New Life for Kibera Residents as Slum Upgrading Takes Off

photo by Eric sande

Residents of Kibera , sub-Saharan Africa’s largest slum settlement with an estimated population of one million have a story to tell.
NewsfromAfrica
For years, residents have lived in muddy iron sheet-roofed hovels with no proper sanitation. Residents have resorted to relieving themselves in polythene sheets, populalry known as “flying toilets”, which are then thrown away with little regard to where they will land. A few lucky ones, however, visit public pay toilets, parting with as much as KES 3 ($0.2) which is way beyond the reach of most residents.

UPDATE: Oct. 24 International Day of Action for Climate Change

On 24 October, people in 181 countries came together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history. At over 5200 events around the world, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis.

Check out www.350.0rg for photos, videos, reports and more.

What is The Weekend To End Slavery?

At The End of Slavery Website
What is The Weekend To End Slavery?

The Weekend to End Slavery will be two days of united effort across the United States to educate communities about slavery and mobilize the movement to end this abuse in our lifetime.

THE SETTING OF THE SECOND ASSEMBLY: AFRICA’S WOES OR CHALLENGES?

AFJN Blog – Rocco Populo

The “Relatio post disceptationem” was read out in English by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana. Extensive extracts from the document are given below:

THE SETTING OF THE SECOND ASSEMBLY: AFRICA’S WOES OR CHALLENGES?

Very many positive changes have been registered both in the Church and in the larger society in Africa since the First Special Assembly for Africa. … Nonetheless, there are still many shadows within the Church and in society, fifteen years after the conclusion of the First Assembly.

Exerpts from Final message from African Synod

Independent Catholic News

The final message of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops was presented and voted upon this morning. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier OFM, archbishop of Durban, South Africa. A first version of the concluding Message of the Synod has been published, extracts of which are given below:

Corporate investors lead the rush for control over overseas farmland

GRAIN, October 2009

This table accompanies this article

With all the talk about “food security,” and distorted media statements like “South Korea leases half of Madagascar’s land,” it may not be evident to a lot of people that the lead actors in today’s global land grab for overseas food production are not countries or governments but corporations. So much attention has been focused on the involvement of states, like Saudi Arabia, China or South Korea. But the reality is that while governments are facilitating the deals, private companies are the ones getting control of the land. And their interests are simply not the same as those of governments.

National Academy Blockbuster: Coal’s Huge Hidden Costs

The Charleston Gazette (West Virginia)
Report: Pollution from Burning Coal Costs $62 billion a year
by Ken Ward Jr.
Coal industry lobbyists and coal-state politicians like to remind us that coal is a relatively cheap source of energy.

But in a major new report out today, the National Academy of Sciences details some of the huge “hidden costs” of coal: More than $62 billion a year in “external damages” – that is, premature deaths from air pollution.

Where to Find African Synod Information

If you wish to follow the daily summaries from the Vatican of the African Synod, click on the following link.
www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_23_ii_speciale-africa-2009/bollettino_23_ii_speciale-africa-2009_index_en.html

The following link to the “Yes Africa Matters” website will lead you to reports from other sources.

http://sites.google.com/site/yesafricamattersorg/

Weekend to End Slavery

At The End of Slavery Website
What is The Weekend To End Slavery?
The Weekend to End Slavery will be two days of united effort across the United States to educate communities about slavery and mobilize the movement to end this abuse in our lifetime.

During the Weekend to End Slavery, November 14 and 15, people around the country will learn about modern-day slavery, teach others about this injustice, share the message of hope that change is possible, and advocate with members of Congress to use their power to bring slavery to an end.

THE SETTING OF THE SECOND ASSEMBLY: AFRICA’S WOES OR CHALLENGES?

AFJN Blog – Rocco Populo
The “Relatio post disceptationem” was read out in English by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana. Extensive extracts from the document are given below: