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Livestock Initiative Restores Land, Water in...

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:23:05 -0400

Livestock Initiative Restores Land, Water in Zimbabwe

Communities in Zimbabwe report increased suffering thanks to water shortages and land degradation in recent years. Invoking alternative solutions, a local organization is training residents and other nonprofit organizations to use livestock to restore land and natural water sources.

VICTORIA FALLS, ZIMBABWE – Balbinah Nyoni, 37, grew up in Sianyanga village, a rural area that lies in the semiarid region of Matabeleland North province in western Zimbabwe.

Although the province is home to the world-famous Victoria Falls, the people here suffer from long dry spells and high temperatures, thanks to climate change and environmental degradation.

Nyoni is tall and slim. She has eyes that draw everyone’s attention. Her skin is very dark, testifying to her ceaseless expeditions in the scorching sun to provide food and water for her family from the dry land. But her robust walk and rapid talk reflect her fighting spirit as she resists the daily fatigue that seems to sap the energy out of many women, men and children in Sianyanga.

Nyoni stares vacantly at the lifeless, dry lands in front of her and takes a deep breath. She says the land used to be beautiful and that a small perennial river flowed across her village when she was a little girl. Nyoni adds that livestock had plenty of food and water.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/africa/zimbabwe/livestock-initiative-restores-land-water-zimbabwe#ixzz1V7BYjCNl

Bangladeshis Call for End to Extrajudicial Killings, Torture by...

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:18:36 -0400

Bangladeshis Call for End to Extrajudicial Killings, Torture by Anti-Terror Police Unit

Last year, government officials in Bangladesh assured the international community that extrajudicial killings had stopped. But a new human rights report reveals that Bangladesh’s anti-terror police unit killed one person extrajudicially every four days between January and July 2011. Unit authorities attribute deaths to crossfire, while residents say they are scared as activists, students, doctors, prisoners and accused criminals continue to die and disappear.

DHAKA, BANGLADESH – Limon Hossain, a college student with dark brown eyes, was returning home to Chhaturia, a village in Bangladesh, with his family’s cows when he was shot by members of a police unit. The injury caused him to lose his left leg.

Some alleged that the Rapid Action Battalion, RAB, the anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police department, shot him on purpose. But the RAB maintains that Hossain was caught in crossfire.

Before he was shot in March, Hossain was charged with obstructing the arms act and government duty by attempting to murder and injure RAB personnel. Soon after the shooting, Henu Ara Begum, Hossain’s mother, filed a case with the senior judicial magistrate’s court against several RAB personnel, suggesting her son was shot instead of proceeding with the formal charges against him in court.

Mokhlesur Rahman, RAB director general, maintains that Hossain was the accidental victim of a shootout between RAB and criminals.

“Limon is a young boy, not a notorious criminal, but an accused in a criminal case,” he said during a media briefing here. “He just became the victim of the incident.”

Begum says she is scared for her family’s well-being.

“We are scared by the RAB professionals and under pressure to withdraw the case,” Begum says. “Thanks to the National Human Rights Commission and other human rights organization who are actually safeguarding me and my family to seek justice.”

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/asia/bangladesh/bangladeshis-call-end-extrajudicial-killings-torture-anti-terror-police-#ixzz1UnBTq2PL

Cameroon Takes Strides to Empower Widows, Eliminate Traditional...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 09:34:51 -0400

Cameroon Takes Strides to Empower Widows, Eliminate Traditional Rituals

Widows in Cameroon say that in addition to dealing with the grief of losing their partners, they must also endure inhumane treatment from in-laws in a series of rituals after the death of a husband. The government and nongovernmental organizations are expanding efforts to address widows’ rights in light of International Widows’ Day, commemorated for the first time this year.

DOUALA, CAMEROON – Margeret Tarla, a mother of four, says her father married her off to his friend before she turned 16. She became the second of the man’s five wives.

Tarla, who lives in Douala, Cameroon’s largest city and the capital of Littoral province, became a widow almost a year ago. She says that after her husband died, she and the other wives were forced to undergo inhumane traditional widowhood rites in the husband’s village.

