On a yellow wall, in a tiny school in the Dominican Republic, there is a sign—hand-painted in Spanish with cheery colors. It looks like the kind of sign you might find in any preschool, with a reminder of classroom rules—“Share your toys… Raise your hand… Don’t hit.” But instead, the sign reads: “These are my …
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Kenyan activists are turning the tide against a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project that threatens to destroy lives and the environment.
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Given the state of our country and the world today, there’s a lot riding on this next generation of human beings. As a mom, I need all the tools I can get to encourage my two little boys to someday become adults who will build a better world than the one they were born into, …
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Thirty years of armed conflict in Casamance have left many people—especially women—feeling powerless: powerless to stop the frequent deadly bursts of guerilla violence, and powerless to feed and educate their children in the midst of the chaos of conflict. But one woman, Seynabou Male Cissé, a former high school teacher, saw the potential of women …
Read MoreWe are, by nature, creatures of habit. We find comfort in things that are familiar, carving out routines that give our lives order. But repetition also leads to the curious subduing of awareness that we call “autopilot”—the feeling we get when we arrive at work having absolutely no recollection of the roads or steps we …
Read MoreEach year when we reach Parashat Dvarim I experience a rush of exhilaration when I imagine the scene: the Israelites are gathered high on the steppes of Moab, having finally reached the end of their 40-year ordeal in the desert. As they wait for Moses to deliver his final address, they look out at the expanse below, and see the Promised Land at last. For a few moments, perhaps, their thoughts of the traumas behind them and the battles ahead are eclipsed by the simple joy that home is within their sight.
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