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A Social Entrepreneur's Defense of Simple Solutions
byTemie Giwa-Tubosun, Ifeoluwa Olokode, and Aisha Abiola - MIT Solve
in Society, Tech
This article is part of a media partnership with MIT Solve and was first published here.
Social entrepreneurs Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Ifeoluwa Olokode, and Aisha Abiola explain how simple solutions, expanding on through the use of technology, really can be the answer.
For 800 years, the people of Viganella, a small village in the Italian Alps, went without sunshine for 84 consecutive days every winter. The surrounding mountains blocked sunlight from getting into the village center, so for more than three months each year, residents lived in extreme cold and darkness, and the village center was often bereft of activity as residents stayed home to keep warm.
That was until 2006 when someone came up with the idea to strategically place mirrors to reflect light into the village. Unsurprisingly, this idea was first met with skepticism. Could the solution to this centuries-old problem be that simple? The answer is yes. Today, a simple solution ensures sunlight falls on Viganella every day of the year.
For a solution to succeed, it must seriously consider the current realities of a specific situation, begin with a simple idea, and then expand that idea through the use of technology. In Viganella, the realities were: residents wanted a long-term solution that gave them sunlight, but as a small village, they had limited resources.
Stakeholders had to consider the fact that few alternate lighting sources could provide the benefits of the sun: light, heat, human connection, and joy. Yet as the sun's position changes throughout the day, this simple mirror solution had to go one step further.
Sponsors invested €100,000, producing a 40-square-meter mirror controlled by heliostat technology, which uses geolocation data and automated motors to change the mirror's orientation to track the sun's movement. The result? A mirror in constant alignment with the sun to reflect the best possible light into the village.
This same solution framework applies to communities and countries around the world. Consider the development of mobile money in Africa, made popular by Safaricom's M-Pesa product. Before mobile money, people in countries like Ghana and Uganda transferred phone airtime credit as a means to send payment. These credits could be used by the recipient or resold—enabling people with modest feature phones and 2G technology to send money without traditional banks, powering the informal sector.
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M-Pesa took this current reality seriously and developed technology that scaled its results and solved additional problems. By keeping things simple and retaining the elements that made it attractive to the intended users—easy transfers via SMS and the ability to immediately obtain cash value—M-Pesa became the number one money transfer method in under a decade.
When we began building LifeBank, a Nigeria-based startup that delivers essential medical supplies, we learned this framework through trial and error. Our target customers are hospitals. In 2016, we launched an app inspired by Uber, through which hospitals could order blood on demand. This tactic was unsuccessful because hospitals did not use apps to order blood—they made phone calls.
We had failed to consider their reality. When we modified our strategy and set up our 24/7 call center, orders rose by over 300%. Since then, after building rapport and trust with our hospital clients, we've been able to encourage them to order via the app.
When it came to delivery, we were determined to work within the regulatory, geographical, and financial realities of our market. We chose to use motorcycles to navigate the congested, traffic-laden streets of Lagos, and we use boats to reach rural islands off the coast.
As of a few weeks ago, we added drones to our suite of mobility solutions, expanding our original idea through the use of additional technology. Together, this simple, tech-powered solution has enabled us to move over 17,000 products to over 450 hospitals and save over 6,000 lives. And we're proud to be an MIT Solve Frontlines of Health Solver.
Although they no longer receive much attention, several simple solutions like the wheel, the printing press, and the phone have made modern life possible. While recent technological advances continue to usher us into an exciting future, numerous problems remain unsolved for the world's most vulnerable people, leaving them behind. These problems require simple, tech-enabled solutions that meet customers where they are economically, socially, and technologically.
As humans, we are naturally drawn towards new and exciting ideas. However, in many cases, these ideas are years from creating significant direct impact. To drive true impact, human advancement will require pragmatic, tenacious innovations that meet people where they are, work around their current limitations, and prepare them for the future. We must make a conscious effort to scale these simple solutions, lest they be starved of resources and support.
About the Organization: Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT's innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting transformational impact. Join Solve on this journey at solve.mit.edu.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: Giant mirrors erected on a mountainside reflect sunlight into the Norwegian town of Rjukan in the valley below, on October 18, 2013. Combined the mirror surfaces are about 51 square meters (549 square feet). Featured Photo Credit: Reuters/The Atlantic
Tags: Droneslifebankstartuptech-powered solutions
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Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Ifeoluwa Olokode, and Aisha Abiola - MIT Solve
Temie Giwa-Tubosun is the Founder and CEO of LifeBank; Africa's healthcare supply chain engine. The company helps hospitals discover essential medical suppliers and delivers them in the right condition and on time. Ifeoluwa Olokode joined LifeBank in 2018 and Aisha Abiola joined LifeBank in 2017.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL AKLASARAI
Aklasarai, Sonhat (Koriya), Chhattisgarh
Schools in AKLASARAI
About GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL AKLASARAI
GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL AKLASARAI was established in 1983 and it is managed by the Department of Education. It is located in Rural area. It is located in SONHAT block of KORIYA district of Chhattisgarh. The school consists of Grades from 1 to 5. The school is Co-educational and it doesn't have an attached pre-primary section. The school is Not Applicable in nature and is not using school building as a shift-school. Hindi is the medium of instructions in this school. This school is approachable by all weather road. In this school academic session starts in April.
The school has Government building. It has got 3 classrooms for instructional purposes. All the classrooms are in good condition. It has 2 other rooms for non-teaching activities. The school has a separate room for Head master/Teacher. The school has No Boundary Wall boundary wall. The school has have electric connection. The source of Drinking Water in the school is Hand Pumps and it is functional. The school has 1 boys toilet and it is functional. and 1 girls toilet and it is functional. The school has a playground. The school has a library and has 25 books in its library. The school does not need ramp for disabled children to access classrooms.The school has no computers for teaching and learning purposes The school is not having a computer aided learning lab. The school is Provided and Prepared in School Premises providing mid-day meal.
Instruction Medium: Hindi
Residential Type: Not Applicable
Management: Department of Education
GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL PANDOPARA GOVT. MIDDLE SCHOOL AKLASARAI GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL TIPKAPARA GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL KEVRABAHRA GOVT. MIDDLE SCHOOL KACHOHAR GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL KISHORI GOVT. MIDDLE SCHOOL KISHORI GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL AMRA GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL KACHOHAR GOVT H.S.S. SCHOOL AKLASARAI
Village / Town: Aklasarai
Cluster: Crc Aklasarai
Block: Sonhat
District: Koriya
State: Chhattisgarh
Wall: No Boundary Wall
Books in Library: 25
Drinking Water: Hand Pumps
CRC AKLASARAI CRC ANANDPUR CRC BANSHIPUR CRC GHUGHRA CRC KATGODI CRC KESHGAWA CRC NAIGAI CRC RAJAOLI CRC RAMGARH CRC SONHAT BODAR CRC SUNDERPUR
Aklasarai, Sonhat
KORIYA, Chhattisgarh


