Post Tagged with: "africa"

Below the Surface

Every year it seems I return to Emali, Kenya to document families experiencing water shortages in the extreme. ChildFund New Zealand is and has been working tirelessly in Emali to provide water access one community at a time. This year villages have been impacted by the El Niño weather pattern that is raging in neighboring Ethiopia (see previous blog entry). With families living in such remote areas, 100% access to the earth’s most essential resource may never be achieved in our lifetime, but it is comforting to see the problem made just a bit smaller each time I return.

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Reaping the Dust

There are some parts of Ethiopia right now that haven’t received more than a few sprinkles of rain in over two years. Since so many people live out in rural areas of the country and have to rely on seasonal rains to grow their own food- raising their own vegetables and livestock on small farms- that means the source of livelihood, nutrition, and sustenance for large numbers of people has vanished. Above, a small farmer sifts through the dust of the field he planted last year, but where nothing germinated. Can you imagine having to provide for your family with just a small farm not much bigger than your back yard? That’s hard enough, but take away the water source and it becomes impossible. Below, a woman in Fentale District scoops water from a shallow well. According to government figures, one in ten Ethiopians has been severely affected by the[…]

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From the front lines of the Food Crisis

Here is one mother’s testimony and plea for help from the front lines of the current food crisis in Ethiopia. According to the government, at least 400,000 children are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition, a form of malnutrition that, if survived, will impact their growth and development and will likely determine both their physical and cognitive abilities as adolescents and adults.

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Investing in Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire

Want to make some extra cash while giving a boost to markets in the developing world? Shared Interest lends capital to fair trade buyer and producer organizations in areas of the world that have limited access to finance. Because they only invest in Fair Trade businesses, that means living wages, better working conditions, and often benefits for workers like health care and education for their children. For many of us in the West, starting a business without the help of a bank would be impossible. Those in the developing world face this challenge and more when beginning a new venture. Yet developing economies will never improve without the expansion of the free market; this can only happen through improving the environment in which business can operate and gain access to capital. This makes the work of companies like Shared Interest all the more crucial. Microfinance this is not; Shared Interest[…]

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Through Wild Karamoja

The journey by road to Uganda’s Kidepo Valley National Park takes you through the remote and untamed Karamoja region. Don’t linger too long with the locals, or you may miss out on the wildlife ahead.

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Change in the Air

I feel like I’m getting spoiled taking all these helicopter rides. Aerial footage is definitely worth the effort if you can take the wind burn and the pilot’s bill that comes along with it. Drones work well too, yes – just not when you have 200 square kilometers to cover. Here I document the Millennium Challenge Corporation‘s Senegal Compact, which has rehabilitated highways and markets in the north and south and brought renewed farming abilities to the Senegal River Valley through an irrigation infrastructure overhaul. MCC is a foreign aid agency established by the US Congress that applies new philosophies to the implementation of development assistance with the aim of increasing economic growth. Rogue states and kleptocracies need not apply. Countries must pass a number of indicators including control of corruption, civil liberties, and trade policy to be eligible for a compact. Senegal, being one of Africa’s most stable democracies, had[…]

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Via Sydney

As one of fifteen siblings growing up in a refugee camp during Uganda’s civil war, Raphael credits much of his success to his Australian sponsor, Michael. After retracing him years later, Raphael makes the journey of a lifetime.

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Magic in the Water

You won’t believe your eyes! Many families in rural Africa must resort to collecting water from open, dangerous sources which are often shared with domestic livestock. A solution has been found, however, to bring clean and safe water to families in otherwise desperate need using a new purifying process by American consumer products company, P&G. Here, 9-year-old Johnan, of Uganda, instructs us on the proper steps to take to perform this transformative, life giving, magic trick.

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With All of My Passion

Passion fruit, that is.  Mabel is breaking Uganda’s gender barriers as a small business owner and passion fruit farmer.

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Mombasa Groove

Beat the traffic blues and sway along with the tuk-tuks and baobab trees. This is Mombasa! I shot this entirely with the GoPro Hero3+, controlling the camera from inside the car using the GoPro app.

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