OneWorld.net (U.S.)

In Brief
WASHINGTON, Jul 2 (OneWorld.net) - Follow a diverse group of immigrants and refugees as they leave their homes and families behind and learn what it means to be new Americans in the 21st century. The seven-part series launches on most PBS stations across the United States this weekend. 

In Brief
WASHINGTON, Jun 29 (OneWorld.net) - Desperation is mounting among unregistered Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who fled persecution in Burma but now endure violence and intimidation, forced relocation, and scarcity of food, water, and other services in makeshift camps where they've sought shelter, reports a medical aid group.

WASHINGTON, Jun 26 (OneWorld.net) - A children's center in Nepal is opening a new world of opportunities to young people like Maya Waiba, who was less than 10 years old when lured into an abusive job in a carpet factory. Now Maya is getting an education and dreaming of a bright future.

In Brief
WASHINGTON, Jun 22 (OneWorld.net) - A typical American child gets over five servings of pesticide residue every day, notes the "What's On My Food?" Web site, where consumers can find information about pesticides used on various foods and the health effects of each chemical.

In Brief
WASHINGTON, Jun 19 (OneWorld.net) - The mid-sized Chilean city of Temuco has the fourth most polluted air in the country due to the widespread use of firewood for fuel, a common practice worldwide that can cause health problems and contributes to global warming.

In Brief
WASHINGTON, Jun 18 (OneWorld.net) - The world's first dance/movement therapy group for former boy combatants is helping youth in Koindu, Sierra Leone -- including 17-year-old Jeremiah -- start down the difficult path of healing and rebuilding their lives.

WASHINGTON, Jun 15 (OneWorld.net) - At a time when few South Africans were speaking openly about HIV/AIDS, Thembi Ngubane created a year-long radio diary chronicling her life as a young woman, mother, daughter, and partner living with the disease. A fearless activist at home and abroad, Ngubane passed away last week at the age of 24. 

In Brief
WASHINGTON, Jun 15 (OneWorld.net) - Sex tourism to Ukraine is on the rise, but feminists in the country are fighting back, staging provocative protests that draw media attention, raising awareness through online social networks, and offering services to trafficked women.

In Brief
WASHINGTON, Jun 15 (OneWorld.net) - As the current economic crisis deepens, businesses run by their consumers and producers -- also known as cooperatives -- are once again on the rise, offering stable sources of employment, goods, and services.

[OneWorld.net - In Brief] A focus on fair, sustainable, and local business practices sets Justice Clothing apart from the crowd; the Minnesota-based company sells sweat-shop free apparel made by unionized workers in the United States and Canada.

[OneWorld.net - In Brief] After 17 years of neglect by the federal government, a Honduran community has held local elections to select representatives that will fight for legal recognition and basic services such as health care and running water.

[OneWorld.net - In Brief] Think twice about your seafood today -- World Oceans Day. The next time you're at the seafood counter or ordering a meal, text FishPhone first to find out if the species you are about to buy comes from an environmentally friendly fishery.

[OneWorld.net - In Brief] Pakistani children whose lives have been thrown into disarray by the recent fighting are finding a measure of stability in tent-schools at the refugee camps where they now live. Over 2.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict in the northern Swat valley.

OneWorld.net, Jun 3 (In Brief) - Simple and culturally sensitive solutions implemented by an aid group in Pakistan are helping families uprooted by conflict save money, avoid assault, and stay healthier with better access to sanitation facilities.

OneWorld.net, Jun 3 (In Brief) - In Indonesia, food carts near schools offer cheap, high sugar snacks to children, contributing to high rates of malnutrition and anemia, but one humanitarian group is building kid-friendly food carts that will provide nutritious alternatives.

OneWorld.net, Jun 3 (In Brief) - Reducing your carbon footprint while saving your hard-earned dollars has never been easier, says an environmental organization, thanks to 13 simple strategies every American can employ to go green.

OneWorld.net, Jun 1 (In Brief) - OneWorld.net's new Sri Lanka Witness Web site provides a space where people can come together to find the latest news about the country's humanitarian situation, share their thoughts and experiences, and build a united movement for lasting peace and development.

