When a refugee arrives in the U.K., the first barrier is not just language. It is isolation. Since 1993, Lancashire-based NGO Global Link has built a bridge across that gap, evolving from a local development center into a national resettlement force.
Global Link operates on a simple belief: an inclusive Britain requires more than teaching refugees English. It requires social justice and conflict resolution, not just within refugee communities but across the U.K. as a whole.
Mission and Challenges
Global Link’s mission rests on three core strands: educating the general public on refugee matters, building cohesion between resettled and local populations in Lancashire and providing financial and advisory support to asylum seekers. Doing all of this comes with challenges. Asylum seekers may arrive from traumatic backgrounds or with no formal education, all while facing the constant threat of citizenship denial. Global Link then has roughly six months to begin teaching refugees English as a second language (ESL) before funded college classes become available.
Bridging the Language Gap
For newly arrived asylum seekers in Lancaster, access to English lessons is limited. Colleges often provide English classes through government-funded ESOL programs. However, many require asylum seekers to have lived in the U.K. for at least six months before becoming eligible. As a result, newly arrived asylum seekers frequently rely on charities and informal classes to learn English during that period.
Ryan Cove, a volunteer ESL teacher at Global Link, stated: “Global Link is one of the only places to offer ESL lessons to asylum seekers who have newly arrived.” With U.K. asylum policies becoming harsher and the required English level rising from B1 to B2, learning English quickly is more important than ever.
The curriculum prioritizes survival. Teachers run lessons on filling in asylum claims, registering with a GP, booking appointments by phone and reading prescription labels. The system aims to cover as many topics as possible and tailor them to specific needs; for instance, the process of getting medication from a pharmacy is broken down step by step.
For filling out asylum claims, Global Link works alongside another Lancaster charity, Refugee Advocacy, Information and Support (RAIS), which provides translation and advice. For more advanced students, lessons move on to job applications and business conversation skills. Cultural references create another layer of difficulty. Idioms, jokes and sayings can be difficult even for advanced ESL students.
Learning Methods
While some refugees pick up English quickly through social media, others need graded language and visual support. Successful lessons are not always planned. As Cove noted about his students, Ukrainian refugees—mostly older women and mothers—responded best to cooking videos and discussions of travel. At the same time, local classes attended mainly by men from a range of nationalities engaged more with sport and food, allowing students to discuss their own cultures alongside their experiences in the U.K. Games also help.
There is no final exam for asylum seekers. When people arrive, their English levels vary widely depending on their home country and previous education. After six months, those with sufficient English proficiency become eligible for college classes. But success is measured individually: can the person use English in daily life? Can they see a doctor or get a job?
This is why Global Link is such a valuable NGO: it does not judge success by a single exam but by meaningful progress that helps refugees move beyond mere survival.
National Integration Effort and Impact
Across the U.K., Global Link works to educate the wider public. These efforts take multiple forms, such as visits to institutions and open forums for refugee and local discussion. They also include simulations designed to give people in the U.K. a real understanding of the experiences of asylum seekers, such as Global Link’s “Escape to Safety” (E2S) exhibition.
This project is a tight labyrinth of rooms representing the difficulties and challenges that Iranian, Eritrean and Sudanese refugees—among others—face during the asylum-seeking process. Through its broad outreach, Global Link reached 64,000 people in 2025. Participants emerge from the labyrinth with a visceral understanding of what it means to flee home, wait months for decisions and navigate an unfamiliar system alone.
Nationally, the NGO offers a wide range of activities to bring communities together. These include sports tournaments, cooking classes where refugees and locals share family recipes, community agriculture projects and art workshops. Beyond this, it also offers workshops on critical skills such as driving and job-seeking.
In 2025 alone, Global Link supported 410 refugees in their integration. In doing so, it creates more than just a development center; it creates a second home for refugees who would otherwise enter the U.K. completely isolated.
Conclusion
Global Link occupies a unique place in the U.K. that goes far beyond teaching refugees. It provides advanced, multi-layered ESL that addresses the challenges refugees face, supported by ongoing community-building for both locals and newcomers. As Cove puts it when describing why he decided to join Global Link, the work “lets you understand what they are going through on a personal basis… building a strong bond with an often neglected area of the community.”