The wives had to sit on dried plantain leaves for three days and could only eat food served on leaves by a virgin. After three days on the floor, they had to bathe with a concoction of water and other substances, which, according to their husband’s tribe, cleansed them from the bad luck accrued by their intimate relations with their husband. They also had to shave their heads, arms and private parts.

“We go to the stream with a basket,” Tarla says, describing another ritual. “And, after a bath, any widow who does not pass out urine is considered to have a hand in her husband’s death!”

On their way back from the stream, they had to cut down bamboo sticks to symbolize the food they were expected to bring home with them. They were not allowed to look behind them.

“The next day, we move round the market square in line, according to our position in the polygamous marriage,” she says.

Widows here also have to wear a black or white sackcloth for the traditional year of mourning, but Tarla says this is not considered as important as the other rites they went through.

Tarla says the rites were inhumane.

“The rites are so inhumane, such that one would not want her daughter to marry into a tribe with such customs,” she says.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/africa/cameroon/cameroon-takes-strides-empower-widows-eliminate-traditional-rituals#ixzz1UhWD7CDx

Kashmiris Strive to Revive Local Polo Tradition in Secluded...

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:30:50 -0400

Kashmiris Strive to Revive Local Polo Tradition in Secluded Mountain Region

Polo is the traditional sport of Drass, a town in Jammu and Kashmir. But locals say that the lack of basic facilities, equipment, coaches and tournaments are major impediments to the growth of the game. They urge the government to revive the sport, citing high local interest and tourism potential.

DRASS, KASHMIR, INDIA – Horses raced around the playing grounds at a polo match last month in Drass, a town in Jammu and Kashmir state. Wielding long mallets, the players battled for the ball in front of thousands of jubilant fans.

Excited fans – young and old, male and female – quickly became lost in the final game of the annual Lalit Polo Tournament at Viswanathan Stadium in Drass, also know as Dras. Part of the polo tradition here, music from the surna, a wind instrument, and daman, a percussion instrument, mingled with the fans’ cheers as they rooted on their favorite teams.

A group of local youth watched the match enthusiastically.

“Polo is our traditional sport,” Abdul Rehman, one of the youths, says. “We’ve come over all the way to watch its proceedings.”

The young fans say they flocked to the stadium from the surrounding areas to watch the match. Polo has been declining here in recent years, making the annual tournament a sacred event.

“Though the game is dying its death here, we want it to be revived,” Rehman says.

The group says that the government makes big promises when it comes to reviving polo but so far has not kept them.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/asia/india/kashmiris-strive-revive-local-polo-tradition-secluded-mountain-region#ixzz1Ue18YaAj

Women Find Jobs in Guide and Trekking Industry in Nepal The...

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:23:30 -0400

Women Find Jobs in Guide and Trekking Industry in Nepal

The government has deemed this year Nepal Tourism Year 2011, a national promotion that is creating job opportunities for women. Tour and trekking guides say the professions offer women financial security and exposure to the world outside their villages. Public and private organizations offer training programs to help women break into the tourism industry and to urge society to erase gender barriers in the workplace.

KATHMANDU, NEPAL – Tourist vehicles marked by green registration plates stop at Basantapur, one of the major tourist attractions in central Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, and deposit hordes of tourists from around the world. As the tourists stroll around the area, their guides inform them about the century-old palace that once used to be the seat of the ancient monarchy.

As tourists are busy taking photographs in the scorching midday sun, they listen to the history of Basantapur from Indira Joshi, one of the first woman tour guides in Nepal.

“I tell them everything I know about this place,” says Joshi, dressed in a blue blouse and wrapped in a blue traditional saree along with matching accessories.

At 57, Joshi says she tries to conceal the wrinkles on her face with makeup, but that her age hasn’t decreased her energy or enthusiasm as she teaches the visitors about her country.

“We, who are in the tourism business, should save the image of our country,” says Joshi, who leads tours in English and Japanese.

Even during the height of Maoist insurgency from 2001 to 2004, when many people were killed in a day, she says she focused on creating a positive image of Nepal for her tourists.

