mcohen

Madeline Cohen


When Indigenous Activists Are Unjustly Jailed, Frayba Fights Back

For generations, Indigenous communities within Chiapas — the southernmost region of Mexico — have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the land they inhabit. The people nurture and support their ancestral lands, and in return, the land provides them food, shelter and clean water. But in recent decades, mining companies have descended upon the region, poisoning …

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The Kenyan Organization Raising Funds and Fighting LGTBQI+ Stigma with a Poultry Breeding Program

Photos courtesy of EMAC Empowering Marginalized Communities (EMAC), an AJWS grantee partner in Kenya, has two major goals supporting their local network of LGBTQI+ organizations and fighting against anti-LGBTQI+ stigma in their communities. Amazingly, they found a way to meet both in the most unlikely place: a chicken coop. EMAC supports grassroots groups of LGBTQI+ …

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Venus Devnani Named Executive Vice President of American Jewish World Service

To drive meaningful social impact, organizations must be at the vanguard of justice and change, developing people-forward programs and practices that center marginalized communities in every aspect of mission delivery. Venus Devnani Named Executive Vice President of American Jewish World Service Today, Robert Bank, President and CEO of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), the leading …

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A Year After Dual Disasters Hit Guatemala, Communities on the Road to Repair

In early November 2020, Hurricane Eta tore through Guatemala’s Caribbean coast and on to the north-central region of Ixcán, leaving many communities that AJWS supports in tatters. Just two weeks later — communities still reeling from the carnage of Hurricane Eta — disaster struck again when Hurricane Iota slammed into the same areas, leading to even more catastrophic damage. Now, a year after this series of destructive natural …

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