Our Stories

18-year-old recovers from tuberculosis

With a bright smile on her face 18-year-old Mouniratou, of Bobo-Dioulassou, Burkina Faso, is the embodiment of happiness itself. Two weeks ago she took the last of her Tuberculosis (TB) medication, putting an end to a six-month long treatment for the disease. “I was so ill that I could not eve more

From sex worker to HIV counsellor

Jennifer was just 16 years old when poverty forced her out of her native Nigeria, leaving her family and many young sisters behind. She thought she was heading for a better future as a house maid in Europe, but instead, she ended up in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where she has been a sex worker for t more

Fishing provides new jobs in Panama

Fishermen and women in the small fishing community of Guanábano in western Panama begin their work between three and four each morning. They fire up their boat engines and set out in search of a good place to cast their fishing nets. Once a good location is spotted, they cast their nets into the wat more

Rain water harvesting improves lives of Tanzanian farmers

In recent years, residents of Tanzania's Kilimanjaro region have seen their livelihoods threatened by climate change-induced water shortages. The Kilimanjaro region has always been one of the driest in Tanzania, receiving less than 400 mm of rainfall annually. The average annual rainfall for the cou more

Preserving culture, protecting villagers in Fiji

Lomawai village on the island of Fiji is known for its salt producing tradition. Today, though, Tai Butani is the only person left in the village who continues to produces salt from the salt ponds in the local mangroves. "I collect water from the pond in a pan, cook it for 24 hours, and once more

Cameroon community to return home after lake explosion

Nearly 1,700 people died in 1986 when Cameroon's Lake Nyos suddenly released deadly levels of carbon dioxide into the air following a build-up of the gas in the lake. Another 10,000 people were uprooted and 3,000 heads of livestock perished. "I lost more than 21 members of my family and all our more

In Cambodia, a monk fights for the environment

What began as a Buddhist monk’s mission to halt deforestation in his native Cambodia has resulted in the legal protection of 18,261 hectares of evergreen forest. The forested area, located in northwest Cambodia, is now aptly called The Monks’ Community Forest. In recognition of this achievement, the more

Bangladesh: Disaster Risk Reduction as Development

A country of exceptional vulnerability to natural hazards Bangladesh has a long history of natural disasters. Between 1980 and 2008, it experienced 219 natural disasters, causing over US$16 billion in total damage. The predicted effects of climate change will only compound these impacts. UNDP has more

Finding hope in flood-hit Pakistan

“The waters will recede one day and I will certainly go home,” said 35-year-old Najma, a mother of three who survived the most recent floods that hit southern Pakistan affecting nearly five million people and leaving almost two million without homes in an area that had not yet recovered from last ye more

Bringing economic security to women in Nepal

Dipmala Mahato is beginning to feel the benefits that financial prosperity can bring. While she still lives in a one-room home, constructed of mud and roughly the size of a table-tennis board, she now earns a decent income selling her vegetables in the twice-weekly local market. Mahato is one of 32 more

Burundi: A new market revives a community

"Every morning, I feel like my energy is renewed when I remember I have to go to work at the Mutambara market construction site", says Alice Niyondiko who lives in Rumonge Municipality in southern Burundi. Alice returned to the country in the wake of the civil war that ravaged Burundi for more

Supporting recovery and local governance in Somalia

It is early morning and Amina[1] has another busy day ahead. The mother of two must get her children off to school and finish some housekeeping before she can attend to her small business, selling second-hand clothes and household supplies beside her corrugated-iron-roofed house. In spite of her hec more

Income brings hope to Somali families facing famine

With her two children losing weight fast and family income drying up, 26-year-old Haredo Ali, from Somalia’s southern Bakool region, was stuck at the centre of the country’s worst drought in 60 years. Her husband lost his honey-harvesting business when his bees abandoned their hive in search of nect more

Iraqi judicial reform targets gender-based violence

The Iraqi government, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has launched a series of programmes to improve security and justice, and to tackle gender-based violence in the country. Women in Iraq have not had equal access to justice or protection by law enforcement agenci more

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

FYR Macedonia steps up emergency training

Silvana Abraseva is one of the 1,500 teachers in schools across the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia who helped to carry out evacuation drills to prepare students for earthquakes and fires. "Together we've trained more than 17,000 children on how to stay safe if there's an earthquake or fi more

Tackling the deadly legacy of war in Lao PDR

Rice planting season is a nerve-wracking time for 49 year-old farmer Vongphone of Xieng Khouang province, in northern Lao. He was disabled five years ago when he accidentally set off an unexploded cluster bomb. Vongphone, who lost his left hand, is one of hundreds maimed or killed each year by explo more

Helping Mexican villagers face disaster and climate risks

Marivel is a 38-year-old fisherwoman of Mayan descent whose fishing boat was one of 350 vessels in the town of Solferino, Mexico destroyed by Hurricane Wilma. Hurricane Wilma tore across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in 2005, claiming thousands of hectares of tropical rainforest and damaging many comme more

India: flood-damaged communities build back better

“Sometimes in my sleep I can still hear the sound of the river gushing towards my village,” said Sangeeta Devi, recalling the terror she felt one night in 2008 when the mighty Kosi river breached its embankment and inundated vast tracts of land around her home. Sangeeta Devi lives in India's poorest more

Sri Lankan women embrace leadership

K. Lalith Kulanayake recently became the first woman to serve in her local government. Kulanayake lives in a region of Sri Lanka where female political participation is among the lowest in the country. Yet, she is determined to serve her community, particularly the women, who are often under-represe more

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