Global Communities Archives

Yacoub Marouf is a 25-year-old lawyer, born and raised in At Tayba, a small village in the West Bank with a population of 1,400 residents. His political career began in 2010 when he was first elected to the Taybeh Youth Shadow Local Council (YSLC), a democratically elected youth body that emulates the actual local council…

By Dulce Pavón, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Global Communities Honduras “Being here is a dream come true. To fly over this lost paradise and delight in the beauty of creation is absolutely priceless. People are so diverse, different languages, different culture, different skin color, different smiles. They say I am from the “interior”; I always thought…

  In three years, the number of malaria cases in Ahuas decreased by 83.4%   The department of Gracias a Dios, also known as La Mosquitia, is located on the northeastern region of Honduras. It is the most isolated region of Honduras with its six municipalities only accesible by river or air. Malaria is endemic…

On Earth Day, Lessons Learned From a Ghanaian Slum By David Weiss, President and CEO, Global Communities This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post.   Sanitation is a major challenge facing urban populations, especially in slum communities. The urgency of Earth Day has changed. In 1970, when America celebrated its first Earth Day, hybrid cars…

Improving Lives through Vocational Training in Ethiopia:  Vocational skills training through the USAID/OFDA-funded RECOVER program Ahmed Badal’s Journey Ahmed Badal Hire is head of a household of eight family members. His family lost their livelihood during the 2011 drought when all of their 30 sheep and goats, and all but one of their 25 cattle died.  …

Report: Cooperative Performance Index – Field Results and Analysis of Cooperatives in Rwanda USAID – Enabling Market Integration through Rural Group Empowerment (EMIRGE) By Theogene Nkuranga, EMIRGE Program Coordinator, Rwanda and Kristin Wilcox, EMIRGE Technical Officer January 2013 Introduction Cooperatives are democratic, member-run and member-financed enterprises. They have been a model for bringing together people across…

Volunteers spurred on with honours Originally appearing in The New Daily (Rwanda) Six outstanding community volunteers have been rewarded for their efforts in changing lives of the vulnerable people in their communities, a reward CHF International, an NGO, says will encourage community volunteers. Known as the ‘Be the Change Volunteers’ (BCVs), the volunteers intervene in…

By Jens Erik Gould A community youth theater group in the Garifuna community of Tornabé.  This story originally aired on NPR. In the village of Corozal in Honduras, men ready boats for fishing excursions and boys play soccer on a beach lined with thatched huts. On a sandy lot next to the town’s main street, two teenage…

“I used to cry when people would say ‘There goes that disgusting AIDS patient. She’s good for nothing.’” Lesbia Martinez has struggled being HIV positive within her small Garifuna* community in Northern Honduras. But with support from local organizations, she has learned not only how to live with her status, but to share her story…

Water Insecurity Looms as a Major Global Issue By Julia Pyper This article originally appeared in ClimateWire. Drought conditions in the Somali region of Ethiopia not only affect the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists, it exacerbates tensions over scarce water resources. As if the scorched fields of the Great Plains or the stories of women…

Photo Essay: World Water Day 2013 World Water Day is held annually on March 22nd to recognize the importance of water in our world and advocate for the sustainable management of water resources. Global Communities is working with communities around the world helping them address their unique water challenges in locally appropriate and innovative ways.  …

Bridging the Governed and Governor Divide in Ghana – Citizen Report Cards Sekondi/Takoradi Metro launches Citizen’s Report Card This story originally appeared in the Ghana Business News.  The Global Communities, Ghana, and the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly on Wednesday launched the Citizen’s Report Card (CRC), a card to provide businesses and government with critical feedback on service…

Nicaragua: Working with Communities to Improve Municipal Services (slideshow) Global Communities is working in Nicaragua through the USAID-funded Municipal Governance Program (MGP), to strengthen municipal governance and citizen involvement, empowering them and bettering their quality of life. By improving basic service delivery, MGP is helping local governments be more responsive to their citizens and develop…

Time to End Acceptance of Violence Against Women and Girls in South Sudan in Public and Private By Helen Animashaun, VSO volunteer working with the South Sudan Women Empowerment Network (SSWEN) This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post UK.  “The reality of life for women in the world’s newest country is harsh; it is full…

International Women’s Day, marked on March 8th each year, is a global day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women worldwide. Though great improvements have been made, many women still suffer from reduced access to healthcare and education, are exposed to violence, and have limited economic opportunities. Global Communities is working to support…

Kenyans Need to Start Voting for Policies, Not Personalities Nairobi’s slums are still anxious about the outcome of Monday’s elections. Here’s what’s wrong with Kenya’s elections and how we can fix them. Selline Korir (center) is is the Global Communities program director of Kenya Tuna Uwezo, a program supported by USAID which aims to reduce politically-motivated conflict in the…

India: Slum Improvement Program (slideshow) With funding from the John Deere Foundation, the Slum Improvement Program is working in Pune to improve the living conditions and livelihoods of slum residents. The program focuses on making deep impacts in 6 slums and 4 villages while strengthening bottom-up planning practices and institutionalizing new poverty reduction programs within…

Kenya Elections: Reducing Political Violence through Community Dialogue All eyes are on Kenya in today’s general election – the first since 2007 when contested results caused an eruption of violence that led to the deaths of over a thousand people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands more. Since then, a new constitution has been…