Two young Samoans are helping to make environmentally friendly sanitary napkins available to girls and women in their community who need them. The two change-makers were finalists in the Commonwealth Youth Awards 2019. Maisy Bentley, 19 years old,a Correspondent from Wellington, New Zealand has been following their story. The Pacific Islands are known for beautiful …
Eyeglasses are no longer out of reach for many Ugandans because of the work of Brenda Katwesigye, CEO and founder of Wazi Vision and her team. Wazi Vision makes eyeglasses from recycled plastic and uses virtual reality eye-testing technology to make eye health more affordable. The social enterprise also does mobile eye tests in schools …
Tragedy was what led to the launching of Satya Illa’s ‘Kaanthi’ which promotes electrical safety awareness through local education camps. Satya trains local communities in first aid and electrical safety, engages with local engineering colleges to raise awareness and has also developed a low-cost electrical insulator device to protect communities exposed to dangerous, poor quality …
Uganda has the second youngest population in the world, and the young people want jobs, writes Erisa Sserwadda, 23, a correspondent from Kampala, Uganda. Youth should be supported to create work by promoting social enterprises that are practical, sustainable and “cool”. Ritah Nakatugga is 26 years old. Since completing her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work …
Young and restless: Uganda’s unemployment challenge Read More »
Unpredictable weather, price volatility and post-harvest losses could be a thing of the past, writes Michael Gyekye, 26, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Ghana, who believes data and AI are the future of farming. A wealth of information is hidden in daily figures on farming activities, local environmental conditions and global market activity. What if this …
What good can come from living in a refugee camp? Ask Turatsinze Mafigi Victor. He is the founder of the UNLEASHED programme, which empowers young refugees in the Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda by helping them grow their own food, fight against discrimination, and create income-generating activities to encourage refugees to become social entrepreneurs. Badru …
A future where there is not enough food to go around is looming globally. But in Fiji, over 7,000 farmers are getting access to information on how to increase their revenue and diversify their crops, thanks to an app by Aggie Global. Oghenekevwe Oghenechovwen, a 20-year-old Commonwealth Correspondent from Warri in Nigeria, spoke to Aggie …
Sivendra Michael is a superhero – without the cape. He is waging war on climate change in Fiji, where a deadly cocktail of extreme weather events could displace up to 1.7 million people in the Pacific Islands by the year 2050. Omeye Chimaobi Kenechukwu, a 24-year-old Commonwealth Correspondent from Nigeria, caught up with Sivendra, one …
The twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago are surrounded by water. But for some residents, sometimes there is not even a single drop to drink. Curmira Gulston, a 2019 Commonwealth Youth Awards finalist, started Learn and Flow to encourage communities to take ownership of rivers and watersheds. Commonwealth Correspondent Ashlee Burnett, 21, from Couva, Trinidad …
Carrying home products in neatly packed plastic bags is both practical and pleasing. But our obsession with plastics is wreaking havoc on the environment, particularly our oceans, writes 26-year-old Ahmed Umer Sohaib from Lahore, Pakistan. But what is the true cost of our convenience? Shoppers everywhere in the world have at one time or other …