|
|
care
Somalia - It Happened Again
Posted by: Bea at 10:04AM EST on October 10, 2008
It happened yet again. This time it was on a Friday evening, just before the weekend. Usually, it happens around the holidays. Either right before or smack in the middle of it. Sometimes you wonder whether it is a coincidence or it is a strategy. Maybe it is both.
... (more)
Wednesday October 8, 2008
Haiti report 3: Birth of a Project
Recently, I accompanied our water and drainage specialist for an assessment of needs in the field. I love these privileged moments, to go in search of those with whom we will work hand-in-hand to develop projects. To form an answer to a problem is, above all, to talk with the people, to understand how they live, to take in their daily existence, and especially, to hear their problems, listen to their needs - to not show up with preconceived ideas.
... (more)
Sunday September 28, 2008
Haiti report 2: No Comment
Facts
A woman gives birth in a temporary shelter, the bare ground covered in trash.
Without medicine.
Millions of barefooted people in mud laden with sharp objects.
Without shoes.
... (more)
Friday September 26, 2008
Haiti report 1: The Punishing Rain
A clammy heat that clings to your skin, a blazing sun that withers you to the core, I’m at the Télecom sans Frontières tent to send the latest news to CARE’s network. At the entrance, an alert announces that a storm system has formed from the ensuing rains and unfavorable winds in the Caribbean area. We have been following the weather development since yesterday, which we hope will not announce its lot of torrential showers on the country.
... (more)
Tuesday September 16, 2008
Time Machines
Posted by: Rick Perera at 12:29PM EST on September 16, 2008
My first lesson in the realities of poverty and global inequality came on a trip to Guatemala when I was four years old. My father, a doctor, had volunteered for a rural medical project, and brought his young family along.
The country was a riot of unfamiliar colors, smells, and sounds for a child’s senses. The joyfully clattering melodies of the marimba. The bustling marketplaces, where meat came not wrapped in cellophane, but on two or four legs. The destinations called out in sing-song voices by boys hanging precariously from brightly painted buses. “Gua-te, Gua-te, Gua-te-ma-la!” they’d shout, as they departed for the capital. I had no idea that these children, only a few years older than I, worked to help their families survive, at the price of a missed education.
... (more)
Final Thoughts on Malawi
Posted by: Phil Borges at 10:05PM EST on September 1, 2008
As the journey in Malawi came to an end, I was left both humbled and deeply impressed by the women I've met. One of the most moving things I heard on this trip was that women were encouraged by our visit, and some who haven't participated in a village savings and loan group may even be inspired to try it.
... (more)
Women Investing in Business Together in Malawi, the "Warm Heart of Africa"
Posted by: Phil Borges at 6:27PM EST on August 30, 2008
If I could summarize what I have seen in Kaundama village in just a word, it would be "harmony". I have met the delightful, inspiring members of the Namirazi women's association (named for a local river). I was instantly drawn to them because of their joyful singing; I thought it was just to welcome us, but they continued to sing as they walked to and from their fields, as they cooked lunch, after they ate they just clearly loved the camaraderie and companionship they have found in their savings and loan group.
The group works so well together, they have undertaken a major investment in a new business. In the next couple of months, they will start raising poultry. Each member has already committed 3,000 Malawian Kwacha (about $20) to have the coop constructed. It stands at the ready. After they have saved a total of 110,000 Kwacha ($760), they'll be ready for CARE to help them arrange the purchase and transport of the chicks, feed and other supplies to start the new venture.
... (more)
Women Advancing Women in the Warm Heart of Africa ─ "If I Refuse to Help Because I Am Overloaded, We Will Not Get Ahead"
Posted by: Phil Borges at 2:38PM EST on August 28, 2008
I watched a woman named Rhoshida harvest her groundnuts – you might recognize them as peanuts – as the sun sank behind mountains south of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. It was a beautiful scene for a couple of reasons. First, the setting was spectacular. More importantly, there before me was a woman who was harvesting the fruits of her labor, part of a plentiful growing season that would feed her family throughout the year.
