their marriage while for other women, it may just be another pressure to be more sexually active than they desire.  Also that it will put all the pressure on women to "fix" the sexual part of the relationship.   Though it will be interesting to learn the clinical trial results and delve further into the science of how this pill works.  What will the side effects be and long term effects?

Stay tuned...

Remembering

According to The Free Online Dictionary by Farlex, remembering is as follows:

re·mem·ber 

1. v. re·mem·bered, re·mem·ber·ing, re·mem·bers

a. To recall to the mind with effort; think of again: I finally remembered the address.
b. To recall or become aware of suddenly or spontaneously: Then I remembered that today is your birthday.
2. To retain in the memory: Remember your appointment.
3. To keep (someone) in mind as worthy of consideration or recognition.
4. To reward with a gift or tip.
5. To give greetings from: Remember me to your family.
6. Engineering To return to (an original shape or form) after being deformed or altered.
7. Electronics To carry out (a programmed or preset activity).
8. Archaic To remind.
v.intr. - To have or use the power of memory.

 

How easy is it to break it down into 8 different types of definitions when in reality remembering is not that easy at all.

·       It is not easy for a mother who has lost a child.

 

      ·       It is not easy for a spouse who has lost a spouse.

      ·       It is not easy for someone who has lost a dear friend.

And, while we all logically know, this is something we must get beyond, it is still not easy, especially since grief and mourning is different for each and every one of us.  But, what about those who we have lost that we don’t know. 

Do we grieve or mourn for them?

And, what about those in a foreign land that we have lost…

Do we grieve or mourn for them?

Can we or should we mourn or grieve for everyone?  Because, there are people, old and young, dying all the time in India, Pakistan, South Africa, and in South America either from poverty, starvation, disease, and who lack the basic necessities of life that we, as Americans, take for granted every day, as we mourn the loss of loved ones or those who died so needlessly by someone who was deranged or who did not share our same values.

Should we grieve and mourn for all those people outside our boarders and send them financial tributes of empathy when we cannot take care of our own or put our citizens at risk because we did not upgrade infrastructure like the bridge that recently collapsed?

·       Are these moral questions?

       ·       Are these ethical dilemmas?
       ·       Are they spiritual concerns?

And, am I asking the right questions here or is it simply one of values and more importantly how we value life as a human being and as a member of a species.  In our global society is it still possible to see life in a micro way or have we been forced into macro as a default of globalization?  What an interesting conundrum to say the least…

Perhaps, we should consider the importance of death and how it thins out the herd so that the many can survive.  But, it is not simply a survival of the fittest mentality because we grieve and mourn over healthy brave souls every day, even though this is no doubt true in other part of the world.

Still…  I cannot help but think that we are all the sons and daughters of Abraham, regardless of what name one ascribes to that individual because DNA traces us all back to one source.  So, it is members of our families for which we should be grieving and mourning, instead of just the ones who are closest to us.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May.  Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountains. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather on the designated day and put flowers on graves and renew contacts with kinfolk and others. There often is a religious service and a "dinner on the ground," the traditional term for a potluck meal in which people used to spread the dishes out on sheets or tablecloths on the grass. It is believed that this practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the "memorial day" idea.

To All OUR Readers

^{First of all, I want to thank all of you for stopping by to read and wonder as we were wondering too; and, as you may recall, my blog partner and lifelong friend Vic, died from complications of colon cancer after fighting it for several years.  It was then and still is a great loss to me as I am sure it is to his family and those who knew him both professionally and personally.  But life, with all due respects, goes on and must go on, especially for me and my decision to continue this blog.}

<sup>If you have not noticed it by now, in the upper right hand corner is a brief bio about Laura, a very good writer who I have asked to join us temporary and hopefully permanently if she can incorporate this into her busy life as a wife, mother, employee, and writer. 

Consequently, this blog will not just have a female perspective but she will incorporate her interests into our posts that will take this blog in many new, but positive directions.  And, at this point-in-time, I have no idea where that might be...

One of the selling points between Vic and I starting this blog over a year ago was the fact that we both wanted to be able to write about whatever it was that we wanted to write about...  and, that is exactly what we did - complete writing and editorial freedom.  Therefore, any writer that we ask to write for and with us must have those same freedoms as well.

I am asking you to welcome her aboard and comment on her writing as you did on mine when we first started.

Help us to make this a blog that we the writers want to write and you the reader want to read.

Thank you and I trust you are enjoying the Memorial Day Weekend.

Take care.</sup>

Sunday Funnies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote of the Week

"I hit the brakes and we went off,"

Sligh told reporters from a hospital, adding he

"saw the water approaching ... you hold on as tight as you can."



Dan Sligh and his wife were in their pickup truck on I-5 heading to a camping trip when the bridge before them disappeared in a "big puff of dust."

Sligh, his wife and another man in a different vehicle were dumped into the chilly waters of the Skagit River when the span collapsed. They were injured, but authorities said it appeared nobody was killed in the bridge failure that raised the question about the safety of aging spans.

Caturday

I'll leave when I'm damn

 

well ready to leave...

T. G. I. F.

Maybe a little shopping

is in order this weekend...

A Child's Garden of Grass

The haze surrounding Jimmy Carter’s

position on marijuana legalization has lifted.

Six months after the former president told a Georgia crowd he supported state efforts to legalize marijuana use, Carter told gathering in Atlanta on Friday he supported keeping weed illegal.

(PHOTOS: 9 pols who talked pot)

“I do not favor legalization,” Carter said, according to a statement from Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “We must do everything we can to discourage marijuana use, as we do now with tobacco and excessive drinking.”

