Global Communities Archives

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…

Women Victims of Violence Achieving Full Property Rights in Colombia When Bertha lost her husband in 1991, she also lost her economic stability. Displaced from a village called El Moral in Ovejas, in 2001 she found the opportunity to work with nine other head-of-household women, who were also victims of violence. After five years, this…

Agriculture Value Chains In the agriculture sector, CHF utilizes a value chain – or market systems – approach to facilitate sustainable results, including job creation, access to financial products and services, improvements in quality, linkages to local and international markets, and increased incomes and sales. Our approach relies on comprehensive assessment, local capacity building, market…

Georgia Sheds its Soviet Past for a New Generation By David Weiss, President and CEO of CHF International This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post. The Georgian word “bavshvi” means child. Until last year, the most vulnerable of Georgia’s children lived in danger of falling through the cracks of a society struggling to shed…

Creating Smarter Cities with the Urban Poor Worldwide one billion people live in urban slums and that number is projected to double to two billion by 2030. In India, CHF has been tackling this issue headon, working with slum communities and city governments to design and implement solutions to help reduce poverty and create smarter,…

USAID Jordan Loan Guarantee Facility (JLGF) is Helping Women SME Business Owners Expand Their Businesses Through a Financing Workshop Press Release The USAID Jordan Loan Guarantee Facility (JLGF) is helping women grow their businesses. A three day workshop was conducted to help women SME owners seek financing for startup or expansion. Case studies were presented…

CHF Program Helps Entrepreneurs to Chart their Own Path By Aaron Weiss, CHF Rwanda Intern Françoise Mukabalisa wakes up each morning and commutes to her canteen, where she works from nine in the morning to six at night. Françoise’s canteen is located in a large Kigali market, where she serves hundreds of shoppers passing through…