WASHINGTON, Jun 1 (OneWorld.net) - In India, teams of "barefoot solar engineers" are bringing electricity to rural villages. The project -- part of a larger campaign to help Indian villagers be self-sufficient -- trains women to build and maintain solar energy units.

OneWorld.net, May 29 (In Brief) - State-sponsored child labor in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan remains widespread, despite a government ban enacted last year in response to international criticism.

WASHINGTON, May 28 (OneWorld.net) - Loopholes in immigration policy are preventing U.S. military personnel from becoming citizens even after years of service to the country, reported a civil rights organization this Memorial Day.

WASHINGTON, May 26 (OneWorld.net) – Prevented from attending school due to ongoing violence in northwest Pakistan, 11-year-old Malalay speaks out about peace and her right to an education.

WASHINGTON, May 21 (OneWorld.net) - Large numbers of Somali refugees like Yahya Iman have resettled in the United States, but freedom from war and persecution are not always without a price. Iman's mentally ill sister was put under the care of Minnesota social services, and the family is finding their culture at odds with the state's efforts to meet her needs.

OneWorld.net, May 22 (In Brief) - Thousands of South Asian migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates are facing exploitation and abuse by construction companies and labor-supply agencies as they build the "island of happiness," a $27 billion tourist destination.

WASHINGTON, May 20 (OneWorld.net) - Despite a lack of regional consensus on water allocation, the Kazakh government is powering ahead to address an annual flood-drought cycle that has, in some years, forced thousands from their homes.

WASHINGTON, May 19 (OneWorld.net) - In Peru, many women -- such as Rosa Pacheco -- are navigating the current economic challenges by running small businesses, which experts say are better able to weather financial hardships.

WASHINGTON, May 15 (OneWorld.net) - A dramatic increase in the availability of AIDS treatment in Ethiopia has had the unintended consequence of spreading thin the country's qualified healthcare workers. But a new, toll-free hotline is helping to fill the gaps -- especially in remote areas of the country.

WASHINGTON, May 10 (OneWorld.net) - Single mother of three Doris Mashego is also founder, teacher, and headmaster of the local nursery school in Uta, South Africa, working to reverse the area's longstanding trends of low literacy and high unemployment.

WASHINGTON, May 8 (OneWorld.net) - Economic training programs are empowering women in the Middle East and North Africa to succeed professionally despite the significant obstacles that prevent their widespread participation in the paid workforce.

WASHINGTON, May 6 (OneWorld.net) - Sadiqa Basiri Saleem's efforts to educate girls in her native Afghanistan -- originally informal classes for 36 girls in an abandoned mosque -- have grown to a network of six schools with 2,870 pupils.

WASHINGTON, May 6 (OneWorld.net) - The days are busy but the work is rewarding for Dr. Hnin Phyu, who oversees two clinics in refugee camps housing 25,000 people along the Burma-Thailand border.

WASHINGTON, May 5 (OneWorld.net) - A mapping project has brought together information about poverty and wetlands in Uganda, showing how different environmental policies can help bolster the economy in various parts of the country.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (OneWorld.net) - Couples can save 40 percent of their wedding costs by going green, says Kate Harrison, environmentally friendly entrepreneur and author of The Green Bride Guide, in this interview.

WASHINGTON, Apr 22 (OneWorld.net) - A wheelchair-using civil society leader from Gabon, two tribal land rights activists from a community in Suriname founded by freed slaves, and an Indonesian woman developing community-based waste management systems are just three of seven activists recently awarded for their grassroots environmental work.

WASHINGTON, Apr 17 (OneWorld.net) - Go beyond the card and flowers this Mother's Day with a unique, socially and environmentally sustainable gift from OneWorld's Gift Guide!

WASHINGTON, Apr 16 (OneWorld.net) - Muslim preachers in Malaysia are using teachings from the Koran to raise awareness and help preserve endangered species, many of which reside in the Southeast Asian island nation.

WASHINGTON, Apr 14 (OneWorld.net) - An internationally renowned play about women's bodies, sexuality, and sexual violence recently debuted in Bishek, Kyrgyzstan, seeking to foment dialogue and change on women's rights in Central Asia.