The FIFA Club of the 20th Century, Real Madrid, is one of the most decorated clubs in the history of modern football with 33 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey titles, 10 Supercopa de España titles, a record 12 UEFA Champions League titles, 4 UEFA Super Cups, 2 UEFA Cups, 3 Intercontinental Cups and 2 FIFA Club World Cups. The club witnessed a marvellous success under the coaching of Zinedine Zidane last season where they won both the La Liga title and the Champions League in season 2016-17. After having all the blast last year, Real Madrid started this season of 2017-18 with a little dramatic proportion. They lost their flagship player Cristiano Ronaldo for 5 matches after he fought with the referee in the 3–1 Supercopa de Espana first-leg victory over their arch rival Barcelona.
Even after a little dramatic start, Real Madrid is expected to win the La Liga and the Champions League this year too. And it is always thrilling to witness the live matches of Real Madrid. So here you can watch all the Real Madrid matches live online. Enjoy!
Our high quality HD Real Madrid Live Stream provides free and easy option for the fans of Real Madrid to enjoy the matches of their favorite club. We will broadcast Real Madrid live stream for you 15 minutes before the match starts. So don't forget to check this page of Sporteology to get the excitement of the Real Madrid Matches.
In the next five matches, Real Madrid will face 3 La Liga opponents and 2 Champions League teams to secure their place in the top place of the chart. After already winning the Spanish Super Cup in the new season, Real Madrid is now full of confidence and is expected to do pretty well in the upcoming matches. Here goes the full detail of the next matches of Real Madrid.
Here goes the entire detail of all the matches Real Madrid played or will play in the new season of 2017-18. We will update the scores of each match regularly, so keep your eyes on the page to know the latest performance, live stream and scores of the Spanish giant Real Madrid.
Here we will update the recent five matches' results of Real Madrid so that you can always be updated about your favorite team. So keep your eyes on this page of Sporteology to know the latest results and highlights of the Spanish super club Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the team for his very first La Liga game this season and expectations were quite high for Real Madrid. But despite several great attempts they failed to score any goal in the first half. Real Betis, on the other hand, went a little too aggressive and got 3 yellow cards before the 60th minute. Antonio Sanabria then scored the only goal of the match for Betis with a brilliant header in the extra time of the second half.
Real Madrid was the clear favorite in this La Liga game against Alaves and they got their first success from Dani Ceballos just 10 minutes after the kickoff. Manuel García scored the equalizer for Alaves in the 40th minute. Ceballos then scored his second goal from a brilliant strike in the 43rd minute. Alaves failed to score any equalizer after that and the La Liga game ended with 2-1 score in favor of Real Madrid.
Real Madrid won the UCL match against home team Dortmund, as Gareth Bale scored the first goal in the 18th min, followed by two more goals by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 49th and 79th min. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang managed to score only 1 goal in the 54th min for Dortmund.
In the La Liga match held at Santiago Bernabeu, home team Real Madrid bagged a win against Espanyol, with two goals. Both of them were scored by Isco in the 30th and 71st min of the game. Espanyol failed to score a goal in the game despite their best efforts.
Real Madrid started the match against Getafe quite a confident way and got their first success from Karim Benzema's brilliant strike in the 39 th minute of the first half. Shortly after, Jorge Molina scored the equalizer for Getafe with a superior strike in the 56 th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo then scored the second goal for Real Madrid in the 85 th minute and the match ended in favor of Real Madrid with 2-1 score.


