Mid-afternoon in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. Scores of visitors troop to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development exhibition stand at Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), attracted by one of Zimbabwe’s top internet sensations, Rolland Lunga aka Boss Kedha. Boss Kedha, an online comedian, immediately welcomes the visitors and invites them to take a […]
As we commemorate this year’s International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), I am reminded of the daily struggles and realities that sexual and gender minorities have to deal with. While East Africa nations enjoy their status as progressive nations in the 21st century and have included sustainable development goals in their national agendas, […]
Hivos Southern Africa put up an open lounge and stage at the Harare International Festival of the Arts 2017, Zimbabwe’s premier arts showpiece. Hivos’ concept was an open lounge and space featuring a range of artistic performances where audiences had an opportunity to have close interaction with artists. The Harare International Festival of the Arts […]
The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) is observed every year on May 17. It aims to stimulate international events that raise awareness of the human rights violations suffered by of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. For IDAHOT 2017, Hivos wants to draw global attention to the difficult situation lesbians, gay […]
Alfred Karanja of Kiambu County prides himself in being a biogas digester owner because of its many benefits. He purposely installed a bio-digester to take advantage of the organic manure (“bio-slurry”) that is produced as a by-product, as well as gas for cooking and heating. His family no longer has to fetch firewood, and the […]
Philip Mutahi Ngunjiri is a commercial coffee and dairy farmer in Nyeri County. He learned about biogas through the Kenya Biogas Program’s (KBP) Biogas Extension Service Providers based in the region and immediately got interested in installing one. “It cost me a total of Ksh 66,000 (equivalent to 571 USD) to install this 6-cubic-meter digester […]
Grace Nyambura Gachuki, a dairy farmer in Kiambu County, used to refill the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tank every three weeks. This was in addition to using charcoal and firewood to take care of all the household’s fuel needs. She had seen biogas digesters on TV, but got a better idea when her neighbour installed […]
Mirriam Wachuka lives in Bahati, Nakuru County with her husband and grandchild. She owns two dairy cows that enabled her to install a 6-cubic-meter biogas digester in May 2016. She had seen one on TV, but thought it was an expensive affair. Then one day at the community centre, her friends told her more about […]
Buikwe District is located in the central part of Uganda. With approximately 98,000 households engaged directly or indirectly in small-scale farming, agriculture is the district’s main economic activity. Buikwe residents face myriad challenges every day, among which malnutrition, a wide income gap between producers and co-producers in rural and urban centres, inadequate extension services, poor […]
Hivos Southern Africa (Hivos) joins journalists, artists, open internet and free expression activists in the region and beyond in commemorating this year’s World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday 3 May 2017. This year’s UNESCO theme, ‘Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s Role in Advancing, Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies’ aptly captures the democratic importance of all […]
The recent survey on Kenya’s teens demanding condoms has led me to reflect on societal failures. Let us for one minute shelve the blame game and focus on the adolescent girl and boy, in school and out of school, who is clearly inadequately reached and served with quality sexual reproductive health services, commodities and information. […]
Human rights should be considered proportionally in any governmental policy related to the Internet in a way that will hopefully spur the private sector to follow. The Internet has become an essential platform for the exercise of free speech, especially in oppressive environments where freedom of expression, freedom of association, and/or freedom of assembly are […]