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.

Know Your History, Master Your Future: How One Senegalese Activist is Mobilizing Youth By Illuminating his Community’s Forgotten Tragedy

In Thiaroye, Senegal—less than 10 miles from the country’s bustling, metropolitan capital of Dakar—a rusty metal gate separates bumper-to-bumper traffic and densely-packed produce markets from a painful but forgotten piece of Senegalese history. Inside the gate, the noise of the city disappears. Tall palms offer some shade, but the sun bears down on unmarked stone …

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A community of solidarity, support and Pride

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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The Fight for Safe Abortions in Kenya

In Kenya, seven women die every single day from complications related to unsafe abortions — conducted at home or in backstreet clinics, often using dangerous methods like knitting needles or bleach. This astounding figure, far higher than the global average, is directly correlated to a simple fact: while abortion is a constitutional right in Kenya …

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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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Impact Update: Supporting Communities in India during COVID’s Delta Surge

In May 2021, AJWS launched a crisis campaign in response to the profound humanitarian tragedy in India when COVID’s Delta variant collapsed its fragile healthcare system and claimed countless lives. Thanks to an outpouring of generosity from our donors, AJWS responded quickly to support over 80 local organizations and activists to meet the mounting needs …

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