– Eli Thomson
Eli is based in Preston, UK and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Flickr
AI Reducing Poverty and Inequality in South Africa
South Africa has positioned itself within this global shift through its National Artificial Intelligence Policy Framework. This framework guides how industries and institutions should use AI technologies while managing risks such as inequality, unemployment and ethical concerns. It aligns AI development with national priorities, including economic growth and social inclusion. As a result, AI in South Africa has become a central tool for addressing long-standing development challenges.
South Africa continues to face significant poverty and inequality. Many communities struggle with unemployment, limited access to services and food insecurity. AI presents an opportunity to address these issues by improving productivity, expanding access to resources and creating new job opportunities. By strengthening digital skills and supporting innovation, AI in South Africa can help reduce poverty and promote long-term economic stability.
Driving Economic Growth Through AI in Agriculture
Agriculture remains a critical sector in South Africa, yet farmers face serious challenges such as changing weather patterns, droughts and rising food insecurity. In 2023, nearly 20% of households experienced food insecurity, highlighting the urgent need for innovation. AI-powered tools can help farmers respond to these challenges by improving efficiency and reducing risk.
AI technologies allow farmers to analyze weather patterns, soil conditions and crop performance. These tools provide predictive insights that help farmers make better decisions about irrigation, planting and pest control. For example, Aerobotics uses drones and satellite data to detect crop diseases early, helping farmers protect yields and reduce losses. Such innovations demonstrate how AI in South Africa can directly support rural livelihoods.
AI also contributes to broader economic growth by improving agricultural productivity and market access. Digital tools help farmers allocate resources efficiently, reduce waste and increase output. This strengthens food systems white supporting export growth and economic diversification. As agriculture becomes more technology-driven, AI in South Africa plays a key role in building a more resilient and competitive economy.
Transforming Healthcare and Education Through AI
South Africa’s healthcare system faces major challenges, including staff shortages and unequal access to care, particularly in rural areas. AI technologies help address the gaps by improving diagnostics and supporting medical professionals. AI-powered systems can analyze large datasets to detect diseases earlier and recommend treatments, improving patient outcomes and reducing pressure on healthcare systems.
Education also requires significant improvement, especially in underserved communities where schools often lack resources and qualified teachers. AI-powered learning platforms provide personalized education tailored to individual student needs. These tools help bridge the educational gaps by making high-quality learning accessible regardless of location. This highlights how AI in South Africa can expand opportunities and promote equality in education.
Private Sector and Global Support for AI Development
Private sector investment plays a crucial role in advancing AI in South Africa. Companies like Google and Microsoft are funding training programs to build digital skills across the continent. Google has committed millions of dollars to AI education and infrastructure, while Microsoft plans to train one million South Africans in AI and cybersecurity skills by 2026. These initiatives aim to prepare the workforce for the digital economy.
International partnerships also support AI development. For example, the U.K. has launched initiatives such as the AI Evidence Alliance for Social Impact to evaluate how AI can reduce poverty and improve development outcomes in Africa. These collaborations ensure that AI solutions remain inclusive, effective and aligned with local needs.
What This Means for the Future
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape global economies, AI in South Africa offers a powerful opportunity to address poverty, inequality and unemployment. By integrating AI into agriculture, healthcare and education, the country can improve essential services while driving economic growth.
Through strong policies, investment in skills development and partnerships with global organizations, South Africa is building a more inclusive and sustainable future. If implemented effectively, AI will not only transform industries but also improve the lives of millions of people across the country.
– Annie Hodgkinson
Photo: Flickr
Amparo Confidence Sockets and Kenyan Amputees
Despite this, technology being deployed in the form of the Amparo Confidence Socket in Kenya has the capacity to modernize and revolutionize the lives of Kenyan amputees.
Causes of Amputations in Kenya
Around the world, amputations happen often for a plethora of reasons. In Kenya, a disproportionate number of amputations occur due to many different factors. For instance, in Kenya, around 550,000 people are living with diabetes, with more than one in three undiagnosed.