... (more)
Women Helping Women in the Warm Heart of Africa ─ Creating Access to Credit Where There Was None
Posted by: Phil Borges at 5:28PM EST on August 21, 2008
Photographer Phil Borges traveled for two weeks in May to Malawi with colleague filmmaker/photographer Smith Patrick to learn about how women's village savings and loan associations impact families and communities. It was Phil's seventh trip with CARE.
A village savings and loan association is a group of 10-20 members – usually women – who save small sums of money each week to create a fund from which they can access loans. The loans are used to start or expand small businesses, and are repaid with interest. With the income from interest and their individual enterprises, women are able to improve the health, education and well-being of their families.
... (more)
Notes From a Conference Veteran
Helene Gayle, MD, MPH, President and CEO, CARE USA,
shares her thoughts from the ground at the XVII International
AIDS Conference in Mexico City.
The International AIDS conferences have been a
running timeline for the response to the epidemic and a marker for evolution in
my own career, and this week's International AIDS Conference is one of the
biggest – almost 25,000 delegates. I remember the first International AIDS
Conference, in 1985 in Atlanta,
as a gathering of a few hundred people, mostly scientists, just coming to grips
with a new and baffling disease.
... (more)
Growing Responsibly
For me, meeting with CARE colleagues and leadership here in Mexico City has been crucial. We need their support, as our work fighting the HIV epidemic in Côte d’Ivoire continues to grow exponentially.
... (more)
A One-Stop Shop
This is my first time at the International AIDS Conference, and I have to admit it's a bit overwhelming! But I'm learning a lot, especially about how we can improve our work with children affected by the epidemic.
... (more)
Nurturing Partnerships
I have the interesting distinction of having been to every International AIDS Conference for the past 18 years. Every time, I learn more. It's a rare opportunity to stand back from our daily work and look at the big picture of the worldwide response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
... (more)
Standing Together at AIDS 2008
At the 2008 International AIDS conference in Mexico City,
an event the size of a small city, it is a relief to see some familiar
faces. I already knew a handful of the 30 colleagues from around the CARE
world who gathered for a meeting before the conference, but the others, too, were like
family.
... (more)
When Giving Life Means Risking Life
As a young woman not yet initiated into motherhood, I am both excited and frightened by the thought of giving birth. I can imagine nothing more amazing, and yet I recoil at the thought of labor. But standing here in Rancho Grande, Nicaragua, I must admit that my fears seem kind of absurd. After all, if I give birth, I will have the benefits of modern medicine at my fingertips – drugs, experienced doctors and sterile and well-equipped delivery rooms.
... (more)
Making a Difference - Seeing Results from Our Work on the Hill
Returning from the Delta
Below, Chris Northey continues her reflections from the field while working as CARE's Emergency Team Leader in Myanmar, following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis. Chris was one of the first international aid workers permitted into the Irrawaddy
Delta, after the government's announcement that it would allow
foreign emergency teams access to all cyclone-affected areas.
... (more)
Why Do I Care?
Sean Camoni offers insight and reflection following his advocacy efforts on the Hill for CARE's 2008 National Conference.
... (more)
What a Waste
I had every intention of eating the tomato - I could see myself cutting it up into slices for salad, using it for grilled cheese or a bacon/lettuce and tomato sandwich. But good intentions aren't enough.
... (more)
New Storm Threatens Myanmar
Many articles have appeared in the news today reporting that a new storm is approaching the cyclone-devastated area of Myanmar. Early indications predict that the storm will dump heavy rains on already-saturated areas of Myanmar but is unlikely to develop into another significant tropical cyclone. In either case, the outcome will be dire, adding to the flooding and misery across the Irrawaddy Delta and the capital city of Yangon.
... (more)
Survivors Recount Horror of Myanmar Cyclone
As CARE’s emergency teams complete initial assessments in the Irrawaddy delta, gruesome scenes of bodies decomposing in the very ponds the Myanmarese use for drinking water are being reported. Corpses still cannot be buried and entire villages remain underwater, many with few survivors.
... (more)
|
