History is full of examples of prejudices based on the inexplicable “rationale” that some people are born “lesser” (in other words, non-white, non-male, of different beliefs, lifestyles, or nationality) but one woman, Elizabeth Blackwell, exemplifies the juxtaposition of such limited mindsets with those able to see past others’ limitations. Born in England in 1821, Elizabeth […]
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was an early British feminist, writer and controversial thinker who promoted educational and social equality for women. A radical proposition at the time, a main argument she defended in her writings was that girls and boys should be educated together and that women and men should share parental responsibilities. Her life was […]
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani human rights activist, especially for women’s and girls’ education, and the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate (the second Pakistani to receive the prize). Born in the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan in 1997, she started writing a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC Urdu, detailing her life during […]
After water, tea is the most popular beverage in the world. At 1.93 tons of tea, India produces the most, followed by China (1.2 million) and Kenya (0.44 million). Asia produces the most tea, at around 4 million tons. Bangladesh ranks 10th in the world, accounting for 3% of global tea production and employing more […]
Getting kids out of the mines A model of “radical inclusivity” has been put into action to address household poverty and ensure child protection in artisanal mining communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bon Pasteur (Good Shepherd) Kolwezi, the Good Shepherd Sisters’ operation based there, recruits children from the mine sites to attend […]
By Danielle Carpenter – You’ve likely heard about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – those 17 objectives that the United Nations devised to make the world a much better place by 2030. And you likely know that many organizations are working hard to achieve this bracing, global vision. What can you do? But if you, […]
Brazil’s prison population of 700,000 is one of the highest in the world. The occupancy rate has been estimated at 165%, with some cells so full that prisoners can’t lie down. Brutality, endemic violence and riots are common. The prisoners that leave the penal system are even more hardened criminals than when they entered the […]
“We are outspoken about our optimism,” say Bill and Melinda Gates in their 2018 Annual Letter. “Despite the headlines, we see a world that’s getting better,” they continue. They point out that the world is “healthier and safer than ever”, that since 1990, the number of children who die every year has been halved, largely due […]
Young women in Pakistan, especially in rural areas, have few choices when their parents don’t have the money to pay school fees to continue their education: they get married so their husbands provide for them instead. One family from Shimshal, a village in the northern mountains of Pakistan, is trying to change that by bringing […]
