Her name is Shanilia Melissa Derival Eneliza but in Jimaní, the Dominican border town that became a hub of humanitarian activity after the earthquake in Haiti, everyone knows her simply by her nickname, Rosa.
Although the frantic rhythm of emergency activities has died down, Rosa has volunteered for the last two months in one of the organisations that came to Jimaní to stay, the Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Service, a long time partner of Progressio.
Mining in Peru is often not good news for its people. It contaminates natural resources and causes social conflicts across the country. But this bad news only makes the front page when it's catastrophic: 'Oil spill in the Marañon River', 'Fear for contamination from toxic mining spill in Huancavelica'. The rest of the time, these practices and events go by unheard.
Solange is from Chile and is currently working as an Adviser in Local Economic Development for Federación Nacional de Cooperativas Agropecuarias y Agroindustriales (FENACOOP) in Nicaragua.
I am a woman eager to get to know different cultures and on the constant quest to understand the “other”. At the same time, I define myself as an enterprising person as I like to work on cutting edge issues.
Since the introduction of multiparty politics in 1994, Malawians have enjoyed relative stability. Since then, power has changed hands peacefully between three different political parties, an achievement that remains a dream for most of Malawi’s neighbours.
When one visits the rural communities in Huancavelica, Peru, the first thing that strikes you is the lack of presence of the state and lack of access to basic services such as health or education. Huancavelica is one of the most impoverished regions of Peru with percentages of malnutrition as high as Burundi or Malawi in Africa. At the same time Huancavelica is the most vulnerable region of Peru to climate extremes considering that more than 68% of the population are exposed to multiple climatic threats.
I must admit that my first thought on landing in Hargeisa was “what have I got myself into?” I had spent the past few weeks trying to explain to my ever-worrying mum the difference between Somalia and Somaliland. I had reassured her that - after years of civil war and human rights abuses - in 1991, Somaliland had unilaterally declared independence and had broken from greater Somalia. I had gone into great detail about how Somaliland had managed to remain relatively stable as an autonomous region, even as Somalia slipped further into chaos.
Nahuaterique is one of those places on earth where people are not citizens, just people. Driving along the potholed path that leads to this forgotten town only gives you a taste of the extent of the neglect they suffer. Ignored by the Honduran state for 18 years, life in Nahuaterique is full of potholes – people do not hold Honduran identity nor land deeds or the kinds of documents we in Europe take for granted; there are no doctors or formal schools either, and few people have electricity and running water.
Mandlenkosi is from Zimbabwe and is currently working as an Electoral Support Adviser with the Catholic Commission for Justice & Peace (CCJP) in the Diocese of Lilongwe, Malawi.
I am a positive person and always take the bad things that come my way in my stride and try to use the experience to do better in future. I am also always willing to learn new things, especially concerning my work and my career. I am therefore my biggest critic and I try to evaluate myself all the time.
With just days to go until the UK election, people here in Malawi are hoping British voters will look beyond their borders and support bold action on international development on May 6, writes Progressio's
Lloyd Simwaka.
We are still the poorest nation in Africa. Over recent years, we have seen how decisions taken in Whitehall directly affect the education of our children, the health of our families and the long-term progress of our country.