Brazil Works to Reduce Unsafe Abortions Women in Brazil procure...

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:16:00 -0400

Brazil Works to Reduce Unsafe Abortions

Women in Brazil procure more than 1 million unsafe abortions each year, making the procedure one of the top three causes of avoidable death among women in Brazil. Doctors, government health officials and civil society organizations are working to reduce unsafe abortions in Brazil. While some attribute unsafe abortions to socio-economics, others debate abortion law.

RECIFE, BRAZIL – Luisa, 20, was 18 when she had an abortion in a clandestine clinic. She says she didn’t want to but felt as if she didn’t have any other choice.

Luisa, who declined to give her full name for privacy reasons, is the eldest of three daughters in a lower-middle-class family in Recife, a port city in northeastern Brazil. Her father worked in a factory and earned a decent wage, which was enough to provide the whole family with everything they needed.

Luisa worked during the day at a clothing store in a shopping mall. She quit her studies a year before to earn some money and become more independent from her parents. When the store hired her, though, she went back to school in the evenings with the support of her employer.

At this store, Luisa met Carlos, whose last name she declined to give for privacy reasons. He was looking for Christmas gifts that day, but came back many times after that to talk to her and eventually invited her on a date.

Carlos was 21 and the only son of a wealthy couple. With time, they fell in love. When they started to have sexual relations, Luisa says she realized she had to protect herself from a possible pregnancy so she began taking birth control pills.

But she soon started having strong headaches, so she went to see a doctor at the town’s family planning clinic. The doctor suggested that she change her contraceptive method to the diaphragm. She learned how to use it properly, and the headaches disappeared.

Three months later, however, she noticed her period was late. Luisa waited for another two weeks, then returned to the clinic. After some testing, they gave her the news: She was pregnant.

Women in Nepal Warn of Foreign Employment Exploitation While the...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:19:00 -0400

Women in Nepal Warn of Foreign Employment Exploitation

While the Nepali government lifted a decade-long ban on women working abroad in the Gulf only last year, tens of thousands of Nepali women have illegally pursued these foreign jobs in recent years. But without the proper documentation that ensures them government protection, many say they were exploited physically and sexually.

KATHMANDU, NEPAL – Sapana Bishwokarma, 26, has a young face. She looks too young to be the mother of the 2-year-old boy who plays beside her. But she is.

The young mother is answerless when asked about the baby’s father. She says her body trembles with fear each time she recalls her son’s father. Then tears engulf her eyes and trickle down her cheeks.

“I didn’t know that man very well,” says Bishwokarma, who requested her name be changed. “He used to rape me as many times as he wanted, any given time of the day.”

Bishwokarma, of Jhapa, a district in eastern Nepal, says she moved to Saudi Arabia four years ago to work as a nanny. Her eyes moist, she says that an employment agent enticed her with the prospect of a good income.

She says she paid the agent 50,000 rupees, $700 USD, to secure the job for her. Because of a Nepali government ban on working in the Gulf, lifted just last year, she says she traveled first to India then to Saudi Arabia, where two men received her at the airport and took her to the house where she would work.

But instead of working as a nanny as promised, Bishwokarma says she was forced to work as a maid. The situation continued to deteriorate. One month into the job, she says her employer’s unmarried son raped her, with the help of three other men.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/asia/nepal/women-nepal-warn-foreign-employment-exploitation#ixzz1UAjapasz

As Unemployment Soars in Kosovo, Women Fond Work in Food and...

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:00:53 -0400

As Unemployment Soars in Kosovo, Women Fond Work in Food and Craft Inustries

Kosovo is among the newest and poorest of countries in the Balkan region. Some estimates rank unemployment as high as 70 percent, a rate that disproportionately affects women and youth. Women are finding work in two growing industries.

