Latest News
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AFJN’s and Fr. Danielle Moschetti’s US Advocacy featured in Famiglia Cristiana
I missionari italiani sono poco più di 8 mila, rispetto ai 24 mila degli anni Novanta. Nel frattempo, però, crescono le giovani Chiese, in un mondo sempre più interdipendente.
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Blind female Ethiopian lawyer wins global award for promoting disability rights
About 10% of the world’s population has a disabilities, of which 80% live in developing countries. The majority of this 80% living in developing countries lack access to education and rehabilitation services. In Ethiopia, people with disabilities have been unable to participate in national developments due to lack of assistance and stigmatization. But that was…
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Protect Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Peace Law Provisions of Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
In response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13772 on Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued this October 2017 report titled “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities” in which the Department recommends that “Section 1502 (conflict minerals), Section 1503 (mine safety), Section 1504 (resource…
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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 solidarity. “We are changing…
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Kenya’s Maturing Democracy put to test by its Judiciary
An election is a process, not an event.’ This was the bold rationale provided by Chief Justice David Maraga in his brief remarks, after announcing that Kenya’s Supreme Court had nullified the August 8th Presidential election results, by a 4-2 vote margin. The majority judges, led by the Chief Justice himself, presented their decision in a brief publication entitled, “Determination of Petition Without Reasons”, explaining that substantial…
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Advocacy Against Defunding 1502 Dodd-Frank, U.S Conflict Mineral Law
On September 14, 2017, as part of H.R.3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018, the House of Representatives passed an amendment to defund the implementation, administration and enforcement one of America’s latest peace, human rights and democracy promotion laws. This law is called Conflict Minerals and it is the 1502th section of…
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2017 Africa Braintrust
This year’s Africa Braintrust was held on September 22nd as part of the 2017 Congressional Black Caucus. The event was aimed at exploring the various ways the United States can renew and strengthen its engagement with Africa in the domains of economic investments, cultural exchange, democracy promotion, education, and scientific research. Much attention was, however,…
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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 making it attractive to global buyers such as Starbucks. While…
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Parliamentarians Fight to Resist Legalizing Lifetime Presidency in Uganda
The violence which broke out in Uganda’s parliament on September 26, 2017 calls for greater global solidarity and action in support of the will of the Ugandan people to end lifetime presidency in Uganda and anywhere where the fight for presidential term limits is ongoing or needed. Lifetime President’s Profile Life presidents are tyrannical, corrupt…
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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 721,000 homes to electricity between now and 2020. But the population is…
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A New Normal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Priests, Doctors, and Citizens Kidnapped for Ransom or Killed
On September 20, 2017 Archbishop Nicholas Djomo of the diocese of Tshumbe in the Kasai region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) held a briefing for the Catholic Task Force for Africa and other groups at the office of the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN). The event was live streamed which allowed…
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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 Nana Akufo-Addo who assumed office in January 2017. As the Education Ministry has…
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Kenya Models Rule of Law in Presidential Election Bid
Kenya’s Supreme Court ruled on September 1st that the results of the presidential elections which were held on August 8, 2017, are invalid due to serious irregularities and ordered a re-run within 60 days. The Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) first set the next election date for October 17, 2017 and now has been postponed…
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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 the country with 33 orphanages housing around 3,300 orphans. Today this solar field…
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Green and affordable sanitary napkins can improve gender disparity
Most women in developed countries often take their access to and choices of sanitary pads for granted. In some parts of the world, the lack of proper menstrual hygiene products still poses one of the biggest challenges to gender equality. The inability to manage their periods with proper famine hygiene products has not only caused…
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Kenya’s Presidential Election, The Supreme Court and The Rule of Law
On September 1, 2017, Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified the Presidential election of August 8, 2017, on grounds of irregularities in tallying the votes. The Court noted that the election “was not conducted in accordance to the constitution and applicable law.” This is a historic event in African democratic culture and certainly a rare event in…
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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 “empowering the African girl child”, Nigerian entrepreneur Taofick Okoya has created modish…
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Nigerian Wins Humanitarian Award for Work with Boko Haram Abductees
Nigerian activist Rebecca Dali received the prestigious Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation award for her humanitarian work with those abducted by Boko Haram militants. She accepted the award on August 19, 2017, at the UN European headquarters in Geneva. Dali’s organization, Center for Caring Empowerment and Peace Initiative, has provided victims of Boko Haram with…
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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 backlash as people questioned their own ability to rebound following the atrocities. However, slowly she was able to…
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Empowering Tanzania’s Major Superiors to Act on Behalf of Justice
On June 16-17, 2017, more than 70 major superiors from Tanzania’s women religious communities gathered at the Tanzanian Episcopal Conference Center in Dar es Salaam for a two day workshop titled Religious Vocation, Leadership & Justice Ministry. Funded by a grant received from the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, this workshop was the third…
