Global Communities Archives

Director at Silver Spring-based CHF International Celebrates Work in Latin America Community Contributor looks back on 26 years of humanitarian aid as Peace Corps turns 50 By Randy Lyness The Peace Corps turned 50 this year. Such a milestone prompted me to think back to my own Peace Corps experience, my first trip to Latin…

Building Assets for Drought-Stricken Communities in Ethiopia (slideshow) CHF is currently working in the most drought-prone and insecure region of Ethiopia – the Somali state, which is located in the country’s southeastern corner bordering Somalia. Through the USAID-funded SHAPE program (Sustainable Humanitarian Assistance Program for Ethiopia), CHF has been helping drought-affected and food-insecure communities to…

CHF International, Partners, Increasing Access to Education in Yemen By Yemen Post Staff On September 17, more than seven million Yemeni girls and boys should have been back to school. In addition, it is expected that about 800 thousand children will be enrolled in the first primary grade, according to the Ministry of Education. In…

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programs in Africa CHF has worked in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector for over 50 years and has worked on water and sanitation projects in more than 15 countries. In Africa, CHF currently has WASH programs in Liberia, Ghana, and Rwanda. CHF takes a comprehensive approach to WASH by…

Local Institution Strengthening Since 1952, CHF has served as a catalyst for sustainable and transformational development in more than 100 countries worldwide and currently has operations in 26 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. CHF’s approach to development emphasizes productive partnerships that enhance sustainability and increase aid effectiveness. In doing…

VIP Profile: Blake Baron Honduras, August 2010 Documenting Program Lessons and Experience through Pictures CHF has been working in Honduras since the mid-1990s including, in recent years, several projects under funding from Global Fund, the State Department, and the Millennium Challenge Account. To document work under the Global Fund award, especially in malaria and HIV,…

Peace Corps: 50 Years of Service and Legacy By David Weiss, CEO and President As the Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary, its approach to development and its work around the world remain more relevant than ever. Over the last five decades, the “Peace Corps model” has had a tremendous amount of influence on organizations…

VIP Profile: Margot Fuller Rwanda, June – August 2011 Evaluating Internal Savings and Lending Groups (ISLGs) to Develop Economic Strengthening Strategy Internal Savings and Lending Groups (ISLGs) are one of the mechanisms used to encourage savings and borrowing for economic development purposes. In Rwanda, their formation is assisted by the USAID-funded Higa Ubeho program, with cooperative…

Green School Plants a Brighter Future for Kosovo’s Children By Danielle Duran Baron In order to give every child in Kosovo’s severely overcrowded schools an opportunity to receive an education, three four-hour classroom shifts are often the norm. For almost a decade, USAID has worked with Kosovo school system leaders to alleviate this problem through…

South Sudan: Getting it Right from the Start CHF International is one of 38 aid agencies who have called upon the international community not to waste the opportunity for effective humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding in the world’s newest country, South Sudan. Read the report here.

Congressman Chris Van Hollen Holds Town Hall with CHF Staff On Friday, August 29, CHF International welcomed Congressman Chris Van Hollen to an all staff meeting at the Silver Spring Civic Center. The Congressman addressed the importance of our work, then took questions. A spirited discussion of the value of US investments in international affairs…

International Development Meets Business School RIGHT: Silvia Cruz, Daniel Greenberg and Shani Senbetta, MBA students at Harvard Business School, spent three weeks in Beirut working on a marketing strategy document for CHF’s Iraq-based lending institution. When MBA students from a top university team up with a large non-government organization (NGO) to tackle complex projects in a developing country,…

CHF and J/P HRO – We Clear the Rubble, Haitians Rebuild their Lives By David Humphries, Director of Communications One of the oft-repeated criticisms of the response to the Haiti earthquake is that of well-meaning but inexperienced responders who didn’t know the environment of Haiti. But the fact is that with the right level of passion…

A New Approach to Disaster Recovery for an Urban Millennium By David Humphries, Director of Communications This was my fourth trip to Haiti, although my last trip was exactly a year ago. I had the privilege of visiting Haiti in November 2009, six weeks before the earthquake, then again six weeks after the earthquake, then…

Share the Wealth: New Urban Poverty Atlases Now Provide Data to Slum Dwellers A nonprofit works to get information about the lack of health, water and sanitation services into the hands not just of the government but of slum residents as well. This article originally ran in Scientific American By Larry Greenemeier Economic opportunity has…

Youth Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean In more than 15 countries around the world, CHF International has successfully engaged youth in educational opportunities and civic leadership. Throughout the world, young people have proven to be powerful agents of positive change both within development programs and society at large. In Latin America and the Caribbean, these…

CHF-Lebanon: Festival Kicks Off Bebnine’s New Produce Market  Through the USAID-funded TAMKIN program, CHF has been working with municipalities in Northern Lebanon since 2008 to help them become more effective in leading local socio-economic development through democratic engagement with the private sector and citizenry. As a part of this effort, CHF and the Rene Moawad Foundation (RMF) working…

Formalizing Property Rights as a Path to Development By Maria Garcia, Communications Coordinator, CHF Colombia “The third time’s the charm,” Carlos Caro -60 years old- thought when requesting a loan from the Agricultural Bank to increase the production of his plot. However, even after a fourth petition, his application was rejected. The reasons for the…