While hydroelectric dams can seem like a clean and renewable energy source, they cause greenhouse gas emissions, destroy habitats and violate the human rights of the communities they displace. Too often, these projects are pushed forward without consultation with the communities that will be affected by them. AJWS’s partners work with communities threatened by proposed …
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Today marks World Food Day, when people across the globe celebrate the foods that are meaningful to us and renew our commitment to protecting the planet. Jewish culture is full of meaningful foods. Many of us enjoyed apples and honey to usher in a sweet New Year, look forward to latkes on Chanukah, the oil …
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Karla Guevara has seen major progress for LGBTQI+ rights in her lifetime. Fifteen years ago, when the Salvadoran trans activist founded Colectivo Alejandría, LGBTQI+ rights organizations like hers were denied legal standing and recognition. Within a decade, however, not only did her organization gain legal status, but other groups like hers had fought for and …
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Girls and young women across much of Latin America and the Caribbean face more challenges in everyday life than their male counterparts. Teenage pregnancy; sexual and gender-based violence; little choice in when, whether and whom to marry; lack of sex education; few options for good paying jobs; being forced to drop out of school and …
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When a massive power company proposed a coal-fired power plant to accompany a damaging new port in Lamu, a UNESCO Heritage Site in Kenya, an activist movement to stop it turned into a nation-wide campaign. The coastal plant threatened the local community’s health and livelihoods, from polluted fishing areas to toxic air pollution and displaced …
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The Sri Lankan economic crisis that began in 2019 was so severe that, at one point according to the World Food Programme, over 30% of Sri Lankans were not getting enough to eat. Inflation soared. Sri Lankans faced a shortage of life-saving medical supplies. People waited in long lines for hours to purchase gasoline. The …
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María Herrera did not expect to be quoted in international newspapers, meet with the Pope or see her name on Time‘s list of the 2023 world’s 100 Most Influential People. Fifteen years ago, she was busy caring for her family and running a jewelry and clothing business. Her life forever changed when two of her sons …
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In the verdant, mountainous Omkoi district of Thailand, the Indigenous Karen community is gripped in a battle over the land they have lived on for generations. The 4,258 people living in the village of Kaboe Din trace their lineage far before the existence of modern land deeds—and even the Thai nation itself. The villagers are …
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In honor of Pride Month, AJWS asked LGBTQI+ activists around the world what Pride means for them. Koyel Ghosh, a managing trustee at AJWS grantee Sappho in India, shared: “You cannot experience Pride individually; it’s a collective feeling of Pride when we are able to do things for the community that has given us so …
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In the bustling metropolis of Bangalore, India—home to over 13 million people and known as “India’s Silicon Valley”—a young couple is following their passions for sustainable farming and social justice. Kavitha and Narendra are devoted to protecting the planet through their work, while also striving for equality in their marriage—something that’s not a given in …
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