Blog
Can the ‘Next Normal’ Economy Learn from the Successes of Inclusive Businesses?
By Kristin Wilcox Feldman, Chief of Party, USAID CLEAR Program Link to article on Medium.com The impacts of Covid-19 are weighing heavily on so many of us right now. As reality sinks in it becomes evident that Covid-19’s weight has hit some of us more dramatically than others. As governments globally struggle to implement measures…
Read MoreTransforming Fatherhood in Rural Tanzania
New ideas about what it means to be a father and husband are beginning to take root in rural villages of Tanzania. To know this, Beyu Sayi says he has to look no further than the sweet potato plants. Sayi, a nutritionist and District Field Supervisor with the EFFECTS project, tells a story about a…
Read MoreYouthPower in Jordan: Youth Support Local Community with Creative Solutions
Recycling clothing to benefit the environment and disadvantage Nermeen Al Tamimi, 22, grew up in a family that is passionate about volunteering and public service. When Nermeen was still a student in high school, she volunteered alongside her sister for a charitable initiative they founded where they performed charity works for the elderly and orphans.…
Read MoreUSAID SCORE Trainees Use Newly Acquired Tailoring Skills to Help Community During COVID-19 Pandemic
View on USAID website Ireshika Somapala, a mother of two from the village of Bogahawewa in the North Central district of Anuradhapura, began a six-month sewing and tailoring course under USAID SCORE support through sub-grantee Rajarata Praja Kendraya (RPK), in February. By mid-March, Ireshika began to put her newly acquired skills to good use by…
Read MoreYouthPower in Jordan: Working Toward a More Sustainable Future
Green Buildings to Protect the Environment Shahed Al-Khateeb, 24 and originally from Jordan, has always been passionate about the environment and finding sustainable architectural solutions to protect it. After graduating from high school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where her family resided, she applied for the Faculty of Architecture at Al Zaytoonah University in Jordan since…
Read MoreYouth of Learning Clubs Unleash Their Digital Prowess
Youth masters digital interactive initiative to engage youth and drive positive change within communities USAID YouthPower deploys innovative and multilayered capacity building approaches that empower youth to act as engaged citizens and productive members of society with the agency to advocate for themselves, and to shape services designed to better prepare them to enter higher…
Read MoreNew Study Explores Impact of Digital Savings Groups in Tanzania
A new study shows that savings groups that use a digital record keeping app experience greater transparency, fewer group conflicts and an increase in financial capability among individual members. The study also found evidence that highlights the need to include gender considerations in the design of savings group apps. These findings and more are presented…
Read MoreGlobal Communities and PCI Stand in Solidarity for Racial Justice
Dear friends, The murder of George Floyd, yet another unarmed Black man, and the events of this past week have left so many of us feeling a profound sense of outrage, distrust and grief. Every single day, the Black community endures profiling, violence and inequality due to systemic racism and injustice. As organizations dedicated to…
Read MoreGlobal Communities and PCI Stand in Solidarity for Racial Justice
Dear friends, The murder of George Floyd, yet another unarmed Black man, and the events of this past week have left so many of us feeling a profound sense of outrage, distrust and grief. Every single day, the Black community endures profiling, violence and inequality due to systemic racism and injustice. As organizations dedicated to…
Read MoreExpecting During the Unexpected: Pregnancy and Birth in the Time of COVID-19
For all that has come to a screeching halt in the time of COVID-19, life still goes on. In hospitals, homes and clinics across the country—regardless of social distancing measures and lockdown policies—over 10,000 babies will be born today. And that’s in the United States alone. Even under normal circumstances, giving birth can be an…
Read MoreSame Heroes, New Culprit: Pivoting from Polio to COVID-19
In India, the same unsung heroes who helped stop the spread of polio are working tirelessly to defeat COVID-19. Drawing on decades of experience in community engagement and communication on polio prevention and routine immunizations, PCI/India’s CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP) recently pivoted to raising awareness about the coronavirus. Staff are proactively reaching communities where…
Read MoreYouth Lead on Encouraging Healthy Lifestyles
Educating those suffering from obesity to transform their lives According to the latest Global Nutrition Report, 28.2% of women and 43.1% of men in Jordan are obese. This is an extremely alarming matter, especially that obesity is directly linked with increased health problems, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The risk of obesity…
Read MoreA Youth Facilitator Realizes His Dream
Educating and learning activities empower youth while open new doors and prospects to others Residing in Rojom Shami Gharbi at the east of the Capital, Mohammad Qoblan is 27, he graduated back in 2014 with a bachelor degree in International Relations. After two years of fruitless job hunting, Mohammad believed that a higher degree would…
Read MoreThe Kenyan Cooperative Sector Tackles COVID-19 Head-On
This article was first published at AgriLinks. Kenya saw its first case of COVID-19 on March 13, and the Ministry of Health fears that if mitigation efforts are not implemented and followed, cases could skyrocket to as many as 10,000 by the end of April. The government has acted quickly to close schools and impose…
Read MoreEnvironment and Green Solutions Learning Club Catalysts Rolls Out a Digital Videos Campaign to Advocate For Nature
Earlier this year, youth from the South, North and Center of Jordan gathered in USAID YouthPower office in Amman to prepare for the Environment and Green Solutions Learning Club launch. These young women and men represented youth from across Jordan ready to put their efforts into environment related issues. Our friend, Nancy Syouri, is a…
Read MoreProtecting DREAMS in the Time of COVID-19
At the beginning of April, just a few weeks into the global coronavirus pandemic, DREAMS Botswana had one message for its Facebook followers and the more than 3,000 adolescent girls and young women it serves: “Even through COVID-19, we remain Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Healthy [AIDS-free], Mentored and Safe from HOME.” The line served a dual…
Read MoreShifting Responsibilities of Household & Family: The Gendered Pandemic in Kenya
by Fredrick Nyagah, Technical Specialist, Gender, Global Communities – CLEAR, funded by USAID, Cooperative Development Program – Kenya, Global Communities “Covid-19: The Gendered Pandemic in Kenya” is a blog series that explores the many ways gender social norms effect and are effected by Covid-19. The authors discuss ways that the pandemic may challenge gender norms…
Read MoreRethinking the Role of County Government and Apex Organisations in Grassroots Cooperatives Development: Key Lessons from Social Network Analysis in Kenya
Dorthy Tindi Sitati Collaboration Learning & Adaption (CLA) Officer USAID CLEAR Program The Ushirika Hub was paid for by USAID Cooperative Development Program in partnership with Root Change, Global Communities, NCBA CLUSA & WOCCU Government interference on cooperatives affairs is one of the challenges facing the development of cooperatives across Africa. Cooperatives will only be…
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