When diabetes is not managed, which can be the case when someone is living with undiagnosed diabetes, amputations may end up being the only form of treatment. Another factor is amputations related to trauma. In Kenya, 35.7% of amputations are a result of trauma-related incidents.
Part of the high number of trauma-related incidents includes poor road infrastructure, which has the capacity to cause accidents weekly. Even with the different reasons as to how Kenya, as a country, ended up with a high portion of its population requiring aid in relation to their motor-related disabilities, there are still many barriers to achieving access to technology that could help. These barriers limit the availability and use of such technology.
The Amparo Confidence Socket
Designed for individuals with amputations in areas that often lack resources, the Amparo Confidence Socket was created as an “off-the-shelf prosthetic socket technology.” This allows for a more streamlined fitting process and increased portability. It makes the technology accessible to more rural communities.
The company Amparo, in partnership with the Global Disability Innovation Hub at University College London, deployed the Confidence Socket in Kenya as part of a clinical trial. The aim was to evaluate its effectiveness. It was later found that participants in the study had improved mobility after being fitted with the Confidence Socket.
Despite some later complaints about decreased comfort, the Amparo Confidence Socket notably increased users’ access to prosthetic services. It also supported improved mobility outcomes.
Going Forward
The Amparo Confidence Socket has the capacity to truly revolutionize the experience of amputees in Kenya. There is still room for improvement in the comfort and long-term use of the Amparo Confidence Socket in Kenya. However, its introduction, along with its flexibility in transportation and fit, has the potential to revolutionize the lives of Kenyan amputees.
– Bernice Attawia
Photo: Unsplash
Global Link Teaching Refugees
Global Link operates on a simple belief: an inclusive Britain requires more than teaching refugees English. It requires social justice and conflict resolution, not just within refugee communities but across the U.K. as a whole.
Mission and Challenges
Global Link’s mission rests on three core strands: educating the general public on refugee matters, building cohesion between resettled and local populations in Lancashire and providing financial and advisory support to asylum seekers. Doing all of this comes with challenges. Asylum seekers may arrive from traumatic backgrounds or with no formal education, all while facing the constant threat of citizenship denial. Global Link then has roughly six months to begin teaching refugees English as a second language (ESL) before funded college classes become available.
Bridging the Language Gap
For newly arrived asylum seekers in Lancaster, access to English lessons is limited. Colleges often provide English classes through government-funded ESOL programs. However, many require asylum seekers to have lived in the U.K. for at least six months before becoming eligible. As a result, newly arrived asylum seekers frequently rely on charities and informal classes to learn English during that period.
Ryan Cove, a volunteer ESL teacher at Global Link, stated: “Global Link is one of the only places to offer ESL lessons to asylum seekers who have newly arrived.” With U.K. asylum policies becoming harsher and the required English level rising from B1 to B2, learning English quickly is more important than ever.
The curriculum prioritizes survival. Teachers run lessons on filling in asylum claims, registering with a GP, booking appointments by phone and reading prescription labels. The system aims to cover as many topics as possible and tailor them to specific needs; for instance, the process of getting medication from a pharmacy is broken down step by step.
For filling out asylum claims, Global Link works alongside another Lancaster charity, Refugee Advocacy, Information and Support (RAIS), which provides translation and advice. For more advanced students, lessons move on to job applications and business conversation skills. Cultural references create another layer of difficulty. Idioms, jokes and sayings can be difficult even for advanced ESL students.
Learning Methods
While some refugees pick up English quickly through social media, others need graded language and visual support. Successful lessons are not always planned. As Cove noted about his students, Ukrainian refugees—mostly older women and mothers—responded best to cooking videos and discussions of travel. At the same time, local classes attended mainly by men from a range of nationalities engaged more with sport and food, allowing students to discuss their own cultures alongside their experiences in the U.K. Games also help.
There is no final exam for asylum seekers. When people arrive, their English levels vary widely depending on their home country and previous education. After six months, those with sufficient English proficiency become eligible for college classes. But success is measured individually: can the person use English in daily life? Can they see a doctor or get a job?
