Actress Maria Bello began helping the women of Haiti because she was "pissed."
[More from Mashable: ShoutAbout Aims to Inspire Social Action Based on News Stories]
Bello has long been an activist and humanitarian -- especially in Haiti -- but it took getting angry at traditional red tape and infrastructure to reach out to grassroots movements and create change.
"We were pissed off that the women's groups [in Haiti], who were most organized, weren't getting the access and funding they deserved," Bello said at the Social Good Summit on Sunday. But Bello can't take all the credit for trying to bring enlightenment and engagement to the women of Haiti. Some of that credit belongs to Oprah.
[More from Mashable: 8-Year-Old YouTube Sensation Performs at Social Good Summit]
Oprah's ability to discuss important women's topics from breastfeeding to religion is what opened up dialogues in Bello's own life, she said. And now she's trying to bring that same conversation to the women of Haiti by using social networks, something she calls "Oprahtizing Haiti."
The first step in doing that was creating We Advance University, a web and mobile site dedicated to connecting local women's groups in remote areas to each other, as well as to non-profit support.
The site works in two parts. The first as a directory in which women can easily find services nearby or simply ask for help. That allows women to be able see that "two miles away the Red Cross is doing rape tests, and 10 miles away there is a lawyer who can file rape-charge papers," with just the click of a button.
The second part of the site is about education and entertainment, Bello said. It acts as a hub for videos on everything from hygiene to healthy cooking. "It's about getting information out in a dynamic and easy way," said Bello, that will create a "revelation revolution."
What other sites and apps do you know that are trying to connect non-profits with communities globally? Tell us about them in the comments below.
About Ericsson
[wp_scm_sgs_2012]
This story originally published on Mashable here.