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Adam Edelen (born November 26, 1974, in Meade County, Kentucky) is an American businessman, solar energy entrepreneur, and politician who served as the Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky from January 2, 2012, to January 4, 2016. Prior to that, he was the Chief of Staff for democratic Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear from July 2008 until September 15, 2010.  He resigned from his position as the governor's Chief of Staff to work as a business consultant, before running for the Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In 2019, he ran for Governor of Kentucky with running mate Gill Holland, where he fell short of the Democratic Nomination finishing in third place.

Early years and career
Edelen was born on a family farm in Meade County, Kentucky. His mother was two months shy of her 17th birthday when he was born. His parents divorced when he was young and his time as a child was divided between his mother's home in Louisville and his father's farm in rural Meade County.

Edelen is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta social fraternity.

At 21, he began his public service career as one of the youngest aides ever to serve a Kentucky governor (Paul Patton). He went on to gain experience in the private sector as a senior executive with both the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce (Commerce Lexington) and Thomas & King, Inc.

In 2008, he returned to the public sector, serving as Director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and then as Chief of Staff to Governor Steve Beshear.

Kentucky Auditor
Edelen won election to Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts on November 8, 2011, defeating Republican John T. Kemper III by a margin of 11.6%.

Within days of being sworn in, Edelen announced a special examination into the former administration of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. This examination was conducted at the request of the Republican Agriculture Commissioner, James Comer. The examination found rampant spending abuses and a culture of entitlement. Former commissioner and UK basketball star Richie Farmer was sentenced to 27 months in prison on federal charges and a year in prison on a state charge based on issues identified in Edelen's report.

Edelen also led an effort to reform special districts, which represent a $2.7 billion layer of government. The effort resulted in a report and a database that allowed the public to see basic financial information about roughly 1,200 entities such as libraries, fire districts and health departments. In 2013, Edelen helped shepherd a measure through the legislature to bring more accountability and transparency to the entities. House Bill 1 – as dubbed by the Speaker of the House-passed with broad, bipartisan support. The National State Auditors Association selected the initiative as one of its Excellence in Accountability Award recipients. The initiative was called the "biggest good government initiative we have had since the 1990s" by the leadership of Common Cause KY.

When private, multibillion-dollar insurance companies took over the state's Medicaid system, Edelen made recommendations that the state and managed care organizations (MCOs) could implement immediately to solve problems associated with implementation. The Auditor's office found the managed care companies were not efficiently processing claims to health care providers despite receiving more than 700 million taxpayer dollars. Edelen created a new Medicaid Accountability and Transparency Unit in the Auditor's office to provide real-time oversight over the second-largest expenditure in state government.