This is why Global Link is such a valuable NGO: it does not judge success by a single exam but by meaningful progress that helps refugees move beyond mere survival.
National Integration Effort and Impact
Across the U.K., Global Link works to educate the wider public. These efforts take multiple forms, such as visits to institutions and open forums for refugee and local discussion. They also include simulations designed to give people in the U.K. a real understanding of the experiences of asylum seekers, such as Global Link’s “Escape to Safety” (E2S) exhibition.
This project is a tight labyrinth of rooms representing the difficulties and challenges that Iranian, Eritrean and Sudanese refugees—among others—face during the asylum-seeking process. Through its broad outreach, Global Link reached 64,000 people in 2025. Participants emerge from the labyrinth with a visceral understanding of what it means to flee home, wait months for decisions and navigate an unfamiliar system alone.
Nationally, the NGO offers a wide range of activities to bring communities together. These include sports tournaments, cooking classes where refugees and locals share family recipes, community agriculture projects and art workshops. Beyond this, it also offers workshops on critical skills such as driving and job-seeking.
In 2025 alone, Global Link supported 410 refugees in their integration. In doing so, it creates more than just a development center; it creates a second home for refugees who would otherwise enter the U.K. completely isolated.
Conclusion
Global Link occupies a unique place in the U.K. that goes far beyond teaching refugees. It provides advanced, multi-layered ESL that addresses the challenges refugees face, supported by ongoing community-building for both locals and newcomers. As Cove puts it when describing why he decided to join Global Link, the work “lets you understand what they are going through on a personal basis… building a strong bond with an often neglected area of the community.”
– Eli Thomson
Photo: Flickr
Foreign Investment in Rwanda is Reshaping Kigali
Why Foreign Investment in Rwanda Is on the Rise
Rwanda’s appeal to foreign investors has a lot to do with the stable environment. The Rwanda Development Board operates a One Stop Centre where businesses can register in a few hours, and the country allows 100% foreign ownership across the most important sectors. Rwanda is the only nation in East Africa to have concluded a Bilateral Investment Treaty with the United States, which entered into force in 2025. Meanwhile, the government’s Vision 2050 plan targets upper-middle-income status by 2035 and high-income status by 2050, goals that require sustained annual GDP growth.
Rwanda’s membership in the East African Community, the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) gives businesses operating in Kigali access to a combined market of more than 1.4 billion consumers.
Development Organizations on the Ground
Kigali’s stability and infrastructure have drawn major international bodies beyond the private sector. The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) current country program for Rwanda, running from 2025 to 2029, positions Kigali as a central node for innovation-driven development work. Key platforms and organizations include Timbuktoo, Youth Connekt and the Accelerator Lab, all of which focus on digital entrepreneurship, green jobs and youth economic empowerment.
The scale of ambition is significant. The UNDP’s program targets equipping 20,000 young Rwandans with employability skills by 2029. These programs operate against a backdrop of real need: youth unemployment stands at 20.5% for Rwandans aged 16 to 30, and approximately 78% of the population is under 35. The government’s National Strategy for Transformation 2025-2029 explicitly targets the creation of 1.25 million productive jobs with a focus on women, youth and climate-resilient sectors.
Growth That Must Reach the Poorest
The most important question surrounding Kigali’s rise is whether its economic momentum is reaching those who need it most. Rwanda’s Human Development Index grew by 119% between 1990 and 2018, the highest rate globally over that period. But as of 2017, 38.2% of Rwandans still lived below the poverty line, with 16% in extreme poverty, and 54.8% of the rural population experiencing multidimensional poverty.
The World Bank’s Country Economic Memorandum on Rwanda directly addresses this tension, emphasizing that pathways to sustainable growth must be inclusive, particularly for agriculture-dependent rural communities and women, who remain disproportionately excluded from the formal economy. Rwanda’s national frameworks acknowledge this gap: the National Strategy for Transformation 2025-2029 explicitly targets pro-poor growth, gender equality and equitable access to services as core pillars alongside economic transformation.