SAM, as the group is known, was founded by conservative writer David Frum and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.). The group opposes legalizing weed, but supports arresting users and sending them to treatment rather than jail.

(Also on POLITICO: Illinois Senate OKs medical marijuana bill)

Carter’s tune was different in December, when it was widely reported he had backed Washington state and Colorado’s decision to allow residents to legally buy and grow the drug.

“I’m in favor of it. I think it’s OK,” Carter said then. “I don’t think it’s going to happen in Georgia yet, but I think we can watch and see what happens in the state of Washington for instance around Seattle and let the American government and let the American people see does it cause a serious problem or not.”

(PHOTOS: Presidents and their spouses)

In his speech Friday, Carter was more cautious about what could happen in Colorado and Washington.

“There should be no advertising for marijuana in any circumstances and no driving under the influence,” he said. “We need to avoid the use of marijuana, particularly among young people.”

One thing is clear: Carter has long favored the decriminalization of marijuana. While still in office in 1979, he called for the drug’s decriminalization. His office echoed that position in a statement to POLITICO in December.     Read more:

Birthplace of Democracy

Greek Parliment

A Greek parliamentary session was the scene of a contentious debate between rival political parties on Friday, ending in the ejection of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn MP Panagiotis Iliopoulos amid shouts of "Heil Hitler."

Iliopoulos was ordered out of the session after insulting members of the leftist Syriza party, according to Greek news site Ekathimerini.

Despite repeated warnings, Iliopoulos continued his verbal abuse, calling his colleagues "goats," "scoundrels," and "wretched people," according to Euronews. Security was called to forcibly eject the controversial politician, the site reported.

Several cries of "Heil Hitler" are audible in a video of the scrum (above). It is still unclear who exactly led the offensive cheers.

State-run Athens News Agency claimed Golden Dawn parliament spokesperson Christos Pappas uttered the words, according to Agence France-Presse. Golden Dawn denied the accusation, though Pappas has praised Adolf Hitler in the past.

Ekathimerini, citing "Parliament's minutes," claimed it was actually Syriza MP Christos Pantzas who first referenced the Nazi leader. The Syriza party was quick to condemn the jeering while also blaming Golden Dawn for the incident.

"For the second time this week we hear Hitler being glorified inside parliament by Golden Dawn MPs," Syriza MP Stavros Kontonis told Euronews. "It's strange the fact that in order to distance themselves from praising Hitler in a provocative way, they claimed it was me who uttered this phrase ironically. But this is refuted by their own evidence."

In June of 2012, Golden Dawn captured 18 seats in the Greek parlaiment, stunning Europe with its successful anti-immigrant platform. Earlier this week, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights stated that Greece had the legal right to ban the party as part of a push to crack down on the country's rise in hate crimes targeting immigrants, the Associated Press reported.

To watch video click here… 

Bring People Out of Poverty

In 2001, a social enterprise was started in Cambodia called Digital Divide Data (DDD). Shortly after, they hired a young man named Kunthy Kann. Kunthy, the son of a very poor family, grew up in a rural area of Cambodia. Through his hard work and perseverance, he graduated from high school and enrolled in a computer-skills training program. He showed potential doing basic work with data, so we gave him additional responsibilities and helped him get a bachelors degree.

In 2003, he participated in our company's management training program where his final project was to write a business plan for a new office. When he finished, he opened a DDD office in Battambang, Cambodia's second-largest city. Kunthy rapidly grew the business to become a profitable operation employing 100 people. Later, he came back to Phnom Penh to lead operations, managing a 300-person staff in the largest technology-related business in the country.

For people living in poverty, any kind of paid work enables them buy food for their families, pay for housing and school fees, and access medical care. And work creates an essential sense of dignity that comes with self-sufficiency.

And the fact that these new digital jobs allow very poor people ways to earn additional income has the potential to change lives. However, if paid work is only a short-term project, people may end up in the same situation in which they started. In addition, ongoing work that does not provide opportunities to build knowledge and skills does little to unleash individuals' long-term success and the opportunity for economic growth in the community.

Last week at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, the Rockefeller Foundation announced a new initiative to create digital jobs in Africa with an extraordinary commitment of nearly $100 million. This is unprecedented news, due to the 21st-century employment opportunities that will be created in countries where technology is a critical lever for development, as well as the set of private and public sector partners the Rockefeller Foundation has engaged to ensure this contribution will have a transformative impact.

With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, a Business Process Outsourcing operation in Nairobi, Kenya was established in 2011. Using a model called Impact Sourcing, they currently employ 250 staff, including over 200 youth from slum areas. The Rockefeller Foundation has committed to scaling the Impact Sourcing model. Creating value for clients and changing lives is seen in a short video that was produced with the support of the Sundance Institute.

DDD uses a model of Impact Sourcing that supports the personal development of every employee. While working at DDD, data management operators like Kunthy have the opportunity to study and earn a degree. The staff builds professional skills and enables the business to do value-added work for clients like Ancestry.com and Stanford University. And, this investment in human potential has a transformative effect, not only for individuals, but also for their families and communities.  employees start to plan for professional careers and also can afford to send their siblings and their children to school. Because technology skills are transferrable and in demand, this ripple effect not only contributes to DDD's success as a business, but is also a critical investment in the local economy.

The founder of DDD, Jeremy Hockenstein, says this:

“I believe that our model is only one way to empower people on a path out of poverty through digital work. Indeed, we're continually working to strengthen our approach. However, I'm convinced that using digital work as a means to bring people out of poverty is not just about providing work opportunities for the poor. There must also be a path for individual development -- and real demonstrable outcomes -- if we are serious about ending poverty.”