PRISHTINA, KOSOVO – One of the fastest-growing sectors in Kosovo – the food processing industry – is directly benefiting women. Women here who possess the traditional skills of harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables are now getting paid jobs in the growing food processing sector. Employment in the handicraft industry is also increasing for women as the younger generation has not learned traditional arts and crafts skills but demand is high for the products in urban stores. A photo essay.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/eastern-europe/kosovo/unemployment-soars-kosovo-women-find-work-food-and-craft-industrie#ixzz1U2b1tkRM

Nigerians Debate Pros and Cons of New Cashless PolicyThe Central...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 03:02:34 -0400

Nigerians Debate Pros and Cons of New Cashless Policy

The Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced a new cashless banking policy, which will be implemented in June 2012. Bank officials say it will enhance convenience, savings and the economy. Others doubt the reliability of new banking technologies and the ability of the general population to use them in Nigeria, where the majority are “unbanked.”

LAGOS, NIGERIA – Ibukun Emuwawon, 29, a professional songwriter and music producer, says he stopped using an ATM card after a recent experience at an ATM in Lagos, a state in southwestern Nigeria. He says the machine deducted money from his account without dispensing any money.

“I walked over to an ATM belonging to a bank different from mine, put the card in the machine, pushed the keys for the amount I needed and bingo – debited, but no money came out,” he says.

He says his card was stuck in the machine longer than usual but came out eventually. He says he reported the incident to his bank and filed a reclaim form. He says that everything was rectified after three days, but that his distrust of ATMs has endured.

“Since then, I stopped using ATM cards and all,” he says.

Emuwawon says this experience makes him wary of the new move by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to implement a cashless banking policy.

The CBN plans to implement the cashless banking policy in June 2012. Bank representatives say the policy will enhance convenience and savings for Nigerians and the government, as well as elevate the economy to be more competitive internationally. But many Nigerians who have had negative experiences with ATMs say the country isn’t ready to go cashless, especially as the majority of the population doesn’t yet use banks. Bank employees welcome the policy but say certain changes have to precede it.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/africa/nigeria/nigerians-debate-pros-and-cons-new-cashless-policy#ixzz1TwmJKkYn

Buddhist Temple Workers Can’t Afford Worship in Sri...

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 03:04:11 -0400

Buddhist Temple Workers Can’t Afford Worship in Sri Lanka

Temple workers spend up to 12 hours a day selling flowers, oils and other items used for worship at a popular Buddhist temple here. But temple workers say they are excluded from the worshipping themselves because they can’t afford to take time off work, thanks to low wages and hefty rent paid to the temple.

KELANIYA, SRI LANKA – Nilantha Dias and his father operate a flower boutique in Kelaniya, a small town near Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. The shop, which specializes in flowers and other items used for worship, is one of 11 boutiques that belong to the much revered Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara temple here.

Said to have been made holy by a visit from Lord Buddha, the temple is one of the most ancient and sacred worshipping places for Buddhists in Sri Lanka. It is situated along the Kelani River, six miles from Colombo. According to the Mahavamsa, a historical poem detailing Sri Lanka’s founding, Lord Buddha visited this ancient temple during his visit to Sri Lanka in 523 B.C.

While Buddhists used to worship at the temple every day of the year, today worshippers and pilgrims crowd the temple mostly on Saturdays, Sundays and Poya Days – Buddhist public holidays that occur during the full moon.

The 11 small boutiques that belong to the temple sell items used for worship – including flowers, coconut oil, oil lamps and sandalwood sticks – to worshippers and pilgrims. Ten boutiques are situated close to the temple parking lot, while one boutique stands near the temple’s front entrance. Eleven different businessmen run the boutiques, with each paying weekly rent to the temple.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/asia/sri-lanka/buddhist-temple-workers-can’t-afford-worship-sri-lanka#ixzz1TqfmnPpP

Lone Woman Candidate Eyes Presidency in Cameroon In preparation...

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:43:21 -0400

Lone Woman Candidate Eyes Presidency in Cameroon

In preparation for Cameroon’s October presidential elections, the lone woman candidate is campaigning throughout the country and encouraging women to vote. While her campaign has faced numerous obstacles – she was kidnapped in May – she is determined to give voice to women and minorities throughout Cameroon. With an ambitious economic and social agenda, many here believe she is just what the country needs.

