Blog
‘Orange the World’: Tackling Gender Inequalities Exacerbated by COVID-19
Last year, for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, I shared my observations as a maternal and child nurse working in low-resourced environments. Reflecting on lessons from Ebola, natural disasters and outbreaks of violence, I called for the need for health systems and services to prioritize the needs of women and girls. In…
Read MoreHuman Rights Day 2020: Standing Up for Human Rights
This Human Rights Day, Global Communities is actively working to help protect vulnerable populations around the world, particularly in Syria, where after six long years, individuals are still displaced by the millions. The resulting refugee crisis is the largest in history, and Global Communities is responding to the needs of refugees and the displaced across…
Read MoreDreaming of and Driving toward an AIDS-free Botswana
Ask any adolescent girl or young woman what she wants to be when she grows up and the list will be as endless and unique as the girl herself. Some will say doctors and nurses or pilots and accountants, while others will want to make their mark as educators, entrepreneurs or celebrities in music, art…
Read MoreSCORE-Facilitated Legal Clinic on Radio Creates Awareness Among Communities, Prompts Action
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Many agree that suspicion and cynicism against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka existed for some time alongside the larger ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils caused by the 30-year civil war. Competition on socio-economic gains, land issues – especially in the North and East – and the general lack…
Read MoreSCORE’s Timely Donations to Combat Covid-19 Help Build Capacities to Speed Up Opening of Kilinochchi Hospital
by Kathya de Silva Senarath The government opened its first regional Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) in Kilinochchi in the Northern Province on November 11, 2020, as a part of an island-wide program to increase capacities to treat the growing number of Covid-19 patients in the area. The USAID-funded Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE) project,…
Read MoreSCORE Helps Sharpen Women’s Knowledge and Leadership Skills to Promote Good Governance
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Before Covid-19 hit Sri Lanka, long queues were the usual scene at hospitals, and patients had to wait a long time to get medicine. Such was the case at the Vavuniya General Hospital as Samantha Sebanesarani, an Urban Councilor recalls, when she went for checkups. Additionally, the pharmacy closes during…
Read MoreSCORE, Through Partner Shanthiham, Increases Access to Mental Health Services During Covid-19 Lockdown and Beyond
By Kathya de Silva Senarath The Covid-19 pandemic is not only a health issue— it is also an economic issue with businesses declaring bankruptcy and many losing livelihoods due to lockdowns and other disruptions to the economy. While significant focus must remain on addressing economic shocks and treating the physically ill, the pandemic’s impact on…
Read MoreLearning to Collaborate Through Sowing Futures in Argentina
“While Manuel has always been the type of student to speak up in front of his peers, his class is not very diverse in terms of ideas and those who speak up in public generally expose themselves to negative feedback from their peers,” explains Jorgelina Allegranza, professor of philosophy and the leader of the secondary…
Read MoreJoining Forces Against the COVID-19 Pandemic in Tanzania
In a bold effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania, PCI Tanzania and the Mara regional government have teamed up to jointly implement interventions that will contribute to slowing spread of the disease. More than 55 million cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide, and the last publicly released data from Tanzania showed…
Read MoreWorld Toilet Day Highlights Global Sanitation and Health Crisis
By Eddy Perez, Global Communities Technical Director for WASH With billions of people lacking access to the safe, sustainable sanitation essential for public health and for eradicating extreme poverty, World Toilet Day is not a day for celebration, but rather a day to sound the call for action on the global sanitation crisis. Global Communities…
Read MorePCI India and ‘Mobile Vaani’ Answer Call for Action Against COVID-19
When much of the world came to a standstill in the wake of COVID-19, one Indian social tech company rose to the challenge. Gram Vaani, which means “voice of the village” in Hindi, adapted its mobile phone-based social media platform—Mobile Vaani—to reach low-literacy, rural and remote audiences across India with important coronavirus prevention messages. Prior…
Read MorePainting it Forward with Eric Sanders
Eric Sanders is no stranger to the concept of ‘return on investment,’ having spent more than 30 years as a successful entrepreneur in the manufacturing industry. Still, when the California-based businessman started shifting his focus toward philanthropy, he never imagined it would also help him recover a long-lost passion. “I knew there was a space that I wanted to fill in my life,…
Read MoreDisabling Myths with Abled Minds
USAID SCORE supports persons with disabilities start livelihoods By Kathya de Silva Senarath Thirty-three-year-old Isuru Piyumal, from the rural village of Nugeyaya in Sri Lanka’s most marginalized Moneragala district, had been a dependent all his life. His parents realized when he was just three months old that he had an intellectual disability, and they did…
Read MoreYouth Echo their Voices and Reach New Heights
Young woman uses her education to empower youth to be involved in decision-making processes. Marah Bani Nasr, 25, holds a degree in Law from University of Yarmouk in Irbid. Marah has practiced law for nearly two years, specializing in Statute and Sharia Law. Though in her community in Ajloun studying Law is not typically favored…
Read MoreYouth Pave Their Way to Decision-Making
Empowered youth pave the way for involvement in the decision-making process Bilal Khalid, a 24-year-old chemical engineer, resides in Burma in Jerash governorate, north of the capital. Since 2008 Bilal has been a volunteer at Burma Youth Center, which aims to empower the youth of Burma. In 2017-2019, he was nominated by his fellow youth…
Read MoreGoing Digital Empowers Female Youth to Achieve
Digitally educating parents of children with disabilities to conduct educational activities at home Maha Yamen, 28, lives in Al-Hashmi area in Zarqa and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education and a Master’s degree in Psychological and Educational Counseling. She currently works with The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) and is heading the…
Read MoreEmpowering Youth to Engage in the Local Tourism Scene
Female youth empowers other youth to generate income through local tourism Lubna Hijazeen, a 25-year-old youth residing in a small village North of Karak governorate. Although she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from Mutah University in Karak, she was unable to get a job after graduation, like many young people in the…
Read MoreUSAID SCORE Seizes Opportunity for Reconciliation through Channel Repair in Aathiyammankerni
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Tamil and Sinhala villages of Aathiyammankerni and Samagipura in the Trincomalee district have been directly affected by the country’s 30-year conflict that continues to inflame tensions between the two communities. Tensions were aggravated further in 2006 when the LTTE blocked the Mavil Aru sluicegates that brought water to thousands in…
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