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.

Surviving Conflict and Violence in Colombia

My visit to Familaires Colombia, an AJWS partner working to support relatives of forcibly disappeared people from the long lasting armed conflict, was profound. I came to understand some of the causes and the real impact of the conflict in the daily lives of people from small towns. It really surprised me, on the one …

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A Fight for Lake Turkana, A Fight for Life

I am writing from a tiny plane in the sky on our way back from Turkana (northwestern Kenya) to Nairobi. It is hard at times to get your head around the fact that both places are in the same country. When traveling to Nairobi or elsewhere in Kenya, Turkana people will often say “I’m going …

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Is Food Aid Really a “Gift from the American People”?

Originally published on the Pursue blog. U.S. foreign food aid dates back to U.S. reconstruction efforts in Europe following World War II.  Over the last 60 years, it has morphed into a $2.2 billion business with vested interests ranging from international development organizations to farmers, processors and shipping companies. Our foreign food aid has become highly politicized …

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Local Aid is Key to Northern Uganda Recovery

A recent IRIN article (posted on AlertNet) affirmed what many of us at AJWS have been saying for a long time: that local aid and local humanitarian assistance are crucial to sustaining developing countries. According to IRIN, local assistance in northern Uganda has played a key role in post-conflict recovery in the Pader and Katakwi …

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The Fruits of Our Labor: Achieving the Impossible

Originally posted on Kindle Project and the Pursue blog. Those of us involved in social change efforts may be all too familiar with the refrain, “the impossible will take a little while.” We’re encouraged to have patience and we’re expected to brace ourselves for the reality that we may not be around to see the …

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