Oral Literature: The Hare and the Elephant
There was once a herd of elephants who went to gather honey to take to their in-laws. As they were walking along, they came upon Hare who was just about to cross the river. She said to one of them: “Father, please help me get across the river.” The elephant agreed to this request and […]
Uganda: Acholi Marriage – Not before Sunset
The Acholi people live in Northern Uganda. They have a rich and diverse cultural heritage. Most of it is expressed in a wide variety of rites, dance, and music. We look at Acholi traditional marriage. Marriage is still one of the biggest ceremonies among the Acholi. Preparing for a traditional marriage among the people of […]
Peru: The Asheninka Minga
The Asheninka, are an indigenous ethnic group that lives in the centre of the forest in the district of Ucayali in the province of Atalaya in the northern part of Peru. Minga: not only communal work but also small informal tasks for the family. The term minga comes from the Quechua culture mink’a meaning ‘asking […]
Mission Diary: DR Congo – An open and available community
Father Clement Kazaku Bosh Bebe tells us about his parish experience on the outskirts of the Congolese capital Kinshasa. After ten years in South Africa, I returned to the land of my ancestors – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to continue being a missionary among my people. I thought everything would be easier and […]
Kenya: ‘Making Our Dreams Come True’
In northern Kenya, in the Samburu region, many young girls are married off to adult men at an early age against their will. A Centre run by nuns welcomes them to give them dignity and a possible future. Nothing made Lilian suspect that her childhood would abruptly end that day. Returning from school, she saw […]
Education for Girls: A Challenge to Learning Poverty
Despite the extraordinary progress made in the last 25 years, there are still 129 million girls who do not have access to education (32 million in primary, 97 million in secondary). Globally, primary and secondary school enrolment rates are approaching parity (90% male and 89% female). However, the gender gap widens if school completion rates, […]
How Climate Change Affects Girls and Young Women
Drought, floods, abnormal heat waves. Today we are faced with a climate crisis that is unprecedented in human history, the consequences of which are there for all to see. It is primarily the inhabitants of the poorest and most vulnerable countries and, more generally, those belonging to the most disadvantaged social groups, especially women, who […]
Girls and Young Women: Precocious Marriages – Increasing Due to Crises
The terrible drought which – for the third year in a row – plagues the Horn of Africa region and the rise in food prices caused by the war in Ukraine, have led to an increase in child marriages in several countries of the region. The alarm was raised by UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s […]
Girls and Young Women: Broken Lives
The waves break gently on the shore. The crystal-clear water glistens invitingly under the rays of the sun. Eleanor sits on the shore and looks out to sea. Her palms shade her face. Eleanor is twelve years old and she can’t wait to be grown up. Some distance from the sea stands her wooden house; […]
Books: Spring Reading
Three interesting books for this spring. The modern world is built on commodities – from the oil that fuels our cars to the metals that power our smartphones. We rarely stop to consider where they come from. But we should. In “The World for Sale”, two leading journalists Javier Blas and Jack Farchy lift the […]