In 2012, Edelen began examining spending practices in public schools. Special examinations in 15 public school districts found wasteful spending, lack of oversight of superintendent contracts by school boards and other abuses. One exam led to criminal conviction of a former superintendent and more than $500,000 returned to the community. Based on Edelen's recommendations, the Kentucky Department of Education now requires school districts to submit superintendent contracts for posting on a publicly accessible website.

In 2014, Edelen proposed legislation to strengthen Kentucky's cyber security protections and require state and local government to notify citizens if their data is compromised in a data breach. Kentucky was one of four states that lacked security breach notification laws. House Bill 5 passed the House 99–1 and the Senate unanimously.

In 2015, Edelen lost his re-election bid to Republican Mike Harmon.

The efforts of Edelen's auditor administration to expose the practice of special districts was a focus of a segment on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Eastern Kentucky solar project
In 2017, news articles began circulating which detailed a project in which Edelen is involved that plans to install tens of thousands of solar panels on a reclaimed surface mine in eastern Kentucky. The project is expected to put hundreds of out-of-work coal miners into long-term, well-paying jobs building and installing the panels. Once completed, it will be the first large-scale solar panel project in the Appalachian region, and the largest in Kentucky. In a 2018 interview with Kentucky Today, Edelen said he was prioritizing the project over a run for governor.

In January 2019, Edelen said the power has been sold and the project will move forward within the next few weeks.

2019 Kentucky gubernatorial campaign

After nearly four years away from politics and in the private sector, Edelen declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor of Kentucky on January 7, 2019, making him the fourth and final Democrat to enter the race. Edelen chose Gill Holland, a Louisville community builder, filmmaker, and environmentalist, as his lieutenant governor candidate.

The ticket touted a platform of no PAC contributions, a living wage, acknowledgement of climate change, green jobs, fully funded public and higher education, universal broadband internet, expanded healthcare and protection of the Medicaid expansion. Edelen also pledged to appoint women to at least six of Kentucky's 12 cabinet positions. He came in third in the primary.

Awards
Edelen was one of Government Technology magazine's 2014 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers, an award bestowed on innovators in the public sector across the country. In 2008, Edelen was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. This award is arguably the oldest and most prestigious service award in the nation and previous honorees include presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton.

Other honors include:
 The NewDEAL leader
 New Leaders Council 40 Under 40 Leadership Award recipient
 Kentucky Jr. Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Young Kentuckian
 Aspen Institute Rodel fellow
 Lexington Young Professionals Association Rising Star
 American-Swiss Foundation Young Leader
 United States Marshall Fund Fellow

Community service
As a two-term gubernatorial appointee to the board of Kentucky Educational Television, Chairman Edelen was the driving force behind the "Be Well Kentucky" initiative—an acclaimed effort which addresses Kentucky's public health crisis. While vice-president of the Commerce Lexington, Edelen was responsible for the nationally recognized New Century Lexington Reports on Community Livability, which used a broad range of metrics for measuring Lexington's quality of life.  Edelen has also chaired the United Way of the Bluegrass Annual Campaign and the Lexington Fayette County Urban League. He has also served as a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Personal life
Edelen has two twin sons, Wade and Hamilton. Edelen makes his home in Lexington, Kentucky. He is a member of Lexington's First Presbyterian Church. He is an avid sportsman, reader of history, and University of Kentucky basketball fan.

