On the eve of Christmas, looking over the hills, down into the city, a fog is rising over the town of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. That fog, rising up from the dust of the roads and smoke off the charcoal fires, tells you January 7th is quickly approaching. It means that Christmas is just over the horizon.
admin
As many of us celebrate winter holidays and festivals in the next few weeks, we’ll probably be cooking traditional meals to mark the occasion.
Wherever we live in the world, our agriculture, food, family celebrations and our culture are what binds us to our countries. Within the African continent, there’s a huge diversity of food culture, often drawn from the kinds of fruits, vegetables and cereals that grow well in the region. We asked our Africa team, who are based...
In 2014, we revealed a shocking scandal. Every year, more than a trillion dollars is siphoned out of developing countries.
A trillion! That’s twelve zeros: 1,000,000,000,000. Imagine what that could mean to countries working their way out of extreme poverty.
We’re not talking about international aid, which is making a real and tangible difference, but money taken from developing countries’ own budgets and economies. Shady deals for natural resources like oil and minerals; anonymous shell companies used to launder dirty money;...
Today is Universal Children’s Day! In honor of kids everywhere, we’re celebrating the winners of the Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA). This award recognizes authors and illustrators who create accurate, quality children’s books that counter stereotypical depictions of Africa.
Ifeoma Onyefulu with two of her children’s books.
When Ifeoma Onyefulu began writing children’s books, she was motivated by more than just the desire to become a published author.
“My child was young, and I wanted to show him what Nigeria was really like,” said Onyefulu, who...
By Jaswanth Madhavan, ONE policy team
We know how important toilets are in the fight against water contamination and diarrheal disease. But because of infrastructure and cost, conventional toilets don’t always work in developing countries – and as a result, 35% of the world’s population to lack access to basic, working toilets.
Fortunately, there are a few cost-effective, eco-friendly, sustainable toilet solutions out there that work for all kinds of environments. It’s creative thinking like this that can help increase the number of people who have...
We all know we should be thankful for the food on our tables — but why? Here are 14 eye-opening facts about nutrition, farming, and crop varieties around the world that help answer this question.
1. Poor people in developing countries often spend 60-80% of their income on food.
Americans spend less than 10%.
Ayme family, Ecuador. Photo credit: Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio.
2. 75% of the world’s food is generated from only 12 plants and 5 animal species.
Kale is probably not...
This piece is excerpted from an article by TakePart.
If Instagram followers were currency, street photographer Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York, would be a wealthy man.
Known and beloved for his insightful snapshots of New Yorkers alongside their responses to philosophical questions, Stanton has taken his unfiltered approach to the world, and has just wrapped up his world tour with the United Nations, capturing moments of poverty in everyday lives everywhere.
Stanton was asked to take a global tour to promote...
Just before leaving the Marine Corps in 2011, I wrote a brief reflection on what I’d learned. I wrote it from a dark bar while sipping a dark whiskey, probably listening to some dark music, but I can’t be sure of that last part.
This gloomy setting was appropriate that day because it was, frankly, a dark time.
I’d spent the previous 11 years in uniform doing work I truly loved. Would I ever be able to find that sort of...
We may not have flying cars or teleportation devices yet, but we do have some incredible technologies that are helping to make the world a better place.
Every year, the Tech Awards recognizes individuals and organizations that are doing just that – significantly improving human conditions in the categories of environment, education, health and economic development through tech. Some of these technologies are completely new inventions, and others are innovative uses of existing technologies.
Here are the 10 laureates for 2014 who will be honored...
Corrupt politicians and dodgy businesses are stealing millions of dollars from the countries they are supposed to serve, using phantom firms and tax havens to do it.
They often then buy valuable property overseas in the most desirable parts of the world. Phantom firms, fake companies set up to hide the identity of the people who control them, are used to move money out of developing countries and into bank accounts, which can then be used to buy properties like these.
The...