Home / Blog

Blog: Africa

  • Posted by Amy Gregowski on Thursday, April 14, 2011
    Environmental Influences
    Way of Life in Namibian Community Fosters Vulnerability to HIV

    In the fight against HIV, the environment in which women and men live influences their risk of becoming infected. That’s part of the reality in Kabila, a small community on the outskirts of Katutura, Namibia.

    ICRW is launching a project here to reduce people’s vulnerability to HIV by addressing risky sexual behavior associated with drinking alcohol. Bars serving alcohol are ubiquitous in the hilly, informal settlement of Kabila.

  • Posted by Ajay Singh on Wednesday, January 5, 2011
    Comments (1)
    A Sale for Survival
    Researcher Receives Harsh Reminder of Poverty at its Extreme

    On my last trip to Rwanda, I assisted the Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre, a local nongovernmental organization, in implementing the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) among men and women ages 18 to 59. I helped the organization adapt the original survey to reflect a Rwandan context and trained about 80 data collectors.

  • Posted by Robin Hayes on Tuesday, December 14, 2010
    Rare Friendships
    Child Brides Revel in Chance to Be Among Peers

    At first glance, each of the 14- to 19-year-old girls looked as if they had arrived by themselves. They gathered for an informal meeting on a hill in Debre Tabor, a town in north central Ethiopia. As I peered closer, however, I noticed that peeking from under the shawls of several of the girls were babies – some as young as three months old.

  • Posted by Mary Ellsberg on Wednesday, December 8, 2010
    Rebuilding Lives After Genocide
    Rwandan Women Find Strength in Each Other

    On a recent visit to Rwanda, my ICRW colleague Amy Gregowski and I had the opportunity to meet members of the Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN) and learn about their effort to support survivors of the 1994 genocide.

  • Posted by Katherine Fritz on Tuesday, November 30, 2010
    Recreating Success
    Ugandans Draw on Past Triumphs to Fight HIV Epidemic

    In November, I found myself retracing footsteps I last traveled 15 years ago through Mbale, a small town beautifully situated at the foot of Mt. Elgon on Uganda’s northeastern border. I lived in Mbale for a year in the mid-1990s when Uganda was considered the epicenter of the global HIV epidemic. At that time, the world watched and wondered how Uganda would bring itself back from the brink of disaster.

  • Posted by Ann Warner on Wednesday, November 17, 2010
    Legislation for Women’s Rights
    New Laws Advance Rights, But Sustainable Change Takes Time

    During a recent meeting in Ethiopia with lawyers and advocates working for women’s rights in East Africa, my colleagues and I were inspired to see how countries have made strides in advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality on a policy level.

  • Posted by Gisela Garzón de la Roza on Tuesday, October 26, 2010
    Vanishing Tradition
    Soon-to-Be Displaced Village Struggles with its Identity

    To the people of Dumasi, Ghana, land belongs to the dead, to the previous generations who settled and died on it. It also represents heritage, a cornerstone on which future generations can build their livelihoods. But they have seen their land disappear before their eyes.

  • Posted by Jeff Edmeades on Tuesday, October 19, 2010
    Quiet Determination
    A Child Bride Chooses Her Own Path

    She wanted to stay in school, but was forced to marry at 16. After just two days at her husband’s home, she ran away, back to her parents’ doorstep. They refused to take her in.

  • Posted by Meredith Saggers on Tuesday, October 12, 2010
    Roadside Beads
    Maasai Women Create Their Own Market

    My favorite part of traveling is seeing the impact of ICRW’s work first hand. Sometimes, the determination of the women we serve is profoundly impressive. This was the case on my recent trip to Kenya.

  • Posted by Jennifer McCleary-Sills on Monday, October 4, 2010
    Girl Power in Tanzania
    A Journey from Shy to Confident

    I first met the young women on a sunny Monday morning as they sat under a tree in front of a teachers' training center in Newala, a town so far south in Tanzania that if you stand at its highest point, you can see Mozambique.

  • Posted by Gary Barker on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
    Sound Off, Sign On
    Stop Rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo

    I was recently in Goma, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, to help train staff of an international aid organization on how to involve men in helping to reduce violence against women.

  • Posted by Charles Ashbaugh on Friday, September 17, 2010
    Ringing Potential
    What Cell Phones Can Do for Women

    Out in a rural village in Western Kenya, two hours from the nearest large town, and all I could think about were cell phones.