WASHINGTON, Apr 10 (OneWorld.net) - A group of Mumbai business students have come up with a plan to combat widespread malnourishment, offering 10-cent nutritious meals to the city's million-plus slum dwellers.

WASHINGTON, Apr 8 (OneWorld.net) - A Palestinian aid worker reflects on his discussions with the local women he works with, three months after the Israeli incursion into Gaza.

WASHINGTON, Apr 2 (OneWorld.net) - Kenyan AIDS caregiver Pamela Adoyowas named one of the People of the Year for 2008 by OneWorld readersacross the planet. In this impassioned and insightful dialogue, Adoyoexplains how her rural community is coping with the AIDS epidemic throughopen dialogue, education, and heavy doses of emotional support.

WASHINGTON, Apr 1 (OneWorld.net) - Children orphaned by violence in the disputed Kashmir region situated along the India-Pakistan border are taking strides toward rehabilitation and peace -- on the basketball court.

WASHINGTON, Mar 30 (OneWorld.net) - Small-scale farmers from developing countries around the world are lending their expertise to people in the United Kingdom, who are increasingly growing their own fruits and vegetables to cope with rising prices.

WASHINGTON, Mar 30 (OneWorld.net) - Two U.S. linguists have traveled from Bolivia to India to Siberia to record and digitally preserve languages on the verge of extinction.

WASHINGTON, Mar 27 (OneWorld.net) - Karl Wald's "waste paper" is getting some serious attention. His business, "Mr. Ellie Pooh," sells recycled paper and other products handcrafted primarily out of elephant dung by Sri Lankan artisans.

WASHINGTON, Mar 23 (OneWorld.net) - Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Fatin -- once a university student with high hopes for her future -- has been forced to drop out of school, remain unemployed, and live in perpetual fear of violence.

WASHINGTON, Mar 18 (OneWorld.net) - Tens of thousands of impoverished women farmers from around the globe have demanded ownership of the land they cultivate -- a right withheld from many women in the developing world -- to combat increasing levels of hunger.

WASHINGTON, Mar 16 (OneWorld.net) - Dozens of cured lepers in western India have become financially self-sufficient and are challenging societal taboos since forming a cooperative business to manufacture auto parts.

WASHINGTON, Mar 11 (OneWorld.net) - More than 3,700 Maldivian survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami have moved into new homes on a previously unihabited island that is more resilient to natural disasters.

WASHINGTON, Mar 9 (OneWorld.net) - A short film by five midwives and a doctor in Tanzania documenting the dire conditions of maternal health care in the country has inspired the Tanzanian government to double the number of midwives trained each year.

WASHINGTON, Mar 2 (OneWorld.net) - Thirteen members of the historically marginalized Dalit community in Nepal are harnessing the power of digital media to document their people's struggles and work for social justice.

WASHINGTON, Mar 2 (OneWorld.net) - Three local social entrepreneurs have come up with creative -- and lucrative -- solutions to poor sanitation in their communities in Africa, where six out of ten people do not have access to a sanitary toilet.

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (OneWorld.net) - A humanitarian aid group has opened schools and enrolled thousands of students in remote areas of Afghanistan, where the literacy rate is just 28 percent and girls were previously prohibited from classes.

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (OneWorld.net) - Thousands of volunteers in Kerala state, southern India, provide palliative care to poor, chronically-ill patients within the confines of their homes. K.M. Basheer, the man behind this medical movement, is a farmer with a modest educational background.

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (OneWorld.net) - A five-city 'Turning Pain to Power Tour' led by women's rights activist Eve Ensler and Congolese Dr. Denis Mukwege seeks to mobilize resources for the estimated 500,000 women raped over the last decade in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

WASHINGTON Feb 11 (OneWorld.net) - Growing food at home or in community gardens can help you avoid exposure to chemical pesticides, get exercise, and save energy.

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (OneWorld.net) - If you're looking to stand out this Valentine's Day, check out OneWorld.net's socially and environmentally conscious gift guide, where you can find everything from llamas -- donated in your sweetheart's name to a family in Ecuador -- to Fair Trade soapstone heart boxes from Kenya.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (OneWorld.net) - Indigenous Guatemalan women that survived the Rio Negro massacres -- hundreds of villagers were killed after refusing to make way for the construction of a dam on their land -- are using a memorial quilt that remembers their loved ones to press the government for reparations.

