Our Stories

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Volunteer teachers combat illiteracy in Burkina Faso

The school year started off poorly for first-level elementary students in Lolonioro, a village located in the heart of the bush in southwest Burkina Faso. Following the maternity leave of their teacher, the 67 pupils were unable to start lessons at the beginning of the official school year in Septem more

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Cambodian councils cooperate to provide community with school

Several years ago, Soy Pheap, a 39 year-old mother of seven, was forced to make a tough decision; send her daughter away, or forfeit the young girl’s education. Until recently, Pheap’s village, part of the Tuol Pongro commune in Banteay Meanchey Province in northwest Cambodia, lacked an adequate sec more

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Locals learn the benefits of environmental protection in Thailand

Over the last several decades, Thailand has seen remarkable economic growth, but at a high social and environmental cost. Rising consumption, industrialization and the intensification of agriculture have placed enormous strain on natural resources. As a result, communities who rely mostly on farming more

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Building a brighter future for rice farmers in Cambodia

Farmers in the small community of Tuol Sdey, in the Svay Rieng province of southeastern Cambodia, have reason to be happy.  For the first time in decades they can rejoice in having two harvests in one season. This is largely due to the construction of a new water dam which stores rain in a near more

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Burundi: Reclaiming forest reserve while improving livelihoods

During Burundi’s civil war, thousands of people sought refuge in the Kibira forest reserve near the capital Bujumbura. But since the war ended in 2002, damage to the forest has been exacerbated as internally displaced persons and nearby communities cut down trees to clear land for farming, and use t more

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Kyrgyzstan: Community development provides relief during harsh winter

The village of Kazybek, at the foot of the mountains in Naryn province, Kyrgyzstan, endures extremely harsh winters, with temperatures averaging around -20Cº and sometimes dropping as low as -40Cº. “Previously, the kindergarten was only open during the warmer seasons and closed for nearly five month more

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Reducing maternal death in Eritrea

In the market town of Senafe, in southern Eritrea, Fethawi Berhane has just undergone three days of painful labor and complications during childbirth that resulted in the death of her baby, despite the best efforts of a traditional birth attendant. Fethawi herself is lucky to have survived, given th more

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DR Congo: New businesses transform Kivu women’s lives

Hundreds of women whose husbands were killed or who experienced sexual violence during more than a decade of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have started setting up small businesses to help rebuild their lives. Some 25 women’s groups in DRC, made up of 1,025 individuals in more

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Baby born amid Pakistan floods is named after UNDP programme

The parents of a baby boy in Pakistan have named him in honour of a UNDP-supported programme to assist those seeking asylum and those offering shelter to refugees in the country. Emergency facilities, operated by the Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas programme (RAHA), provided the ambulance and med more

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Philippines heeds call of citizens in breakthrough land reform plan

“With a piece of land titled in our names, we will be able to make long-term plans for a better life for our families,” said Belen Nana, president of the Organization of Farmers and Tree Planters, a cooperative in Antipolo in the northern Philippines province of Rizal. “Now I plan to send my childre more

2.62 years
remaining
until 2015

1990 2015
Featured Publication
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The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012

Three important targets on poverty, slums and water have been met three years ahead of 2015, says this year’s Report. Meeting the remaining targets, while challenging, is possible ─ but only if Governments do not waiver from their commitments.


More MDG-related publications