The Kenyan Chief who tweets his way to crime reduction in his village
Daniel Sitole (IPS) – Using 140 characters or less, Chief Francis Kariuki in Kenya, has tweeted his way to reducing crime in his and surrounding villages. ”I have brought crime and illicit brewing under control in my location,” Kariuki told IPS, “until May 2011, this place was very dangerous. Incidents of carjacking, mugging and burglaries occurred [...]
Rural women’s bank ease tough times in Uganda
WAKISO, Uganda, (IPS) – For most Ugandan women, obtaining a commercial loan to start a business has been very difficult. Many do not have the required collateral of land title deeds and many cannot afford the interest rates charged by commercial banks. But six women-led rural banks have begun changing the lives of women in rural [...]
Good news for cassava as new varieties to combat deadly viral diseases are officially released in Tanzania
Four new high-yielding cassava varieties that are tolerant to the deadly Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and resistant to the equally devastating Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD), were last week officially released in Tanzania, providing a ray of hope to the millions of small-scale farmers who depend on the crop for their food and income in sub-Saharan [...]
Kenya property market booms as a result of somali piracy
The price of properties in Kenya are on the rise, and Somali nationals in the country are making offers to buy properties in some of Kenya’s posh neighbourhoods and sometimes even offering a bit more to outbid local Kenyans in the rush to invest pirate-earned cash. This sudden increase in the price of properties in [...]
Walking metres to fetch water in Kenya – Action aid lends a helping hand
NAIROBI, Jan 3 - Protus Onyango (IPS) – The acute lack of water in Kenya means families have to trek long distances every day to fetch water. In both rural and urban areas, people often walk as far as 30 kilometres or more to collect water from rivers, streams or wells. But thanks to self-help projects backed [...]
Kenyan women set to make their mark in politics
NAIROBI, (IPS) – The August 2012 elections in Kenya will open doors to massive political participation by women for the first time ever. The new constitution in effect since August 2010 contains a provision that should radically change political representation for women in this East African country. Women’s rights activists in Kenya are confident that as a [...]
The Somali famine, despair and resilience
Viewing from afar the grim images of women, children, and elderly suffering from the agony of protracted civil-war and the worst famine in Somalia through television or computer screens does not prepare the human mind for the reality that awaits on the ground. I was confronted with that reality upon arriving where many consider the [...]
Use of fertilizer and better farming methods can double Uganda’s coffee output, says study
Dar es Salaam, The use of inorganic fertilizers and improved farming practices by small-holder farmers can significantly increase, and even double, coffee production in Uganda -the world’s eleventh largest producer of the crop. This in turn would translate into more income and better lives for the estimated one-quarter of the population economically dependent on the [...]
Doctors warn of famine as disease spreads and aid dwindles in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Nov 17 (IPS) – Doctors in Mogadishu are warning that famine victims in internally displaced camps have become vulnerable to contagious diseases like cholera and measles, as conditions here are ripe for an outbreak. This comes as internally displaced persons complain that relief aid to some camps has dwindled or stopped. The leader of a [...]
Authorities urged to free two journalists and reopen their newspaper in South Sudan
PARIS, France, November 8, 2011 – African Press Organization (APO) — Reporters Without Borders condemns the illegal detention of two journalists and calls for their immediate release and the reopening of their newspaper, the Juba-based daily Destiny, which has been closed by the government. They are Ngor Aguot Garang, its editor, who was arrested on [...]
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