References

1974 births
Kentucky Democrats
Living people
People from Meade County, Kentucky
State Auditors of Kentucky
University of Kentucky alumni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Forever 21 is losing its grasp on fast fashion
Fast fashion continues to inundate the apparel market, but Forever 21 remains on the lower end of the spectrum.
By Mallory Schlossberg
Forever 21, the beacon of lowbrow fast fashion, appears to be in a tight spot.
After Forever 21, you have the slightly higher-quality H&M, followed by Zara - which has schooled everyone in how to replicate runway styles at a lightning-quick speed.
Other players, like Topshop, which falls on the more expensive end of the spectrum, and Primark, which recently entered the United States market with its limbo-worthy low prices, prove that fast fashion runs the gamut. There's something for nearly every consumer.
But Forever 21 has been subject to lots of criticism lately, and with so many other places to shop, the brand is in a tough position.
The retailer, which is private, does not disclose financials.
But a recent Wall Street Journal report indicated the brand was in talks to secure a $150 million loan to pay for the leases on its massive stores.
"Forever 21, which discloses little about its finances, has predicted that sales would rise 10% this year to $4.7 billion," the Wall Street Journal writes. "But people familiar with the company say its sales and profit have tapered off after years of strong growth."
Recently, H&M sued Forever 21 for copywright infringement. According to The Fashion Law, Forever 21 ripped off H&M's cheeky "Beach Please" tote bag.
It's no secret that the essence of fast fashion is to borrow from runway styles to provide comparables look for cash-strapped consumers, but this issue shed light on how Forever 21 has a sordid history of settling copywright infringement lawsuits, as Jezebel detailed in a 2011 post.
Copying another fast fashion company begs the question: How low is Forever 21 willing to go to snag easy designs? (And, as Liz Dunn, CEO of consulting firm Talmage Advisors, pointed out, "That's not where the fashion originated.")
In other words, Forever 21's habit of copying other companies' designs could eventually hurt its reputation.
Forever 21, like its fast fashion competitors, offers bargain-bin worthy prices. But with that, there are invisible expenses.
The Asian Pacific American Legal Center sued Forever 21 for allegedly making employees work up to twelve hours each day for less than minimum wage in filthy conditions with rodents, The New Yorker reported.
In 2008, a documentary called "Made In LA" detailed the struggle of three immigrants who struggled for labor rights while they worked for Forever 21. The documentary won an Emmy.
And just a few years ago, Forever 21 faced a class action lawsuit for allegedly denying employees breaks for meals and forcing them to work unpaid hours, The Huffington Post reported.
Of course, it's no secret that there's a real, human cost of fast fashion - so much so that a documentary called "The True Cost" made waves this summer. While Forever 21 is likely not the only company guilty of subpar working conditions, these ethical gaffes have the possibility to turn away more conscientious consumers.
Additionally, a new consumer trend is emerging wherein consumers are slowly but surely moving towards quality, rather than quantity.
"A generation of consumers has grown up wearing what is often referred to as 'fast fashion' - trendy, inexpensive versions of runway looks that shoppers wear for one season, or one occasion, and often toss," Elizabeth Holmes wrote in The Wall Street Journal last year. "Now, many of these shoppers are graduating to a philosophy of quality not quantity."
But, some millennials who remember the recession all to well have been trained to zero in on value.
"I think that there's just very big shifts in terms of [what] consumers value, particularly with the millennial generation. They tend to be more value-based in terms of their purchasing behavior," Dunn said to Business Insider.
"There are two ways to approach having a limited budget - you can either buy really cheap stuff and a lot of it or buy higher quality things and fewer of them," she added, noting that although this consumer trend is present, it is still in its nascency.
But for consumers who fall somewhere in between the ends of the spectrum, there are plenty of other fast fashion chains with marginally higher-quality clothing - like Top Shop and Zara, for example. Dunn also says that H&M is likely where Forever 21 shoppers graduate to when they've moved on from Forever 21's selection.
Forever 21 has nothing on Zara's speed, which, "[tends] to be a little faster on the fast fashion in terms of interpreting trends that are on the runway or from much higher end designers," Dunn said. "Zara is very rapid at interpreting those trends and incorporating them."
"So there's both the quality...and the interpretation of fashion," she said.
But despite these issues that could potentially pull away an older, more discerning consumer, Forever 21 doesn't have anything to worry about just yet.
Forever 21 has captured a target customer - a younger women who is "aspirationally 21," as Dunn put it. Dunn pointed out that these customers are generally younger than 21. (The idea of being eternally 21 is probably not appealing to an older customer.)
These consumers don't care that Forever 21 rips off other brands. "You're attempting to get the looks for less, right? The consumer is aware that the brand is derivative - that's probably why they're buying it."
This cheap, fleeting fashion is what its target demographic is all about, anyway.
It's "part of this whole generation that's kind of obsessed with taking selfies, showing the world what they're doing at every single moment," Dunn said to Business Insider, citing how teens are spending more money on technology and experiences than on tangible items.
Ultimately, she said that this allows young consumers to say, "'I have a really fabulous life because of all the places I've been and the things I've eaten and the people I've been with - that's almost worth more than what my outfit is.'"
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