Blog Moderator's blog

Sometimes the best way to serve families over the long haul is to step back. A recent change to U.S. foreign assistance policy is putting more local organizations in the lead on development projects around the world.

Governments worldwide are struggling under massive debt, which means there is often less left over for international relief and humanitarian efforts. NGOs like those which belong to InterActionrely on the generosity of the public and increasingly turn to the private sector as a source not only of funding but also for logistical support and expert advice.

It’s 3 p.m., and the school is alive with clapping, singing, and plenty of desperate hand-raising. We’re spending our afternoon with the children of the Toungouzou village at their school, built by World Vision.

I found myself in a hot, dusty camp on the border with Ethiopia, where Somalis who had fled their homes because of violence and the worst drought in 60 years were living. It’s there that I met Habiba.

Over a week has passed since Typhoon Washi struck Northern Midanao—my home.  I feel I’ve had the busiest hours of my career as a worker with the non-profit organization World Vision.  I knew there was a typhoon coming, and I was even monitoring our areas.

“Country ownership” has become a popular term used in discussions about the future of U.S. foreign assistance. But its definition shifts depending on who you’re talking to. InterAction’s just released policy paper, “Country Ownership: Moving from Rhetoric to Action,” provides a clear and easy to understand definition that all who care about international development should consider using.  

Yemen’s education officials faced a two-pronged crisis. Political instability and street protests caused parents to doubt that schools would open in September, compounding an existing problem of low levels of enrollment, particularly among girls.

As the new school year approached, the Education Ministry asked Counterpart and other non-governmental organizations to help with a back-to-school campaign informing parents that the academic year would start on schedule.

You might have heard that legislation being considered in Congress could have devastating effects on nonprofits’ ability to do urgently needed work. If passed, the Postal Reform Act (H.R. 2309) would mean the near elimination of the nonprofit rate discount -- from 40 percent to 10 percent over six years. This would equate to an immediate postage rate increase on the order of 10 percent.

Ever looked at an empty plastic soda bottle as you’re throwing it away and wondered where they all end up? In Guatemala, they may become a sturdy wall in a new school.

Students, teachers and parents in the northern municipality of Raxruhá joined an innovative program that creates “eco-bricks,” in which plastic water and soda bottles are filled with inorganic plastic trash that can be used to create a variety of structures, from trashcans to classrooms.

Carrots, beet root, leafy greens and other vegetables will finally be produced up to four times a year in a new environmentally friendly initiative involving raised-bed gardens in Central Ethiopia.

Called a “keyhole garden,” it is a circular raised soil bed about four-feet high and 6.5 feet wide with a small break in its round shape for access (the keyhole) to a composting basket in the center. The garden's circular keyhole shape makes all sections very accessible to tend.