Latest News
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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…
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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 that there are 255 woman parliamentarians in Sudan” and highlighted their work on peace and development, especially…
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Sr. Eucharia Madueke’s article for Global Sisters Report on Nigerian Sisters Work against Trafficking
A group of sisters in Nigeria are taking on governors, police chiefs, village chiefs and brothel owners.
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Future Entrepreneurs and Leaders Bringing Hope
In an effort to “restore hope to hopeless girls,” five girls from Kenya created an app to combat female genital mutilation or FGM in Kenya. Although FGM is illegal in Kenya, it still affects one if four women and girls. The app, I-cut has the ability to connect women and girls to medical and legal…
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President Magufuli: A good example of leadership and good governance in Africa
Article written by Serge Adotevi Télécharger la version Française in PDF, Download English PDF File The Republic of Tanzania held presidential elections in October 2015. Dr. John Pombe Magufuli carried 58% of the votes and thus was sworn in as president on November 5th 2015. President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli has since been declared the…
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The Challenges of Human Trafficking in Nigeria
To win the fight against human trafficking we must understand why it is happening. Among the root causes of human trafficking in Nigeria, we mention poverty, lack of education, globalization, corruption and gender inequality. Globalization allows traffickers to set up complex routes and systems within and across borders. The presence of these complex channels creates a challenge because it is understood that prosecuting one trafficker may only minimally hinder the network of traffickers. Corruption prevents traffickers from being held accountable and can also prevent victims from seeking justice. In fact, when corruption is found within political institutions, the laws in place are not implemented to their full capacity, if at all.
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Major Superiors of Ghana on the Role of Religious Vocation, Leadership, and Justice Ministry
The African Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) secured financial support from Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to mobilize sisters in three African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya) to engage issues of justice in their communities. From May 13-16; we held a workshop with 30 major superiors of Ghana who convened at the Franciscan Valley of Prayer,…
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An Update on the Political and Humanitarian Crisis in Burundi
The political and humanitarian crisis in the East African country of Burundi has evolved along a dangerous and all too familiar pattern since President Nkurunziza won what is believed by some Burundians and the international community as an unconstitutional third term election in 2015. The 2015 elections had been widely criticized by the international community…
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Science Technology Engineering and Math Students Represent African Countries at the First Global Robotics Competition
Did you know that every sixty seconds one child dies of a water related disease? Access to clean water is a serious problem affecting millions of people around the world. Therefore, using sustainable innovative technology to improve water security was the theme of this year’s First Global Challenge, the world first ever international robotics Olympics….
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The United States and Africa in the Trump Era
On July 13, 2017, the Center for American Progress (CAP) held an event titled “America’s Relationship with Africa in a New Era.” The panel’s discussion was largely centered around their reactions to the New York Times article about the Trump administration’s prioritization of the Department of Defense’s hard military power over the softer powers of…
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The Mothers with the Future of South Sudan in Mind
In an effort to make South Sudan a suitable place to raise children, more women and mothers are working to clean up bombs, landmines, and other unexploded ordinances. By putting the values of family and safety first, these women deminers are clearing the way for a better future in South Sudan. One of these women,…
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Dislocation of Tanzanians From Their Land by Corporations: Impact on Family Life and Values A Briefing to the Tanzanian Episcopal Conference (TEC) Dar es Salaam June 20, 2017
Africans live on a land literally swimming in wealth yet most are impoverished by this wealth due to bad management, selfishness, lack of vision, a let-them-tell-us and let them-help us mentality and the them being anyone but Africans. This pervasive mindset affects all aspects of African society and even the church. Despite the lessons of…
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Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Deaths of Five nuns of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ In Liberia 1992 – 2017
Sisters Agnes Mueller, Barbara Ann Muttra, Kathleen McGuire and cousins Mary Joel Kolmer and Shirley Kolmer died during the civil war in Liberia. Sisters Barbara Ann and Mary Joel accompanied the convent watchman to check on the safety of his family because there was fighting in the vicinity. They picked up two ECOMOG soldiers along…