Looking Ahead
What makes Kigali distinctive is the combination of elements it has assembled: political stability, low corruption, investment reform and a government that has embedded poverty reduction targets directly into its long-term economic vision. Whether this model delivers for Rwanda’s poorest communities over the next decade will depend on execution, particularly whether programs like the UNDP’s youth employment initiatives translate into lasting livelihoods beyond Kigali’s city limits. As a framework for what development-oriented economic growth can look like, Kigali continues to draw international attention.
– Gia Sen
Photo: Flickr
Digital Grain Storage and Reducing Poverty in India
Rural Poverty in India
As of 2022, India’s poverty rate, measured at $3 a day, stood at 5.25%. The country has experienced steadily improved poverty conditions in recent years, particularly in rural areas, which saw a decline in poverty from 32.59% to 19.28% in 2021. NDTV reports suggest that these figures have now declined to just 4.86%. Bihar is one of the regions that has witnessed the most progress in closing the gap between poverty rates in urban and rural areas.
However, despite this progress, the day-to-day experiences of those living in the remote countryside reflect ongoing hardship. For families who rely on agriculture, the goal is simply to earn enough to survive. The unpredictable nature of monsoons and seasonal changes contributes to economic instability. It is within this context that Ergos has helped reduce poverty in India by providing an innovative solution to seasonal dependence.
Ergos the GrainBank Model
Founded by Kishor Jha and Praveen Kumar, Ergos’ grain bank model allows farmers to store harvested crops at local warehouses in order to sell their product later at a more favorable cost. According to Ergos, almost 86% of farmers in India are smallholders without the ability to store their produce. As a result, around 80% to 90% of farmers try to sell the entirety of their grain in under 40 days. This is compounded by widespread debt among workers in the agricultural sector, where high interest rates affect farmers who had initially relied on moneylenders to fund their business, creating a cycle that limits the ability of rural households to raise their incomes.
By providing storage for grain, Ergos enables farmers to access immediate liquidity through a credit system and regain control over commodity prices. Technological innovation underpins the model’s effectiveness, with Ergos collecting and sharing agricultural data to support farmers’ decision-making. This approach benefits both farmers and buyers, returning financial control to rural producers who would otherwise remain vulnerable to seasonal fluctuations.
Looking Ahead
Given that an estimated 60% of rural households rely on agriculture, based on a 2021-22 national survey, innovations in agri-tech have a role to play in reducing poverty in India. Ergos’ digital grain bank model demonstrates how modern technology applied to an age-old livelihood can reduce seasonal income dependence and support rural communities.
– Polly Laws
Photo: Flickr
Reenpad: Reducing Period Poverty in Tanzania
Periods and Poverty
Periods and poverty are deeply intertwined, so much so that the phrase “period poverty” has been coined. Millions of people are still unable to afford menstrual hygiene products or do not have access to clean and safe water and sanitation facilities, such as private toilets. Instead, many women and girls across the planet are forced to use toilet paper, cloth or a sponge to maintain some menstrual hygiene. Others have no access to anything at all. As a result, many women and girls miss out on days of education or work every month, which only worsens their economic situation, putting their health, freedom and rights at risk.
Stigma and discrimination are major factors in perpetuating period poverty. Many countries do not educate young people on periods, and therefore, many people are completely unaware and unprepared for their first period. Those in policymaking positions are also affected by the stigma around menstruation, where a lack of consideration for clean and private sanitation facilities in places of education or employment means people do not feel comfortable going to school or work while menstruating.
Reenpad
Doreen Urio is a social innovator and is the founder of Reenpad, a social enterprise committed to making menstrual health products both accessible and affordable in Tanzania. With 51% of the Tanzanian population living on less than $3 a day, the monthly cost of and access to traditional menstrual products is a burden to many women and girls. To achieve its mission of reducing period poverty and empowering women and girls, Reenpad began producing and distributing sustainable menstrual products in Tanzania, such as reusable pads.
