Global Communities Archives

Liberian Turns Cooking Oil into Inspiring Business By Erin Williams This article originally appeared in The Washington Post. When it comes to running a business, Kabeh Sumbo has a thing or two she can share. The native of Liberia is a product of the Goldman Sachs-funded 10,000 Women business training program, a five-year initiative focused on…

Extending the Learning Environment Beyond the Classroom By Augustine Adams, Program Officer, CHF International – Ghana The first ever Green Apple Day of Service in Ghana has been heralded with a first ever field trip by students to the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) in Accra. The visit by the pupils and teachers was organized…

Empowering the Urban Poor: A DIY Approach to Future-Proofing Cities By Brian English, Director of Program Innovation, CHF International This article originally appeared in the Sustainable Cities Collective.  America has a great legacy of institutions that foster the “do it yourself” ethic from an early age, from the Boy Scouts to Popular Mechanics.  In international development,…

Kabeh Sumbo, 10,000 Women Graduate, Participates at Clinton Global Initiative “My mother used to have me hold out my open palm to try to catch the breeze. It never worked. Of course there will be nothing there, because you have nothing if you keep your hand open all the time. You have to use your…

On September 29, staff and volunteers from CHF International offices around the world will be joining Green Apple, an initiative of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), for the inaugural Green Apple Day of Service. For one day, students, teachers, parents and elected officials, as well as international green…

William C. Lane Joins CHF International’s Board of Trustees CHF International announced today that William C. Lane has joined its Board of Trustees, effective September 1, 2012. Mr. Lane is the Washington Director for Caterpillar and a leading business advocate for free trade and global engagement in Washington, D.C. “We are delighted to have Bill…

Helping Communities Rebuild From 2001-2011,Global Communities helped communities affected by hostilities in Afghanistan through funding from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM). Global Communities’ programs in Afghanistan focused on the provision of shelter and much needed humanitarian assistance.…

Haiti: A New Path to Urban Renewal Through the USAID-funded Katye project, CHF working with partners and local residents helped to rebuild the earthquake-devastated neighborhood of Ravine Pintade in Port-au-Prince. Katye, which means “neighborhood” in Creole, was based on a comprehensive and integrated planning process that relied heavily on the participation of residents in the…

Liberia’s Growing Pains By Tamasin Ford This article originally appeared in The Africa Report. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf faces a fractious political environment and gaping infrastructure deficits as her government tries to attract foreign investors to boost employment. In the past six years Liberia has seen unprecedented levels of transparency, democracy and press freedom. The…

Promoting Community Participation in Urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Services  National strategy for community participation in the WASH program launched This article originally appeared on Ghana News Agency. Nii Nortey Duah, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, has reiterated government’s commitment to continue to support any initiative that would increase access to…

Building the Capacity of Local Councils and Communities to Work Together in Iraq Located in South Central (SC) Iraq, Kerbala city is the capital of the Kerbala governorate and is considered a sacred city among Shia Muslims. As a result, local council (LC) officials focus on the construction and maintenance of religious shrines, often over…

Celebrating Adult Literacy in Rwanda On July 17, 2012, in the Nyanza District of the Southern Province, 80 men and 93 women were the first wave of  graduates from the first cycle of a six-month functional adult literacy course sponsored by the USAID Ejo Heza program, managed by CHF International Rwanda and in close partnership…

ISSUE BRIEF: The 21st Century Urban Disaster: More disasters, more devastating, more expensive, more complex – how are aid agencies responding? Global Communities Releases Issue Brief on the Increasingly Complex Nature of Humanitarian Responses to Urban Disasters; Profiles innovative Katye Program Washington, D.C.  – The 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan one year ago…

Associations are Changing the Lives of Farmers in Colombia  By Maria Mercedes Garcia Hernando González, the 29-year-old president of the Cocoa Producers’ Association of Santo Domingo de Mesa, El Carmen de Bolivar (ASOPAGRO SDM), has achieved the wisdom that most people strive for. Gonzalez successfully mobilized his community of 400 returned families and established a regional productive…

Helping Vulnerable Children Stay in School – Claudine’s Story By Aaron Weiss, CHF Rwanda Intern The Bushara School, located in the Kamara sector just 13 kilometers from the Uganda border, is host to roughly 2000 students. Over the years the school has seen many of its students forced to drop out for a variety of…

Promoting Early Childhood Development through Playgroups in Rwanda By Vlad Dandu Pacifique attends the Muhango District Amahoro playgroup daily where he socializes and learns alongside 124 other children ages 3-6. One could not tell he is 9 years old since he is of similar height and weight as most 6 year old boys of the group.…

Expanding Opportunities for Youth In more than 15 countries, CHF International has successfully engaged youth in employment and economic development opportunities throughout the world. Young people have proven to be powerful agents of positive change both within development programs and society at large. CHF International has proven expertise in the design and management of marketoriented…

Syrian Refugee Crisis: Rapid Assessment Report Amman, Jordan – July 2012 Executive Summary In response to the Syrian refugee crisis unfolding in Jordan, CHF International’s office of humanitarian assistance conducted a rapid needs assessment in the Northern Governorates of Irbid, AL Mafraq, and Amman, focused on understanding the shelter needs and overall livelihood security of Syrian refugees…