BAMENDA, CAMEROON – At every stop Edith Kabbang Walla, 45, popularly known here as Kah Walla, is generating excitement among women nationwide. Walla is the only female candidate running for president in Cameroon’s October elections.

“The interest of women in politics has been aroused, but now we want their active participation,” Walla says during a recent visit to Bamenda, a city in northwestern Cameroon.

Walla entered the national political scene in 2007 and was named by the World Bank in 2008 as one of seven women entrepreneurs in Africa. She declared her candidacy in October 2010, and the Cameroon People’s Party endorsed her in April 2011.

Tracing women’s political participation in Cameroon, Walla says that women were the first group to carry out a public demonstration against colonizers in the fight for Cameroon’s independence. But she says that after gaining independence from France in 1960 and Great Britain in 1961, women’s participation faded into playing traditional roles within political party circles instead of taking on strategic positions, such as president.

“In 1992, a woman ran for presidency, but later joined presidential majority,” she says. “We saw another in 2004, but her candidacy was never accepted. So my candidacy is first to draw national and international attention as [a] woman candidate.”

She believes that her candidacy and her work in the field to get Cameroonians to register to vote have already had an impact on the community and on the way women view politics. If elected president, Walla says she plans to continue to integrage more Cameroonian voices into the decision-making process. Her three priorities are women, the disabled, and the linguistic and ethnic minority.

“These people have been left out of the decision-making processes in the country,” she says.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/africa/cameroon/lone-woman-candidate-eyes-presidency-cameroon#ixzz1TnCMi18v

Food Insecurity Caused by Climate Change Affects Family...

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:44:19 -0400

Food Insecurity Caused by Climate Change Affects Family Planning in Kenya

Experts and mothers say climate change is directly and indirectly affecting childbearing in Kenya. They say food insecurity caused by climate change hurts pregnant mothers’ and children’s health and is leading Kenyans to opt for smaller families.

NAIROBI, KENYA – It is early evening, and one of the fast food outlets in the South C Shopping Center in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, is bustling with activity as hungry souls troop in one after the other. But Paul Mwangi, a taxi operator, says that no matter what he orders on the menu, he can’t spend less than 100 shillings, $1.10 USD, on a simple snack.

Mwangi says that food prices have risen dramatically because of environmental degradation and changes in the climate, which have led to weaker crop yields across Kenya.

“I did not know that it would affect us this way,” he says. “I went home to Laikipia in March thinking I would be able to plant. The land was dry. I made two return visits in April. Still, there are no rains, and those who had planted have just watched their crops die under the scorching sun.”

Mwangi says that rising costs across society – combined with ailing crops, which his family depends on for food and his wife sells in order to supplement his earnings as a taxi driver – make it hard to support a large family. He says he recently took his son shopping for school supplies, and the bill totaled slightly more than 3,500 shillings, $40 USD.

“Can you believe that was the bill for snacks, books, and things like soap and oil?” he asks. “The land no longer gives good returns like it did in the past. I can hardly sustain my family of four – two children, my wife and I.”

Mwangi says that because of the changing climatic conditions, he recently agreed to let his wife have a tubal ligation, a procedure that closes a woman’s fallopian tubes. He says this frees them from the anxiety of having more children than they can support.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/africa/kenya/food-insecurity-caused-climate-change-affects-family-planning-kenya#ixzz1TVeKysmq

Sri Lanka Aims to Improve Rights for Women Migrant Workers...

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:31:10 -0400

Sri Lanka Aims to Improve Rights for Women Migrant Workers Abroad, Create Jobs at Home

Hundreds of thousands of women leave Sri Lanka each year to work abroad, as the government, nongovernmental organizations and foreign employment agencies aim to improve migrant workers’ rights abroad and create job opportunities at home. Women migrant workers reveal mixed experiences when it comes to foreign employment.

AMBATENNA, SRI LANKA – Rohini Jayalath, 42, left her home in Ambatenna in Sri Lanka’s Central province 15 years ago to search for a job in the Middle East in order to help her impoverished family.

