The shop is dark and humid. I duck inside, and the warm glow of three television screens coats a room filled with a dozen neighborhood boys. Three of them hammer away at PlayStation controllers, sending a tiny soccer ball leaping across the screen.
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“A cat has a lot in common with a politician. When it’s hungry it’ll come and rub up against you, and then the rest of the day it just sits there”. – Michael Soi
Michael Soi is a Nairobi based artist whose pieces provide a personal reflection and satirical commentary on contemporary social, economic and political trends in Kenya. ONE’s Hannah Elansary got the chance to talk to Michael about his art.
Michael in his studio. Photo credit: hiphopkambi.wordpress.com
When did you start painting ?
I...
This guest post is by journalist Abby Higgins, in partnership with The Seattle Globalist. It’s the first in a three part series which reveals the economically complex and culturally rich life of urban slums, and challenges our perceptions of what life is like for the 1 billion people around the world that live in them.
Benta, 11, at her home in Kibera. Photo: Abby Higgins
I first met Jacktone Otieno when I was doing research on women’s rights in Kenya. A group...
Our guest blogger today is Jennifer Abrahamson from the International Center for Research on Women.
Susheela and her children. Photo: Jennifer Abrahamson / ICRW
The Indian state of Haryana, a short drive from the capital New Delhi, is known for its social conservatism, a declining female population due to sex selection, and more recently, for a number of brutal rapes reported by the national media.
As I would soon learn, life in rural India is full of contrasts and contradictions. The first...
ONE co-founder Bono made the case that eliminating extreme poverty is possible by 2030 during his speech at the 2013 TED Conference in Long Beach, California, yesterday.
The 2005 TED Prize winner said that transparency, coupled with information technology, is helping to power the fight to the finish – and a new generation of fact-based activists, or “factivists,” could lead the way. Bono encouraged the audience of changemakers to fight apathy, cynicism and inertia and use evidence and statistics to...
Say that your country is blessed with natural resources. Oil, gas, minerals – it has it all. The future looks good. But deep down you worry that the bonanza could turn into a bust – maybe you live in Africa and have seen how windfalls have been wasted before. How do you know that’s not going to happen now? Are there any tell-tale signs of sound management of “commodity wealth”?
Marcelo Giugale, the World Bank’s Director of Economic Policy and...
The following is a guest blog from Dr. Allan Mayi who is a Senior Technical Advisor (ART) with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) and coordinates the EGPAF – Tunaweza Project based in Lodwar, Turkana County (Kenya).
I have been working with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) for the last five years. Before that, I was with the Kenyan Ministry of Health for another five years. During these 10 years of working in the general health field...
Last week in London, the Omidyar Network, the UK Department for International Development, and WIRED magazine hosted a one-day conference on transparency and open government called Open Up!. You may have seen this post where we encouraged you all to send your ideas of how technology can help open government to #OpenUp12 on Twitter.
One of the many impressive groups that presented their work at Open Up! was Digital Green. Digital Green is a technology-centric grassroots campaign focused on increasing...
In Kenya, the tiny tsetse fly is a big problem. Its bite can transmit sleeping sickness to humans as well as the fatal animal disease Nagana to cattle. The economic impact can be devastating. But thanks to an EU-funded trial, farmers in Kenya are fighting back with a revolutionary repellent collar.
The new must-have accessory for Kenyan cows that contributes to improve the welfare, food security and general prosperity of poor livestock keepers in Africa was developed by scientists at...
ONE Co-founder Bono gave a powerful speech on activism and global social movements to a crowd of 700 students at Georgetown University last night. His nearly hour-long speech received a standing ovation and praise on Twitter and Facebook. Many students walked away feeling inspired and uplifted.
“Best speech ever,” one student remarked as he left the building. “This is going to be all over YouTube tomorrow,” another said.