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (OneWorld.net) - New York recently became the first U.S. city to win an annual international Sustainable Transport Award. The city was honored for expanding the public transit system, increasing bicycle lanes and pedestrian amenities, and recycling asphalt used to repair streets.

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (OneWorld.net) - Social entrepreneur Martin Fisher was named the Person of 2008 by OneWorld readers across the planet. In this spirited and insightful dialogue, Fisher challenges long-held orthodoxies on how best to help people out of poverty, discussing topics from the science of farming in Africa to the business models that work for the world's poorest families.

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (OneWorld.net) - The people of Gaza -- many of them homeless or still lacking basic services like water and electricity -- are laboring to resume their normal lives as schools reopen and hospitals begin to offer routine care a week after the ceasefire between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (OneWorld.net) – A day before Israel declared a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli media broadcast an anguished phone call from a Palestinian doctor whose home was shelled minutes before he was scheduled to speak on the air with newscasters.

WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (OneWorld.net) - Sharon Vocke, co-owner of a business that sells, installs, and services renewable energy systems, shares her proudest moment as a green business owner -- installing a geothermal energy system at a school for autistic children -- and much more in this interview.

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (OneWorld.net) - Ahead of the Orthodox Christmas celebrations, Georgians hard hit by the August 2008 conflict with Russia receive food, household items, and other necessities as they struggle to cope with dropping temperatures, hunger, poverty, and emotional healing.

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (OneWorld.net) - Small farmers across Mozambique are taking matters of food security and sovereignty into their own hands by forming community organizations that help families increase production, reduce hunger, improve health, and accrue surplus funds for things like children's school books.

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (OneWorld.net) - A team of Indian and international environmentalists have embarked on a 2,000 mile cross-country road trip to raise awareness and mobilize Indian youth around climate change.

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (OneWorld.net) - OneWorlders have chosen social entrepreneur Martin Fisher as their Person of 2008. Now's your chance to really get to know this incredible person and the work he's doing to help thousands of families move themselves out of poverty across Africa.

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (OneWorld.net) - In the weeks before Israel launched its current offensive on Gaza, a team of videojournalists shot profiles of the men, women, and children of Gaza and Sderot, the cross-border towns where one population lives under a blockade of basic living supplies and the other under the everpresent threat of rocket fire.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 5 (New America Media) - With few journalists able to report from the ground on Gaza, aid workers stationed there have become vital sources of not just food and medicines, but also information about what life is like in Gaza as the ground offensive gets underway.

From reusing wrapping paper to donating leftovers to lighting sustainable candles, here are 12 tips to ensure your holiday season is as environmentally friendly as possible.

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (OneWorld.net) - Nine months pregnant, Vestine was forced to flee one refugee camp for another, where she gave birth to her second child, Solange, on the dirt floor of her tent just days after arriving. The outside world must help the Congolese people by working to address the root causes of the conflict, says veteran journalist Michael J. Kavanagh.

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (OneWorld.net) - As the world celebrates the 60th birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this month, a new music video is circulating on the Internet, bringing together 16 of the world's top musicians -- some of whom have fled oppressive regimes -- in a rousing musical plea to world leaders to guarantee human rights for all.

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (OneWorld.net) - Approximately half of those forced to flee their homes due to the fighting in Congo are children. In this photoessay, Congolese students show off paper peace doves they designed calling for an end to the violence.

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (OneWorld.net) - Wrestling is wildly popular across Mexico. A glimpse into the world of a Mexican-American wrestling promoter reveals a unique product of cultural exchange between Mexico and its northern neighbor.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (OneWorld.net) - Activists from El Salvador to Nigeria to South Africa focused their efforts on gun violence against women during the recently concluded 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.

WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (OneWorld.net) - Merely days after Emine Arslan joined a trade union, she was fired with no severance pay from the leather factory where she had worked eight years. Since then, her 150-day sit-in has brought unprecedented attention to labor and women's rights in Turkey.

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (OneWorld.net) - Following a landmark agreement with the Guatemalan president, survivors of the Rio Negro massacres -- during which hundreds of villagers were killed after refusing to make way for the construction of a dam on their land -- may receive reparations.