Jayalath’s father died when she was 8. Her mother worked at a weaving center to earn money to support their family, but she died in 1993. With the responsibility of her siblings on her shoulders, Jayalath left Sri Lanka, where jobs were scarce, to search for employment abroad in 1995. A private employment agency helped her find a job at a factory.

“I did a job at a factory for about eight years,” she says.

She says she saved her earnings and moved back to Sri Lanka in 2003 to start a better life for herself and her family.

“I started a small grocery shop in my village with my savings,” she says. “Now I am so proud to tell that it is in a well-improved condition. Luckily, I could construct my own house without taking any loan.”

She says that in recent years, the Sri Lankan government has increased support for migrant workers.

“Now the foreign job seekers get more government intervention than we got earlier,” she says. “Government provides big support and facilities now. Foreign embassies have been established in almost in all the Middle East countries.”

She says that the government is also working to resolve other issues.

“More attention is being given to the problems faced by the migrants,” she says. “Training for the foreign job seekers [has] been given by the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, which is very important.”

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/asia/sri-lanka/sri-lanka-aims-improve-rights-women-migrant-workers-abroad-create-jobs-ho#ixzz1TQ0IZkaA

New Contract Erodes Family Health Care in Romania Turbulent...

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:20:31 -0400

New Contract Erodes Family Health Care in Romania

Turbulent contract negotiations between Romanian family doctors and the national insurance organization last month left millions without health care. Although doctors eventually signed the contract after the elimination of some provisions, they lament other losses to family medicine here.

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA – Amalia Solescu, 67, a retired economist, says she visited her family physician last month to ask for the discounted medicine guaranteed to her by her medical insurance. But she says her doctor said no.

Surprised, she asked why. She says her doctor told her she had to buy it herself, despite the money she has contributed to the National Health Insurance Fund. But Solescu says she can’t afford the medicine that costs 30 euros, $45 USD, with her pension of 250 euros, $360 USD.

Worried, she says she then asked for an appointment with a specialist for her annual hypertension and osteoporosis treatments. But again, her family doctor denied coverage of her treatment. Increasingly alarmed, Solescu wondered, if the need arose, could she check into a hospital this year? Yes, her doctor said – but she’d have to pay for all the costs herself.

“‘It’s like you’re no longer insured,’” she says the doctor told her.

Solescu says she wished that the family doctors would hurry up and abandon their protests against the National Health Insurance House, the autonomous public institution that administrates and manages the national health insurance system. Because the parties hadn’t signed a new contract, she and her fellow Romanian citizens couldn’t access their health insurance.

But she says she empathized with the doctors’ plight as she remembered how she felt when the Romanian government threatened to cut all pensions a few months ago. So she went home without arguing.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/eastern-europe/romania/new-contract-erodes-family-health-care-romania#ixzz1TJs4o95p

Kung Fu Grannies Combat Rape in Kenya As government, police and...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:47:55 -0400

Kung Fu Grannies Combat Rape in Kenya

As government, police and residents struggle to reduce rape incidences in Kenya, a group of grannies in a Nairobi slum is taking matters into their own hands. A local organization here trains elderly women to defend themselves against attackers.

NAIROBI, KENYA – Shanty houses made from rusted corrugated iron sheets line a lone tarmac road in Korogocho, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Garbage is strewn along the dusty sidewalks, and a herd of goats trots by, oblivious to their surroundings. Amidst the shanty houses stands a robust church made of blue corrugated iron sheets with its name painted in white: the Church of the Lord and Faith Healing Ministry.

Outside the church, a sound of yelling and pummeling become audible, like out of a kung fu movie.

“No! No! No! No! No!” is shouted repeatedly.

The church door flings open, revealing a room of almost 30 elderly women in their 60s and 70s who are taking turns chopping, hacking and pummeling a punching bag. Some even use their walking canes to pulverize the imaginary assailant.

This is a self-defense class for elderly women in the heart of Korogocho, one of Nairobi’s largest slums, with an estimated 200,000 residents. The class is run by No Means No, a local organization that offers various programs to protect Kenyan women.

