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Cash for trees: Homegrown carbon offset program bears fruit

Ryan Lenora Brown Christopher Bendana

May 21, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Rubirizi District

Trees for Global Benefits is a carbon offset program that aims to partner with, rather than displace, locals in countries that have space to plant forests. For instance, in the Rubirizi District in Uganda, locals are getting paid to plant trees on their land. This hopes to eliminate the negative ramifications of other carbon offset programs that have displaced native people. Still, companies should be looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions beyond bringing their problems to other countries.

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Upcycling Guns

Jessica Press

April 16, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: El Salvador

Giving guns a nonviolent afterlife can also increase economic opportunity for struggling communities. In El Salvador, IM Swedish Development Partner, a nongovernmental organization, is addressing the issue of guns and violence by creating new partnerships and opportunities. Through the Humanium Metal program, confiscated guns are recycled into raw material and then sold to companies that produce finished products like watches, jewelry—and even toys. The funds from the project go back into funding efforts to further reduce violence in El Salvador’s communities.

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Fleeing Honduras and what's being done for those left behind

Marcia Biggs

March 30, 2019 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Honduras, Rivera Hernandez

Residents of Rivera Hernandez, Honduras are trying to improve their community in a district that’s under gang control. One such effort is a vocational school to train children and adults in electricity and solar energy. The city – subject to extreme poverty – has also received aid from the United States to fund community policing and day camps for a small number of children, although some of that money has bolstered corruption in the region.

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How Poop-Eating Worms Could Help Save Thousands Of Lives Each Year

Oliver Balch

January 16, 2019 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

The Bill Gates Foundation is currently funding a number of organizations that seek to solve the rate of open defecation by creating low-cost toilets that utilize the feces within them. One organization, called Sanergy, operates in 11 neighborhoods across Nairobi and uses a systems-based approach that takes into account financing and maintenance of the toilet as well as selling the waste as fertilizer. Another, called Tiger Toilets in India, uses a septic tank toilet that places worms within the drainage layer who then consume the feces and produce fertilizer to be used or sold.

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Fighting malaria in the remote reaches of Cambodia

Fred de Sam Lazaro

January 11, 2019 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Cambodia, Pailin

A pilot program in western Cambodia is taking a coordinated, localized approach to decreasing cases of malaria in remote, hard to reach areas. The U.S.-funded program called the President’s Malaria Initiative operates on two levels: rapid detection and reporting as well as training and paying local residents to detect, treat, and educate their communities about the parasite. The hyper-local approach helps receive buy-in and trust from residents, who are often fearful of officials coming into their towns.

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FARC Ex-Combatants Live Fragile Peace in Colombia

Albin Hillert

December 06, 2018 |

Sojourners |

Photojournalism |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Mutatá

From War to Peace, a project through the Lutheran World Federation, is helping ex-combatants and their families in Colombia lead a new, peaceful life. Many of these families are now living in an experimental community of former combatants as together, they work to overcome trauma and reintegrate into society with support from the Lutheran Church. More than religious motives, the group hopes to promote peace.

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Social impact bonds are helping solve South Africa's toughest challenges

Susan de Witt

November 30, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

Social impact bonds are providing a relatively new way of improving health and education outcomes in developing countries. While these have been used successfully in the developing world, South Africa is relatively new its use of social impact bonds, which use a “pay for success” model to spur investment in experimental programs. Though still in the early stages, the use of this creative financing looks like it will be a huge asset in the development world.

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Is clean energy funding from the UN's Green Climate Fund and other sources going where it's needed most?

John Vidal

November 29, 2018 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Zambia

The UN's Green Climate Fund is a mechanism through which money for climate adaptation and mitigation is distributed globally. But funding for renewable energy goes overwhelmingly to wealthier nations. Without more funding, it's unlikely that poorer, less developed countries can meet their 2015 Paris Climate Accord goals.

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He's Turning Lights on in War-Torn Rural Somalia, One Panel at a Time

Kevin Knodell

October 28, 2018 |

OZY |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Somalia

A Somali refugee who made good in America is working to connect people in his home country with solar power through a company he launched in the U.S. He’s had modest success connecting about 1,000 people so far, giving them better access to online banking and outside news and information. But he faces many challenges as well as competition and the added stress of finding banking partners when international regulators are leery of investing in a country linked to terrorism.

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For refugees, the best solution is often just cash

Adele Peters

September 27, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Bogotá

The International Rescue Committee’s cash transfer program has seen success most recently in Colombia, by helping Venezuelan refugees start fresh in a new place. For the Del Carmen family, cash transfers of $66 per household member for three months provided the capital necessary to create a new income stream - a mini market that allows Yoleima del Carmen, the mother, to feed her family. This is part of a broader trend in the international development space in which more and more funding is allocated to cash transfers.

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