NAIROBI, Kenya — Located in Nairobi and home to an unknown number of people (estimates range from 170,000 to 2.5 million), Kibera has long been Kenya’s largest and most infamous slum. Most residents live in makeshift shacks made of mud and tin; half of them are unemployed. For the past several decades, authorities have paid little attention to Kibera and have done little to address its wide array of social problems. This past fall that finally changed. In September, the government launched an initiative aimed at combatting poverty and raising living standards in Kibera. Many of the initiative’s programs focus…
Author: Matt Lesso
Matt Lesso
Matt is from the Greater Philadelphia area and is currently a senior at American University majoring in International Studies while writing for The Borgen Project. He has traveled extensively in Latin America and has developed and maintained a relationship with two families in a Guatemalan Mayan village whom he met on a service trip in high school.
YEI, South Sudan— South Sudan is the world’s newest country and also one of the poorest. The country is no stranger to violence, and since gaining independence it has been devastated by a violent civil war that has severely hindered its development efforts. As a result, the country is facing a major education crisis, one of the worst in the world. Seventy percent of adults are illiterate and 65 percent of teachers have no training. To make matters worse, many schools have closed because of the war and many teachers have quit because of meager pay. But one school is defying the…
PHILADELPHIA — Earlier this week the Italian coast guard rescued several thousand migrants from a sinking vessel attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya. Several hundred others were rescued last week, but several hundred more are thought to have perished. These are just the latest incidents highlighting the dangers for immigrants attempting to enter Europe by crossing the Mediterranean, which has become one of the world’s most dangerous journeys and is being called a humanitarian crisis. In the Western Hemisphere, hundreds of thousands of people make the dangerous journey to enter the U.S. through Mexico or the Caribbean. In…
WASHINGTON — Two months ago President Barack Obama announced a loosening in trade restrictions against Cuba. This marks a major turning point in U.S.-Cuban relations and the most significant loosening of the embargo since it was first enacted. While trade restrictions remain in place and continue to prohibit importing food and cigars, U.S. businesses are now allowed to export goods to Cuba and invest in the economy. For more than 50 years U.S. sanctions have inflicted serious losses on the Cuban economy. It is estimated that the embargo has accounted for at least $685 million a year in losses for…
KIEV, Ukraine — Earlier this week the International Monetary Fund agreed to a $17.5 billion bailout package to try and stabilize Ukraine’s economy and avoid default. The economy of Ukraine is currently in dire straits. The crisis has been ongoing for several years due to widespread corruption and poor leadership but has become significantly worse over the past year as a result of political instability and the insurgency in the east. The country’s economy contracted by 7.5 percent in 2014 and inflation is running at 30 percent. Ukraine’s currency, the hryvnia, has been in freefall and just a few weeks ago lost…
SEATTLE — For more than a decade Brazil has been recognized as one of the world’s top emerging powers. The country has experienced remarkable economic growth, a rapid increase in living standards and some significant victories in the fight against global poverty. Brazilian officials hoped this decade would highlight their country’s rise to prominence with the hosting of the Olympics and World Cup, instead they are now facing a major crisis. After several years of lower than average rainfall, southern Brazil is facing its worst drought in 80 years. The regions most affected are also the country’s most important economically,…