Sheila Wanjiku of No Means No says she was part of a larger team that brought the elderly women of the Korogocho slum together in 2007. They taught them a variety of martial arts techniques to defend themselves against rapists. Now the elderly women train diligently every Thursday and Saturday to protect themselves from attacks in the slum, an area rampant with crime.

A group of teachers left the state school system in Argentina in...

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:17:33 -0400

A group of teachers left the state school system in Argentina in order to help thousands of dropouts return to their education. They developed a new model called People’s High Schools – which make education more inclusive and teach students to question government and social systems.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – It’s 7 p.m. on a Tuesday in July. It’s already night in Buenos Aires when Gustavo Santucho, 38, walks through the doors of the Atlanta football club, where a “Bachillerato Popular,” or “People’s High School,” called Dignity, operates. Chairs surround a rectangular table and will soon be occupied by students in their third and final year of school. Santucho’s movements are slow, as is the voice that tells of the journey that brought him here.

“I quit school when I was 16,” he says. “Then I got a good job, and I didn’t see the point in continuing studying. I always had good jobs. Well, if a good job is one in which you make money.”

He reflects with his hands folded on his legs. His hands don’t tell of a tough job. The smooth skin and clean fingernails open the question about his occupation that kept him away from his studies for so long. He says he worked with refrigerators in the seafood industry, but that eventually he decided he needed his diploma.

“I think what made me change was having a son,” he says. “I felt that I couldn’t tell my son that he had to study if I hadn’t been capable of doing it.”

He says he even inspired his wife to go to school, too.

“Today also my wife decided to come to the school, and it is good because this changes your mind,” he says. “We couldn’t continue together if she didn’t accompany me. To be sincere, I’m not the same that I was before I came here. I see life differently.”

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/americas/argentina/new-popular-education-model-seeks-expand-education-access-argentina#ixzz1SqNZVreX

Ugandans Clash on Polygamy as Parliament Debates Ban As...

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:34:00 -0400

Ugandans Clash on Polygamy as Parliament Debates Ban

As Parliament debates a bill that would ban polygamy, Ugandans express mixed views about growing up in polygamous families, though 28 percent of married women in Uganda are currently in polygamous unions. Some say the practice is natural, while others say it harms children and violates women’s rights.

KAMPALA, UGANDA – Tom Kasekende, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, says he grew up in a polygamous home in which his father had several wives.

“I grew up in a polygamous family,” he says. “My father had many wives, some of them I did not even know. I would just hear about them as a child.”

He says that his family was Protestant but that his father’s many wives would often engage in witchcraft in order to compete for their husband’s attention.

“They were always bewitching each other to get my father’s attention,” he says.

Kasekende says that as he grew up, he decided that polygamy wasn’t a the way of life he would choose. “Children in a polygamous marriage are not loved by their parents, especially the father, who is always moving from one family to another,” he says. “As a man, the women are always bewitching you and you even get confused.”

He says that polygamy may have thrived in traditional societies, when the cost of living was relatively low. But he says that the high cost of living and rising inflation here make large families less sustainable. He says that today, having multiple wives, all with their own children, breeds greed, selfishness and poverty in homes.

In the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, the coffee is roasted, ground...

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 05:16:34 -0400

In the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, the coffee is roasted, ground and served in front of special guests. The ceremony is such a sacred tradition that Ethiopians living in Kenya, who make their own coffee instead of drinking local brews, perform it for their families and guests to stay connected to their roots.

NAIROBI, KENYA – Woizero Isul, 31, is a housewife from Ethiopia who lives with her husband and two children in one room in a large, modern flat in Kilimani, a leafy green suburb of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city. She says they plan to live in Kenya for five years before moving to Germany to join relatives who live there.

Isul barely speaks English, so her husband of seven years, who easily communicates in English, gladly agrees to translate.

“There are lots of Ethiopians living in this community,” she says. “They all seem to concentrate in this neighborhood, possibly why we have several Ethiopian shops, orthodox churches and restaurants such as the most popular, Habesha.”

