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Tikal, Guatemala’s archaeological heart, was home to the Mayans for 1700 years. It was as sophisticated as modern ones, in architectural and urban terms. Tikal, which is in Petén province some 300 kilometres north of Guatemala’s capital, was one of the largest cities built by the Mayans at any time in their history. The ancient […]

Spirituality must give a soul to the economy. “The market was made for human beings and not human beings for the market”. When a Brazilian company built the Tucuruí hydroelectric dam in the Amazon, different groups in defence of the Indians tried to impede the construction. When they could do so no more, they insisted

Announcing life and hope in Trujillo, a city in coastal Northwestern Peru, where poverty persists and the law of the strongest and crime triumph, becomes a challenge. Here is the testimony of a Comboni Missionary who has lived 32 years in the country. Hope and projects of life seem impossible in El Porvenir on the

Having inherited the enthusiasm for farming from her late father, Cherrie Atilano has the welfare of farmers at heart. Social entrepreneur and recipient of several awards, her enterprise teaches farmers new rice-growing techniques, empowers women and educates children and youth on gardening. When Cherrie’s father died, when she was just three years old, he had

Armed conflicts, refugees, famine, food shortages and malnutrition, harsh weather conditions and unpredictable rainfall. An overview of different crises in Africa. Central African Republic (CAR) After decades of strife and stalled development, CAR plunged into crisis in 2013. The Seleka coalition overthrew the president in a coup d’etat. In response, self-defence groups known as Anti-Balaka

Fr. Salvatore Pacifico, an Italian Comboni Missionary in South Sudan, will turn 81 in November. “Missionary in North and South Sudan for 40 years”, writes Fr. Salvatore, “I find it difficult to speak of what is going on in South Sudan. I would not want to contribute to that feeling of defeatism, already common when

Each day, thousands of mothers search for their lost children in the hospitals, morgues and clandestine cemeteries. Some never lose hope, others have no more tears to shed.   The last time Isela saw the face of her son was in a photograph. Denys was wearing a long-sleeved green shirt and purple trousers, the clothes

Zannah Mustapha, a champion for the rights of displaced children growing up amid violence in north-eastern Nigeria to get a quality education, has been named the 2017 winner of UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award. A former barrister turned property developer, Mustapha set up the school for orphans and vulnerable children in 2007. He was concerned by

The hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing the attacks and burning of their villages in Myanmar are walking hundreds of miles across mountains, through jungles and in pouring rain, to escape the slaughter by the Myanmar armed forces. As many as 3,000 Rohingya have been killed according to some reports. The survivors, now numbering

Ali is a seven-year old boy. He lies with his head bandaged, a needle stuck in his arm and he is breathing with great difficulty. He is close to death, lying in a makeshift shelter that is an emergency field clinic in Yemen, where the last of the dextrose is running out. Flies buzz around