AJWS Blog
The AJWS community has a lot to say about what's happening in the world. Read our insights about the struggle for justice and human rights around the globe — and meet the activists on the frontlines of the fight to build a better world.
Activists on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 75
Seventy-five years ago today, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in response to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. The first document of its kind, developed by people from diverse backgrounds from around the world, declares that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity …
One barrio at a time, this AJWS grantee is transforming young people into community leaders in the Dominican Republic
“My neighborhood is known as the backyard — as in, the place where you throw the trash,” says Fernando Saint Hilaire of his barrio outside Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. “We are the other side of the tracks. But when you grow up living in poverty, you’re used to the misery. You don’t realize …
“We can’t wait for change”: Congolese activists are fighting to ensure a free and fair election
Many young people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can’t recall a memory of living in peace — because there simply hasn’t been one. “I’ve only seen peace in films. But I’ve never seen it myself. It’s complicated in our country, but peace is something I dream of,” says Parfait Muhani, an activist living …
Supporting a persecuted Sri Lankan community through crisis after crisis
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 …