Reusable pads help women and girls reduce their monthly expenses as they are far more cost-effective than traditional disposable menstrual products. Their durable quality allows them to be washed and reused for several years. As well as being cost-effective, they are also a more sustainable, eco-friendly option for the environment, reducing the waste that comes from traditional menstrual hygiene products in Tanzania and across the globe. Traditional single-use sanitary pads typically end up in landfill and can take between 500 and 800 years to break down, and some materials used in production will never decompose.
Urio was inspired to begin this mission after losing a close friend to uterine cancer, after dealing with the pain of endometriosis. Reenpad understands that menstrual health is a key factor and signifier of an individual’s overall health. As such, as well as providing sustainable menstrual products in Tanzania, Reenpad also offers products that help with hormonal skin outbreaks and menstrual cramps. The organization educates women and girls on how to understand their menstrual cycle, helping to break down stigma and taboos.
Reenpad offers more than providing knowledge and sustainable products for menstrual cycles. Many employment opportunities for local low-income women and girls have been created thanks to Reenpad, broadening its social impact by helping to further tackle poverty in Tanzania.
Looking Ahead
The work done by Urio and Reenpad in providing education, jobs and sustainable menstrual products in Tanzania supports women living in period poverty. Providing these accessible and affordable products offers women and girls years of dignity and empowers them by removing one barrier to education and employment. The environmental benefit of these products supports the case for sustainable menstrual products as a model going forward.
– Stephanie Gable
Photo: Pexels
Economic Opportunity in Morocco: A Look Into the Textile Sector
Morocco’s Textile Sector
Morocco’s textile sector provides more than 200,000 jobs, accounting for 27% of industrial employment, and contributes 7% of the country’s industrial value. The country is taking the opportunity to create jobs through textile training programs that connect participants directly to an established industry, further supporting economic opportunity in Morocco.
Backed by organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Alwaleed Philanthropies, these programs and initiatives provide participants with skills in not only garment production but also small business development. The Alwaleed Philanthropies initiative has reached more than 6,300 people, with approximately 5,000 people benefiting in 2024 alone.
Strengthening Competitiveness
Morocco’s textile development efforts extend beyond a single initiative. Programs supported by the International Trade Centre (ITC) focus on improving competitiveness in the textile and clothing sector by helping small and medium-sized enterprises strengthen production, increase exports and integrate into global value chains. These efforts complement training initiatives by ensuring that newly skilled workers are entering a sector with growing demand and stronger international market access.
At the national level, Morocco has invested in industry-focused initiatives such as the Industrial Acceleration Plan, which emphasizes workforce training, investment and sector growth to support long-term job creation.
Training and Cultural Preservation
By combining textile production skills with workforce training, these programs create a direct pathway for Moroccans to go from learning to earning. The programs also provide specialized training to more than 500 artisans, focusing on areas such as fashion design, model development and creative production.
This program also prioritizes creativity and recognizes the importance of cultural preservation. It helps participants modernize traditional Moroccan textiles so that the sector remains competitive while preserving tradition. Traditional Moroccan textile practices such as the kaftan, are recognized by UNESCO as part of the country’s cultural heritage, highlighting the importance of preserving these techniques while adapting them for modern use.
This combination of preservation and modernization allows participants to maintain cultural identity while also accessing opportunities in tourism, where handcrafted textiles are often sold in local markets and cultural centers, as well as in broader fashion and export markets that value traditional craftsmanship. The textile and clothing sector’s strong export base further supports these opportunities by connecting locally produced goods to international buyers and global supply chains, contributing to economic opportunity in Morocco across both local and global markets.
Looking Ahead
Rather than creating entirely new industries, this approach focuses on strengthening what already exists, making job creation more immediate and reinforcing economic opportunity in Morocco. With youth unemployment remaining a challenge, programs that connect training directly to employment opportunities can help address the economic conditions that contribute to poverty. By equipping individuals with both technical and entrepreneurial skills, Morocco’s textile initiatives expand access to income and create more stable economic pathways.
