The sun warms my face I stretch my fingers Watch the sunlight Dance across my skin Warm and inviting In these moments of calm silence I think about who I am Who I was And who I want to be Increasingly so, I think about my privileges My thoughts keep circling back To the fear in people’s hearts Of their homes being ransacked Of being banished They say they are protecting their own But what does…
Sara Jean is a midwife and mother living in Haiti. On World Mental Health Day, she shared her experience providing care for pregnant people and being pregnant herself amid political instability. In response to a question gauging the impact of the political crisis on her mental health and well-being, Jean reveals: “The ongoing political crisis in Haiti has taken a significant toll on my mental health. I often feel stressed, suffer from insomnia, nervousness, severe headaches, difficulty concentrating, and at…
India’s education landscape is witnessing a significant shift, with nearly 50% of students now enrolled in 4.5 lakh privately managed schools, making it the third-largest school system globally. This surge is driven by low- and middle-income families seeking quality alternatives to government schools. The ‘State of the Sector Report on Private Schools’ by the Central Square Foundation and Omidyar Network India highlights the urgent need to improve learning outcomes in these institutions, which contribute approximately Rs. 1.75 lakh crores to…
A South Florida jury just found Chiquita Brands liable for killings by right-wing paramilitary death squads that the the company financed in their banana plantations. Chiquita, formerly the United Fruit Company (UFC), has a long history of deadly repression against workers. The New Orleans-based multinational has long monopolized land and markets and controlled governments throughout Latin America. UFC was implicated in massacres in Colombia, the overthrow of democratically elected President Jacobo Arbens of Guatemala, and propped up many so-called “banana…
A systematic review and meta-analysis by the IHME-CHAIN collaborators (Lancet 23 January 2024) demonstrated that increased “years of schooling had a significant and consistent effect on all-cause mortality risk and that the protective effect of education persisted for female and male individuals, across all age groups, and all levels of Socio-demographic Index of the country where the data were collected. These findings are similar to the protective effects of a good diet and physical activity and the harms of risk…
Global health justice is a powerful ideal, striving for equal access to healthcare and fair health outcomes worldwide. Religion and religious organizations have and continue to play a pivotal role in advancing this cause, championing compassion, care, and justice for the vulnerable. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that there are instances when religion can be misused, leading to the victimization and tragic loss of innocent individuals. One such unfolding tragedy from the depths of the Shakahola forest in Kilifi…
Desmond describes the structural role of exploitation in the persistence of poverty in the USA – that is also highly relevant to poverty globally. While we try to promote programs to aid the poor, ‘we have not confronted the unrelenting exploitation of the poor in the labor, housing, and financial markets,” This simply means that we underpay the poor relative to the value they produce and overcharge them relative to the value of what they purchase. Such exploitation is endemic…