Stories about Development from August, 2009
Online Campaigns To Combat Spread Of HIV/AIDS
To combat the spread of AIDS, many organizations and activists worldwide are engaged with innovative and localized campaigns and initiatives. Today we will discuss some of them who use ICT and citizen media to augment their cause.
Caucasus: Peace Corps blogs on Twitter
With most bloggers located in the capitals of the three South Caucasus republics, U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) have been indispensible in posting entries from the regions of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. However, with old PCVs being replaced by new ones when their service ends, it's often been difficult to...
Trinidad & Tobago: Are We Really Independent?
Today is the forty-seventh anniversary of Independence in Trinidad and Tobago, but some bloggers wonder whether citizens of the twin island republic truly understand what sovereignty is all about...
India: Mobile Value Added Services For Rural People
Dina Mehta writes about an innovative value added service from mobile operator(s) which can empower people in rural areas in India with minimum cost.
Blogging About Poverty And Development In The Arab World
In some Arab countries, more than half of the population lives in hunger and want. In this post we hear from bloggers writing about poverty and development around the Arab world.
Puerto Rico: “Such is Life”
The executive director of the government project Portal del Futuro defended the construction of a luxury mega-resort by telling residents of neighboring communities that they would not have access to this kind of project because "such is life." Puerto Rican bloggers respond to his remarks.
India: Another Bulding Collapsed In Mumbai
Tech and Trek comments on the incident of another building falling apart in Mumbai, India after daylong rain: “what can we really do? Nothing but curse our luck.”
Bahamas: A Woman's World
“When women of the Caribbean and the Americas are truly equal, stay at home mothering will be a paying job”: From the Bahamas, Womanish Words is celebrating Women's Equality Day “by imagining a better world for women, and for mothers and their children especially.”
Jordan: The Dream Train that was not to be
Getting to and from work daily takes its toll on employees, especially in countries without a 'proper' public transportation system. Jordanian Osama Al Romoh writes about the resurrected dream train link which was not to be.
India: A wave of suicides among farmers
Increasingly, Indian farmers are resorting to extreme measures, including suicide, to escape complex problems of poverty, crop failure and growing debt. Indian bloggers analyze the situation.
Zimbabwe: Toll gate chaos
Read all about toll gate chaos in Zimbabwe: “The roadblocks are causing confusion amongst Zimbabweans, and a colleague of mine relayed a conversation he had with a farmer in the Esigodini area, which conveys the impact the toll gates may have on daily lives.”
Ghana: Invitation to Kumasi meetup
Tobias writes about Kumasi meetup where participants are expected to learn about ICT and Kabisa. Kabissa is a network of people who are working online and on the ground for positive change in Africa.
India: The Wall Project
IdeaSmith at Desicritics writes about the wall project, which had invited the citizens of Mumbai to express themselves in color on the city’s walls. The blogger also posts some pictures of the painted walls from Mahim to Dadar (about 4 kms), which was made available by the Municipal Corporation to...
Bangladesh: What Farmers Say About Microfinance
Duncan Green spent spent some time with a group of 20 Bangladeshi small farmers (13 men, 7 women) and shared their views about Micro-finance in his blog.
Africa: Maker Faire 2010 announced
Emeka writes about Maker Faire 2010, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya: “As a follow-up to the invigorating inaugural Maker Faire Africa 2009. The organizing team has announced a number of initiatives to harness the momentum and energy felt at the Accra event.”
China: CO2 emissions will peak at 2030
Elaine Chow at Shanghaiist quotes from National Development and Reform Commission on the CO2 emissions trend in China. The report said that China's CO2 emissions will peak at 2030.
Ghana: Locally fabricated radio station
Erik writes about a locally fabricated radio station in Accra, Ghana. The radio runs at 101.7 FM.
Trinidad & Tobago: Counting the Cost
Trinidadian Rhea Mungal's photo blog entries question the ecological cost of the proposed aluminium smelter.
Haiti: The U.N. & Elections
Dying in Haiti publishes an article by Bob Corbett which speculates as to “why the United Nations could keep so silent about the fraud during Haiti's April Senatorial elections and the June runoffs”, adding: “It's time to make some significant changes; now.”
Hong Kong: Gender imbalance in Hong Kong
Sunbin looks into the demographic data and explains why the ratio between man and woman has such a drastic change in the past 15 years: in the 35-39 age group, in 1990 there are 107 men for every 100 women, 15 years later, it is 67 vs 100.
U.S.V.I.: Alternative Energy
The U.S. Virgin Islands will soon have two alternative energy facilities which will “convert an estimated 146,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste into refuse-derived fuel.” Repeating Islands has the details.