– Kale Overton
Photo: Flickr
How Thrifting Reduces Poverty in Guatemala
Second-Hand Clothing Industry in Guatemala
According to the Garson and Shaw report on secondhand clothing imports from the United States to Guatemala, in 2023, Guatemala imported 131.25 million kilograms of second-hand clothing, 98.6% of which originated from the United States. HS Code 6309 is an international trade classification for worn clothing used to determine costs and tariffs. People in Guatemala have a high demand for low-cost clothing, as many are unable to meet basic food and health needs. The Guatemalan economy is the largest in Central America and relies heavily on the SHC market to support economic activity.
The largest second-hand retailer in Central America, Megapaca, is based in Guatemala. Megapaca is comparable to the North American company Goodwill, with similarly large stores and a fast turnover rate of clothing.
The SHC market is particularly appealing to women in Guatemala, as a high proportion of people do not complete more than primary or secondary education, with more women than men stopping after primary school. The SHC market is one of the few accessible jobs that generate income for people with limited education. A study conducted by Garson and Shaw found that almost all surveyed participants reported that the SHC market has a positive impact on their families.
Supporting Women Through Fair Trade
The SHC market is a key component of reducing poverty in Guatemala. With a large number of women involved in the sector, it promotes financial independence for women who do not have many other job opportunities.
Trades of Hope is a fair trade company founded by Gretchen and Elisabeth Huijskens in 2010. The organization gives women living in poverty the opportunity to support their families by making clothes, jewelry and bags. Trades of Hope pays these artisans a fair and livable wage and markets their items on its website.
One Guatemalan artisan, Clara, said that she built a workshop in her home so she could work while staying with her children, and that other parents in her village who previously had to travel far for work now work alongside her.
Looking Ahead
With more than half the population of Guatemala living in poverty, second-hand clothing is a necessary industry for people to access affordable clothing and participate in the economy. Companies like Trades of Hope work with women artisans to create stability for them and their families by selling handmade goods at fair wages. The second-hand clothing industry plays an important role in many developing countries in efforts to reduce poverty.
– Kaitlyn Crane
Photo: Flickr
The Liberation of Port-au-Prince: Humanitarian Aid in Haiti
Background
The scale of Haiti’s crisis is difficult to overstate. According to the U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR), gangs controlled up to 90% of Port‑au‑Prince as recently as 2025. They restricted movement, blocked trade routes and subjected civilians to extortion, kidnapping and sexual violence.
The U.N.’s March 2026 report on gang expansion documents 5,519 people killed and 2,608 injured between March 2025 and January 2026, with women and girls disproportionately targeted. The collapse of policing and justice institutions left entire neighborhoods effectively under siege, governed by armed groups whose authority rested on fear.
The Liberation of Port-au-Prince
However, recent security operations have begun to change this landscape. The Haitian National Police, supported by international partners including the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and contributors to the U.N.-mandated Multinational Security Support Mission, have regained limited control of several key routes and districts. U.N. experts describe this moment as a “glimmer of hope,” noting that police are now more visible and mobile in areas that had been inaccessible for months.
This assessment is echoed in the U.N.’s broader human rights reporting, which frames the current moment as a rare but important opening for stabilization. For residents, the change is immediate and tangible. They can now cross neighborhood boundaries without paying extortion fees, as well as reach markets and health centers that were previously blocked off by gang violence.
Humanitarian Aid in Haiti
This shift has profound implications for humanitarian access, with Haiti’s situation being among the most severe in the world. According to the U.N. Humanitarian Action for Children, more than 6.4 million people are expected to require assistance in 2026, including 1.4 million internally displaced people. Furthermore, only 10%–11% of health facilities within Port-au-Prince with inpatient capacity are operating normally.
Humanitarian aid agencies were unable to reach gang-controlled zones in Haiti, forcing them to rely solely on remote support or limited airlifts. The partial liberation of Port‑au‑Prince has opened a narrow yet vital corridor for humanitarian work. Mobile health clinics have begun reaching displaced people sheltering in schools and makeshift camps.
