To celebrate World Water Day we have a guest post from Jonny McKay of Excellent Development. Excellent Development support communities in Kenya to build Sand Dams which provide clean water for life and the opportunity to grow more food to eat, store and sell. For women in the world’s rural drylands, life is defined by the burden of collecting water. For the old and the young, the sick and the healthy, it is a chore with no relief.

Refuse to Do Nothing is the book that was written for me two years ago. Well, not really. But it could have been. It was certainly the book that would have helped me tremendously as I wrestled with my own crises of moving from awareness to action. And now it is the book I carry around and give to any woman I meet who has that same look of pain/empathy/sadness/anger/zeal when it comes to the issue of modern slavery.

This blog post was written by Kathleen Lay. Women are a formidable economic force across emerging markets in Africa, yet their role in economic production remains largely unrecognized. Their continued inability to access and control economic and social capital assets and resources has been a central factor in perpetuating Africa’s poverty trap and keeping the

In the developing world, just a couple hundred dollars can be enough for a person to start their own business. In many cases, it is a challenge for these budding entrepreneurs to get a hold of this funding, preventing them from reaching their dreams. But once an entrepreneur has the resources they need to start

This week, ONE and the Akilah Institute trained 46 women from the US State Department’s African Women’s Entrepreneurship (AWEP) program on social media for business. After the event, I had the opportunity to interview one of the AWEP participants, Barbara Rwodzi. She is the co-founder of the House of BarRue Knitwear, an organic and green

Please give a warm welcome to Amanda Pena. It is her first time writing for the ONE Blog. She is an intern on ONE’s government relations team. This week, ONE hosted its third delegation of women business leaders from Africa to talk about the benefits of using social media to expand their businesses at “The

Joseph Terranova, co-founder of Tukula, shares his company’s model for women’s empowerment. In the East African country of Uganda, a staggering 276,000 young people cannot find jobs each year. Even though many of these youth are university or trade school educated, there is simply not enough infrastructure to accommodate them in the job market. And

Looking to perk up your Tuesday night? Look no further –- we’re having a Twitter party, and you’re invited. ONE is teaming up with Mom It Forward, a worldwide network dedicated to enhancing the lives of women, their families and the communities in which they live, on Tuesday, March 8 to discuss women’s empowerment in

ONE Communications Coordinator El Medhin recently had the chance to talk agriculture with Evelyn Nassuna, Ugandan county director for Lutheran World Relief. In the video, Nassuna discusses her work with small, local farmers in Uganda. This has changed not only their lives, but the lives of families and communities as a whole. But she also

A great story from our partners at Self-Help Africa about a market gardening project in Burkina Faso. For 25 years, Self-Help Africa has given farmers new seed, irrigation advice, small loans and access to markets to help them grow more food and lift their families and communities out of hunger and poverty. Forty-one villagers in

This is our very first post from ONE’s government relations intern, Zach Kelly. Make sure to give him props in the comments section! Last week, ONE had the exciting opportunity to partner with the U.S. Department of State to host a luncheon discussion with the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program. At the lunch, women from 35

Nine women are joining ONE this week on a listening and learning tour through Ghana and Sierra Leone. Maura Keefe reports back: These women work hard, and their spirit amazes me. They come here because this farm is the key to a better future for themselves and their families. The transformation that is taking place

Politico is running a piece today co-authored by Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice exploring The Shriver Report and its implications for women in the workplace. Greater equality, they point out, “empowers women with the freedom of choice — the universal right to determine their own destinies, careers, beliefs and family structures.” Excerpts below, full piece

Check out this post from our partner organization Women Thrive, another entry in our Food Security in Focus series. This post focuses on the issue of women and food security. Stay tuned to the blog for more entries over the coming days. -Kara Arsenault There are about 1.4 billion people worldwide, most of whom are

Last week the 2009 Global Hunger Index, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerlife, and Concern Ireland, was released. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) takes a broad look at food insecurity by examining three indicators: the percentage of undernourished people in the population, the percentage of underweight children under five, and the