Kjersten Erickson, founder and executive director of Forge, discusses the 6-year-old international NGO that works with refugees and war-affected populations in Africa. "We provide a support system to allow refugees and post-conflict communities to rebuild and revitalize themselves," she says in this 4-minute video interview conducted at Social Capital Markets 2009.

Forge helps about 60,000 refugees a year with locally tailored solutions for self-sufficiency. The Forge team runs libraries, computer training centers, agricultural loan programs and income-generating activities that "contribute to a level of economic independence that has proven to be critical to break the cycle of war and poverty in Africa," she says.