An independent grassroots movement of Iranian women and men is educating women about their fundamental human rights and steadily becoming a powerful force for women's equality in the patriarchal country.

After studying and working in the United States, Ashwin Naik has returned to his native India to launch a set of rural health care facilities that he hopes will help bridge the massive gap between the rich and poor in the rapidly developing country.

Martin Fisher is a businessman, an activist, and a mentor, among many other things. But first and foremost, he's an inventor and a humanitarian -- one whose inventions have helped hundreds of thousands of people move themselves and their families out of poverty.

Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been called "the worst in the world," and it has only gotten worse in recent months. But amid the daily threats to their life and communities, women are organizing to support each other and demand justice and protection.

The mayor of one of Portugal's smallest and poorest municipalities has launched one of the largest green business initiatives in the world, and now he's spearheading an eight-country project to create communities run entirely on renewable energy.

Hamedah Hasan writes from her prison cell about her struggle to remain a mother from behind bars. Because of U.S. drug laws, she is serving a 27-year sentence for a non-violent first offense.

Since the attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, Patricia Smith Melton has devoted her life to voicing the unheard stories of women living, coping, and taking action to build peace in all corners of the globe. Her latest endeavor focuses on Israeli and Palestinian women.

Pamela Adoyo stands calmly and resolutely at the epicenter of Kenya's AIDS epidemic. Her women's group is helping care for the sick, impede the disease's spread, and stitch back together a community torn apart by the epidemic.

Dozens of humanitarian aid workers were targeted and killed around the world this year. In some countries, particularly severe surges of violence have forced aid organizations to reconsider or suspend life-saving and community building operations.

Looking for meaningful gifts for your family and friends this holiday season? With OneWorld's Gift Guide the possibilities are endless! Find hundreds of gift ideas from nonprofits across the nation -- save time AND make a difference!

A visit to the second largest landfill in Honduras -- where the poor sift garbage for meager incomes while coping with organized crime, disease, and abuse -- sheds light on immigration to the United States for editor Josue Rojas and photographer Ryan Furtado.

WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (OneWorld) - Green Festival attendees in Washington, D.C. tell OneWorld what global issues matter most to them. Interests range from global warming and human rights to bee colony collapse, but the message that we are one world shines through in each shot.

A few years ago, Joanna and Alex Livieratos traded in their city lifestyle for a greener alternative. Here, Joanna discusses the new eco-friendly online retail business they run from their family farm and the adjustments they've made to promote environmentally sustainable living.

In one part of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where conflict has subsided and people are beginning to return home, a community-driven reconstruction project is fostering democracy, rebuilding social services, and creating new economic opportunities.

On World Responsible Tourism Day, an indigenous community in Kenya -- evicted from their land to make way for a world-famous nature reserve -- launched an appeal for a portion of the revenue generated by the region's thriving tourism industry.

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 (OneWorld) - They are action oriented and committed to development of their little hamlets. At a recent gathering in the Indian capital, The Hunger Project brought together 30 elected women leaders from different states of the country. OneWorld South Asia spoke to a few of them about their successes and challenges.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been uprooted but are now trapped by escalating violence in northern Sri Lanka between government and rebel forces that a relief agency calls "a war that does not reach our newspapers or TV screens."

WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (OneWorld) - As the year 2008 comes to a close, OneWorld is once again looking to honor one person or organization that has inspired and improved the lives of others in their community or around the world over the past year.

OAKLAND, Nov 5 (OneWorld) - The streets of downtown Oakland erupted with joy Tuesday night as early returns showed Barack Obama winning the U.S. presidency in a commanding, national landslide. Motorists honked horns while revelers ran into the middle of the street to shake their hands. Total strangers hugged each other.

A staff member of a medical aid organization describes the situation on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo as "widespread panic" -- thousands of people are fleeing violence in the northeastern Kivu region as the longstanding conflict escalates.

No challenge is too great for Pamela Adoyo. After the AIDS epidemic swept through her Kenyan village, Adoyo challenged the deadly stigma against HIV-positive people, organized local women to become caregivers to the sick, and built an orphanage for children affected by the epidemic.