Resilient children at Nepal Youth Foundation

At a recent gathering of The Isabel Allende Foundation, we had the opportunity to explore the topic of resilience—why some individuals and communities are able to rebound from even the most horrific tragedies while others never do so. We were particularly blessed to be having this conversation with the brilliant Nina Blackwell, an advisor to a network of philanthropies founded by Pam and Pierre Omidyar. Nina shared research from the HopeLab’s Resilience Initiative: a sense of healthy connection to others, a sense of purpose in life and a sense of control over one’s destiny appear to be key to human resilience across many cultures.  Understanding the factors that contribute to resilience can, of course, help us better contribute to the well-being of those whose lives we seek to improve through our philanthropic work. If you are aware of other interesting research on resilience, please do share.