Is It Too Late for Systems Thinking? Lessons Learned on Adopting a Market Systems Approach Mid-Program
By Karla Yoder, Global Communities Economic Development/Workforce Specialist This blog was originally published on Marketlinks.org Agribusiness Investment for Market Stimulation (AIMS) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded initiative to promote trade in Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi by increasing access to finance and markets for agricultural small and medium enterprises (A-SMEs). AIMS was not initially…
Read MoreLocal Youth Drive ODF Strategy and Champion Sense of Pride in Northern Ghana Village
By Daniel Anthony, VP Communications & Public Affairs, Global Communities The “Open Defecation Free Community” sign on the side of the road marks the entrance to the community of Sagadugu. The community is part of Global Communities’ USAID-funded WASH For Health Project. Regional and local chiefs and community members gather in the background around one…
Read MoreUSAID TWIYUBAKE Holds Early Childhood Development Workshop
USAID Twiyubake, in collaboration with the National Early Childhood Development Program (NECDP), organized a workshop and field learning event for CHAIN partners. The event served as a learning platform on how to promote integrated ECD services across USAID funded projects. The workshop which took place in Musanze hosted USAID implementing program partners including SNV/CRS (Isuku…
Read MoreRedefining Fatherhood: One New Dad’s Journey as a Preemie Parent
When Martha was born, her mother Enipha says she was barely the size of her own slender forearm. The nurse on duty at Balaka District Hospital recorded her weight at just over 1.5 pounds. She arrived eight weeks early and was immediately placed on oxygen to regulate her breathing. The odds did not look good…
Read MorePhones as Farm Hands: Fighting Fall Armyworm with Tech
Mary Alick first saw a picture of the culprit while standing in her field among damaged crops of pigeon peas and maize. Joseph Fayilosi, an Agricultural Extension Development Officer (AEDO) with the Government of Malawi, had come to offer his technical support and guidance. Alick is one of more than 4,200 farming households assigned to…
Read MoreKenya Project Takes Novel Approach to Preventing and Reducing Gender-based Violence
A project in Kenya that addresses sexual health and gender-based violence (GBV) is taking a novel approach by deliberately involving men and boys in its outreach. Global Communities implements the PEPFAR-funded DREAMS project, which works with adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to ensure they lived Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe Lives in…
Read MoreManaging Menstruation Delivers Dignity and Opportunity
By Celia Zeilberger This article was originally published on USAID Global Waters In some remote parts of Ghana, girls are told that crossing a river during their menstrual period will offend the river deity — so some skip school to avoid incurring the deity’s wrath. In some rural communities in western Nepal, menstruating women are told that…
Read MoreMenstrual Hygiene Day 2019 – It’s Time for Action
Source: https://menstrualhygieneday.org/2019-campaign-materials/ By Sarah Goddard and Lena Pritzkat May 28 is Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day), which aims to break persisting taboos around menstruation, raise awareness about the importance of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) for women and adolescent girls, and engage decision-makers in raising the political priority of MHM. Globally more than half of women…
Read MoreGlobal Communities’ Digni-loo Project Wins USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Award
Liz Calvey Zeller, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, represented Global Communities at an invitation-only workshop that USAID convened to solicit feedback from development implementers on putting USAID’S new Private Sector Engagement (PSE) policy into practice. The feedback will be incorporated in published guidance for USAID implementers and will also serve as a guide for USAID…
Read MoreIt Takes A Village: Transforming Care for Preterm Babies
A mural painted on an outside wall of the Balaka District Hospital in Malawi has the following message translated in Chichewa: “Everyone can take care of a preterm baby.” Pictured with the declaration are three family members — presumably a grandmother, husband and wife — and each are shown holding a small, tightly wrapped newborn…
Read MoreMidwives Matter: A Lifeline for Vulnerable Mothers and Babies in Malawi
Irene Kamanga’s career was born in a waiting room. Growing up in a rural area of Malawi, she saw how difficult it was to access care due to the lack of nearby health facilities and inadequate staffing. “It took long to get treatment even when you were at the health center, because there was only…
Read MoreGhanaian Interior Designer Benefits from Global Communities’ Business Incubator Program
Gloria Anang is a 28-year-old resident of Accra and owner of Gloo Gallery. She graduated from YIEDIE, a Global Communities that creates economic opportunities in Ghana’s construction sector for economically disadvantaged youth. Soon after she went on to start a successful business in interior decorating. Her store can be found in Teshie, a coastal town…
Read MoreMeet Tanzania’s Safe Water Superhero
Yvonne Mwakisyala understands firsthand how access to clean water and sanitation is critical to keeping girls healthy, safe and on track with their education. “My mum makes a joke that I hated dirty floors so much as a child that I never crawled and moved straight to walking,” says Yvonne, who serves as a construction…
Read MoreFor a DREAMS Graduate, an Entrepreneurship Course Provides Steps to a Better Life
In Rwanda, HIV prevalence is highest among youth aged 20-24. It is against this background that the PEPFAR-funded DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS Free, Mentored and Safe) program was launched in five districts to address structural drivers of HIV among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), which includes poverty, gender inequality, sexual violence, and a…
Read MoreNew School Libraries Help Unlock Literacy Among Students in Tanzania
If books open new doors to learning, then libraries hold the key. Yet, neither were within reach to students attending the schools where Project Concern International (PCI) works in the Mara Region of Tanzania. In fact, prior to PCI’s first program interventions in 2016, none of the 231 primary schools in Bunda, Butiama and Musoma…
Read MoreSarah’s Season of Growth: Forging a Path Out of Poverty
As a farmer, Sarah Ben understands there is a season for everything. Even so, she has known more than her fair share of loss—from the passing of three of her children to multiple years of failed crops. Despite these hardships, the mother of now five has continued to work towards building a better life for…
Read MoreTurning the Tide on Unsanitary School Conditions in Tanzania
Children should not have to choose between their health and their education. Yet, one-third of schools worldwide lack access to clean water and basic hygiene facilities, putting students at risk of disease or forcing them to miss class altogether. Like many parts of Tanzania, the Mara Region continues to experience the challenge of inadequate school…
Read MoreBalancing the Balance: International Women’s Day 2019
By Betty Adera, CoP DREAMS Program International Women’s Day is here again and I face it with a lot of nostalgia. The global theme for the day being ‘Balance for Better’ resonates a lot with me because imbalance sits at the core of the limitations and barriers to progress, especially that of women. Just by…
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