Features

06/27/2008 ASUNCION, Jun 26 (IPS) - Paraguay's public hospitals are on the verge of collapse, due to a lack of resources for responding to the wave of southern hemisphere winter illnesses. The first measure to be adopted by the new government that will take over in August will be to declare a "social emergency" in healthcare, the future health minister told IPS.

06/26/2008 Health clinic workers in Uganda are increasing their efficiency and fishermen in the Philippines are aiding conservation efforts with the help of PDAs -- small, mobile computing devices that are easy to secure and use little energy.

06/25/2008 After returning from a five year tour in Iraq, marine Rodrigo Garcia found that going back to college "was like entering another battle zone" where he struggled with social isolation and financial costs not covered by the GI Bill, which he now works to reform.

06/24/2008 In this upcoming documentary, an Iraqi journalist shares his story of being wrongfully jailed in Abu Ghraib Prison for allegedly planning to kill former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

06/24/2008 From starting tree nurseries to properly disposing of solid waste, a new guide offers simple solutions to help communities around the planet improve their quality of life.

06/23/2008 With African-American women accounting for 72 percent of all new female HIV cases, one "feminist filmmaker" discusses her documentary revolving around a young African-American doctor and her two HIV-positive patients.

06/23/2008 Donate to a non-profit, plant a tree, or make a political statement with new socially responsible credit cards that redirect part of their profits to efforts to improve the community.

06/23/2008 One month after the largest, single-site workplace immigration raid in U.S. history, hundreds of residents of Postville, Iowa are unable to work or feed their families as they await deportation orders that could take months.

06/20/2008 As many as 3.7 million meals will soon be delivered to Myanmar cyclone survivors thanks to an global online game that donates approximately half a gram of rice every time a player gets a right answer.
From: World Food Programme

06/20/2008 A training program in Sudan teaches men such as Marup Deng Deng basic tool-making and business skills, such as blacksmithing, that allow them to open their own businesses and control their own income.

06/18/2008 Abducted from her Cambodian village and nearly forced into slavery at 15, Chivv Ya now teaches other young girls practical skills to protect themselves against human trafficking.

06/18/2008 Jerusalem's Domari Gypsies, chronically ignored and discriminated against in the midst of a wider conflict, find pride in their culture at a Community Center designed especially for Gypsy women.

06/17/2008 Through their own vivid and emotional photography, Romanian children living with HIV share their feelings on issues from discrimination and alienation to hope.

06/17/2008 Sait Sanli, a 64-year old former butcher and cattle-raiser, is practically a professional peacekeeper, single-handedly ending hundreds of blood feuds in his native southeastern Turkey.

06/17/2008 A new documentary tells the story of how Estonia's tradition of choral music helped fuel its non-violent, and ultimately successful, struggle against Soviet rule.

06/13/2008 A group of South African women support their families by making recycled bottles into bead necklaces. The artisans -- and the steps they take to produce their crafts -- are featured in this slide show.

06/13/2008 Adam Chataway of Kilburn, London, has reached the final of "Britain's Most Inspiring Fundraiser," which aims to recognize the volunteer fundraising efforts of people in every community.
From: ActionAid UK

06/12/2008 Single mother Dorothy Kanjautso, who founded a private nursery school with a start-up loan of $70, is just one of many African women and men -- profiled here -- that has contributed to her community by starting a small business.
From: Opportunity International

06/12/2008 JEBALIYA REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza, Jun 11 (IPS) - In the brightly painted new intensive care unit wing of al-Awda, northern Gaza's only emergency medical facility in the massive Jebaliya refugee camp, doctors, nurses, aides, and administrators are ready to provide emergency surgery services for the area's 300,000 people.

06/11/2008 After 10 years of civil war in Congo, a small village -- built using local practices, materials, and clean energy -- has become a global model for sustainable community development.
From: Working Villages International

06/10/2008 Senegalese hip-hop artists, Tibetan nomads, and Sioux school children are featured in some of the films being shown at this year's international Media that Matters Film Festival. Clips from all twelve award-winning films are shown here.
From: Media that Matters Film Festival

06/10/2008 From the United States to Ghana to Palestine, 12 ordinary citizens are fostering dialogue across borders and breaking down stereotypes in order to protect workers' rights and endangered species, and promote peace.
From: YES! Magazine

06/09/2008 Saw Leh Ler Shee is just one of the million children displaced by the Myanmar cyclone but he and many others have found refuge in child-friendly spaces run by caregivers and relief groups.

06/09/2008 Single mother Judith Alexandre and other Haitian families are hard hit by raised food prices, but an international relief organization is working diligently to provide for those who have no other option but to skip meals.
From: Oxfam America

06/09/2008 A series of town-hall discussions will look at the issues that really matter to Americans this election season. The first edition of Live from Main Street examines what we hear -- and what we don't -- in the age of corporate media.

06/06/2008 Activists from Argentina to Ghana are using cell phones to monitor environmental conditions, organize rallies, and inform consumers about the environmental impact of their purchases.

06/06/2008 Thousands of school children in Benin are learning about HIV/AIDS -- a subject rarely broached in the Beninese classroom or home -- through a new initiative that raises awareness by working more closely with parents and teachers.

06/06/2008 Former teacher Bushra Jamil returned to Iraq in 2003 to start the country's first progressive radio station for women, which has flourished over the years despite the constant threat of violence and government opposition.

06/05/2008 Tens of thousands of Sudanese villagers from Abyei -- a strategic region to both forces that fought in Sudan's civil war -- are receiving much-needed aid after a worrisome flare up of fighting.

06/04/2008 Nepalese villagers return to their homes after a decade of war only to battle the familiar enemies of hunger and malnutrition.