In 1977, our father earned a USAID scholarship to leave Mali and pursue graduate studies at Purdue University. As one of the first Africans to benefit from an effort to identify and train the next generation of agriculture experts, he earned his doctorate and went on to work for the United Nations for the next …
OVERZEALOUS WESTERN BANKS THREATEN TO CHOKE OFF SOMALIA’S STRUGGLING RECOVER BY TARGETING THE HAWALA TRANSFER SYSTEM. Columbus, Ohio – Every month I visit a small grocery store in a non-descript building in Columbus, Ohio, where I live, to use a service that keeps Somalia alive: "Hawala", the traditional money transfer system used throughout the Middle-East, …
Nairobi – My mother, like her mother, her grandmother, and so on, was born into poverty in the rural village of Rarieda, Kenya. I, too, was born in the village, and lived there until it was struck by a brutal famine when I was two years old. With no food, money, or opportunities, my mother …
MALI’S ELECTION BRINGS THE PROMISE OF DEMOCRACY TO A POPULATION EAGER TO MOVE ON FROM THE PAST 20 MONTHS OF STRIFE. Bamako, Mali – Mali’s crucial presidential election on Sunday will take place in an atmosphere of hope but shaded by uncertainty. Uncertainty because since the end of military rule, Mali has held five elections. …
Whatever you put your heart and mind on, you can achieve and that poverty cannot be fought without the involvement of the poor. On this edition of unsung heroes, Resian Lebai tells the story of Kennedy Odede the 28-year-old founder of a community based organization that helps to uplift the poor.