Local women changing Congo from within

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been named the rape capital of the world following studies that found 1,152 women are raped every day – a rate equal to 48 per hour, but Justine Masika Bihamba does not see it that way. To her, Congo is a nation of sisterhood and...

Coffee Industry Revives in DRC, Ghana

Due to ongoing conflict in the 1990s and 2000s, coffee, which was once the second biggest export in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, suffered a drastic blow to its market. Donor funding in recent years however has contributed to rebuilding the coffee industry and...

Guinean teacher builds a dam to power up his entire village

The West African nation of Guinea has significant hydroelectric potential (estimated at 6,000 MW) but, currently, only 2% of that amount is being exploited, providing access to only one out of every four Guineans. Last April, the government said it intended to connect...

Secondary School Now Free in Ghana

While primary education has been free in Ghana since 1995, the government recently moved to make public high school free as well. Calling it a “necessary investment in the nation’s future workforce,” free high school was a major campaign promise of President...

Rwanda’s Largest Solar Field Also Empowers Orphans

To increase electricity access in Rwanda, a 42-acre solar field was constructed on land leased from Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village 60 kilometers from Kigali. The youth village is a boarding school that houses around 500 orphans from the 1994 Rwanda genocide which left...

Changing self-perspective from childhood through dolls

Instilling a positive self image from childhood is a way to liberate the mind as children grow into productive members of society. This is especially true for the African child who’s future is mired with numerous social and economic challenges. With its motto...

Harvesting to Heal

Three years following the Rwandan genocide, Sr. Mary Rose Mukukibogo founded the farming association Dususuruke to revitalize the agricultural economy. In the local language of Kinyarwanda, Dususuruke means “warm solidarity.” She was first faced with hesitancy and...

Female Parliamentarians in Sudan Setting Precedent

On the Sudanese Women Parliamentarians’ National Day, the first President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Dr. Gertrude Mongella of Tanzania, commended the work female parliamentarians have accomplished in Sudan. She remarked, “I have become very happy to know...