Many Ethiopians who visit Kenya say that Habesha meals remind them of home because it serves “injera,” an Ethiopian staple food similar to flatbread.

She says that the house her family lives in has five bedrooms, but because of the high cost of living in a foreign country, she and her spouse pay partial rent for one of the bedrooms. The other four bedrooms and living room are rented by other Ethiopians or Eritreans. They share a common bathroom, toilet and kitchen area.

“It’s cheaper this way,” says Woizero Isul’s husband, Isul Bekele Sr., 34. “We would rather share a house with friends and family than live in the slums of Nairobi. We get additional help from our relatives now living abroad. We hope to join them in the near future.”

As Botswana studies its growing vulnerability to climate change,...

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:28:42 -0400

As Botswana studies its growing vulnerability to climate change, health risks associated with a changing climate have come to the forefront. Higher temperatures and less frequent and predictable rain have hurt crops and nutrition, which is essential for strengthening the immune system against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Meanwhile, higher carbon dioxide levels are enabling the rapid spread of malaria to mostly women and girls.

SELIBE-PHIKWE, BOTSWANA – Segwabe Morathi, a retired religious minister, works as a farmer in a village on the outskirts of Selibe-Phikwe, a small mining town in eastern Botswana. He says farming is not easy in Botswana, where a semiarid desert means that the weather is unpredictable. A changing climate has only made rain more unreliable, he says.

Morathi says he has spent precious time ploughing his field with the expectation of more rains, but to his disappointment, the intense heat has consumed all the young seedlings.

Across the country, rain has become less frequent, while intense heat – tempatures can reach higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit – continues to cause a multitude of problems for both people and industries.

Experts here say that malnutrition and undernourishment that result from unpredictable crop yields leave people with perilous health conditions, such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, even more vulnerable. One in four adults in Botswana is HIV-positive, giving it the world’s second-highest HIV-prevalence rate.

While rain in the south varies, Morathi says that the northern part of the country has received a lot of rain. He says that the area – home to the Okavango Delta, where a river empties into a swamp spanning 11,000 kilometers – is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, leading to more cases of malaria. Throughout Botswana, women and children are the ones who are most prone to malaria because they are the ones who search for food, fish in the rivers and transport tourists in their canoes.

Morathi says that Botswana has four regions – north, south, east and west – and that each has different weather, which makes it hard for the government to create a plan.

Arranged Marriage Before Birth Diminishes Among Nepali Ethnic...

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:29:19 -0400

Arranged Marriage Before Birth Diminishes Among Nepali Ethnic Group

The mangni tradition – the arranging of marriages for unborn and young children among family friends – has been prevalent among Nepal’s Tharu ethnic group since the 1940s. But these days the custom is waning as the younger, more educated generation begins to speak out

KANCHANPUR, NEPAL – Even before Phoolmati Chaudhary, whose name has been changed to avoid family conflict, was born, her parents had already arranged her marriage to a friend’s son.

Arranged marriage is a custom of Nepal’s Tharu ethnic group, which Phoolmati’s family belongs to.

Now, 15 years later, the teenager from Nepal’s Far-Western district of Kanchanpur says she became depressed when she found out about her engaged status as she now has a boyfriend whom she dreams of marrying.

“When I confronted my parents [and told them] that I didn’t want a marriage that was fixed before my birth, they didn’t listen,” she says as she draws circles on the barren earth with her bare toes. “They continued to pressure me [into the marriage].”

The teenager says that the boy her parents arranged her marriage to began to follow her around and pressure her to marry him.

“[I have found out that] he has some bad habits,” she says of his drinking and gambling tendencies. “I don’t want to spend my life with someone like that. But my parents seemed to be worried about their promise to their friends and the society rather than my wishes.”

Phoolmati says that her family also doesn’t know she has a boyfriend whom she loves and wants to marry.

“Should they come to know about it, I’ll be in trouble,” she says, her tone filled with dread and discomfort.

Read more: http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/global-news/asia/nepal/arranged-marriage-birth-diminishes-among-nepali-ethnic-group#ixzz1SRZbTEZc