The Need for Sustained International Support
The liberation of territory has also revealed the depth of trauma endured by children. A joint OHCHR–BINUH report found that at least 26 gangs in the capital are involved in child trafficking using boys for extortion and armed operations, while subjecting girls to sexual slavery. More than 500,000 children live in gang‑controlled areas and many have been misidentified as perpetrators, executed by police or vigilante groups.
Even with improved access, Haiti’s humanitarian system is under severe strain. U.N. humanitarian assessments warn that gender‑based violence services face significant funding gaps and many displacement sites lack basic management structures. Food assistance pipelines risk interruption and children with acute malnutrition may remain untreated if funding shortfalls continue.
Without sustained international support, the gains from recent security improvements could quickly erode. The broader political context also remains uncertain, as Haiti has not held national elections since 2016. Additionally, the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 left the country without an elected head of state.
Governance institutions remain weak and accountability for human rights violations, whether committed by gangs or the police, remains rare. OHCHR’s report describes the situation as a “severe deterioration” in human rights conditions, driven by gang expansion, institutional collapse and systemic impunity.
As humanitarian aid access improves in Haiti, agencies stress the need for reintegration programs, safe spaces, school‑based protection systems and cash‑transfer schemes that reduce the economic pressures driving recruitment.
Concluding Thoughts
The liberation of parts of Port‑au‑Prince is best understood not as a turning point, but as an opening. It offers a chance to scale up emergency assistance, rebuild essential services and strengthen protection for women and children. However, it also underscores the need for predictable funding and long‑term support for Haitian institutions working to restore the rule of law.
For Haitians, the hope is that this moment marks the beginning of a broader recovery, one in which safety and opportunity replace fear and displacement.
– Max Kenway
Photo: Pixabay
AI Cashew Mapping: Shaping the Future of Poverty in Benin
Yet for decades, hundreds of thousands of farmers remained trapped in a cycle of subsistence living. They were invisible to the global financial systems that could help them scale their operations. The CajùLab initiative, a groundbreaking collaboration between TechnoServe and Alteia, is altering the narrative by using artificial intelligence (AI) to put these farmers on the map.
The Cost of Being Unbanked
For many, poverty in Benin is a structural issue of being “unbanked.” Without formal land titles or recognized maps of their property, small-hold farmers lack the collateral necessary to secure loans from their government. To a local bank, a farmer without formal land documents is treated like a borrower with no assets.
A lack of data creates a credit desert. Families cannot afford the fertilizers, irrigation or high-quality saplings required to increase their yields. Consider the story of Bibs Saka Kota, a cashew farmer in Benin:
Before engaging with the modern tools provided by the BeninCajù program, Biba struggled with low productivity. Years before, her two hectares of land yielded only five bags of nuts. After adopting the smart climate model, her harvest has tripled to 15 bags. “Cashew allows me to live,” she explained.
Cashew Mapping in Benin
CajùLab works to bridge this gap through machine learning and satellite technology. Using high-quality satellite imagery from partners like Planet Labs, researchers at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with TechnoServe, developed algorithms to identify cashew plantations across Benin. These models analyze temporal satellite data to detect vegetation patterns and map where cashew trees are grown, even on small, irregular farms.
The system can distinguish cashew orchards from other land types, such as forests or bare land, with more than 85% accuracy. This is a feat previously thought impossible due to the irregular, intercropped nature of African smallholder farms.
The Impact of the CajùLab Initiative
This breakthrough leaves a technological footprint of a farmer’s tangible assets. When a farmer approaches a financial institution equipped with a verified geospatial map of their land, they present objective proof of their productive capacity. These images demonstrate to local banks that these families are low-risk, high-reward investments.
This transparency unlocks the microcapital needed to break the cycle of poverty in Benin and reliance on subsistence farming. It allows parents to invest in the future of their land rather than survive the current harvest. The impact of CajùLab extends from the soil to the atmosphere.
A tree’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide has financial value. The initiative enables farmers to map the precise amount of carbon their cashew trees absorb. Through AI, the project facilitates the integration of smallholders into the fight against climate instability.
For a rural family, these carbon credits represent direct cash payments. They can use these payments to support their children and future generations.
– Haydn Goodboy
Photo: Wikimedia Commons