PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — There are currently 56 countries and four territories around the world that still have leftover landmines and explosives from past wars. Though buried underground, they are still active and potentially deadly. Even more, they have been hindering economic progression. Countries in North Africa like Tanzania, Mozambique, and Angola, as well as those in eastern Asia such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos are seeing the negative effects. Each year, more than 10 people are either killed or maimed in each region. In total, 64,000 people have been harmed or killed, according to the Landmine and Cluster…
Author: Lillian Sickler
Lillian Sickler
Lillian is from Granby, Massachusetts. She's a Freshman in college at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she writes for The Borgen Project and studies Comparative Literature and Sustainable Food and Farming. She works as a part-time cook and baker at a local farm during the summer as well as at a student-run restaurant during the school year.
RAKHINE STATE, Myanmar — The Malaysian state of Rakhine is the second poorest in the country. It also contains a ghetto comprised of about 4,000 Rohingya — an ethnic Muslim minority group. They have been called one of the most persecuted peoples in the world. “It’s like a prison without walls,” one habitant explains. The ghetto is blocked off by barricades where armed officials stand each day. No one is allowed in or out without an armed escort. Violence in Myanmar began in 2012. A Buddhist woman was allegedly raped and murdered by three Muslims. Buddhists planned a retaliation attack…
GABORONE, Botswana— Botswana has the third highest rate of HIV in the world. One reason for this alarming trend is the prevalence of ‘Sugar Daddies’—older men who promise gifts and money in exchange for sex with young girls. In a survey of the capital, Gaborone, 600 girls aged 18 and older were asked if men at least 10 years older had ever offered them money for sex. It discovered that 40 percent of those girls had been. Although many explained that they had refused any propositions, the survey found that 1 in 3 sexually active girls were in a relationship…
WEST AFRICA — Cocoa grown in Ghana and the Ivory Coast accounts for more than 70% of the world’s supply. The crop has been a major export of West Africa for the past 100 years. However, there is trouble on the horizon for chocolate. The world is not running out of cocoa beans; it is running out of cocoa farmers. There are two million small-scale farmers in the West African countries, most living in or around the threshold of poverty. Each year, the Barometer Consortium funds and releases a Cocoa Barometer. A diverse group of NGOs from Europe and the…
SEATTLE – Families in poor communities around the world are making money through the Village Savings and Loans program (VSL), in which individuals form groups to pool money collectively. The VSL program was founded in order to provide people with easy savings and loan prospects that would otherwise be inaccessible. It consists of groups, around 15-25 people each, that build up savings and withdraw loans from their shared pool. It is an alternative to seeking money from jobs outside the home. People pay into the group savings fund once every week, and cycles last for a year. At the end of each…
GRANBY, Massachusetts – This year has been the “year of fear” for children, according to former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. As the U.N.’s special envoy for global education, Brown made a speech in May about the past year being the worst yet for children worldwide. More kids than ever before have been forced to become refugees fleeing violence and natural disasters. There has been fighting in Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Burundi, South Sudan and northern Nigeria. not to mention two massive earthquakes in Nepal. Brown pointed out that of the 38 million displaced persons and 16.7 million refugees,…
LIMA, Peru – People who live in the Amazon are getting sick at an alarmingly high rate. Researchers from the U.S., Canada and Brazil are trying to pinpoint exactly why this is. Since the early 2000s, the Amazon has become a popular place for illegal mining. The area has also seen an increase in chronic diseases like anemia and high blood pressure, as well as illnesses like malaria. American oil companies fund studies in the Amazon to report on natural resource opportunities. One particular study, however, was to analyze gold mining in its relation to the health of people working…
HAITI – Revitalizing Haiti’s Coffee Trade? Haiti was once the producer of half of the globe’s coffee. Yet in the past few decades, coffee exports have been decreasing due to trade embargos, global market competition, deforestation and, the newest threat, climate change. While coffee exports have been declining, temperatures in Haiti are on the rise. This is caused by climate change, reported Anton Eitzinger who works for The Center for Tropical Agriculture. Some farmers have been solely coffee growers for generations and are now having to diversify their crops. They plant high-demand ones, such as mangoes and cocoa. Those that…
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico looks to rejuvenate its agriculture by growing more of its own food right on the island. The U.S. territory imports over 80 percent of its food. It is speculated that 90 percent of that could be produced locally. The territory was once largely made up of small farmers who made their money off the land. But in the decades following World War II, farming practices slowed dramatically. The island built up factory systems and urban centers that radically changed the economy. Puerto Rico began to import its food, and the majority of other…
CONCORD, Massachusetts — A new study in the “Lancet Journal” found that one-third of all global deaths in 2010 were due to complications that are easily treatable with a commonplace procedure. Such complications include appendicitis, broken bones and obstruction during labor. These deaths occurred because most people in the developing world do not have access to safe surgery. Around the world, nine out of 10 people find it very difficult to attain basic surgeries and aftercare. Low- and middle-income locations saw the highest rate of deaths. Many of those mortalities were pregnant women who died because of complications during pregnancy or…