I spent the last few days of 2024 in relative quiet. I was tired. All I could do was think and rest and then think some more. The privilege of being able to pause and recharge was not lost on me, and I was grateful for the chance to reflect. Although much is uncertain with…
76 years. Today marks 76 years since the displacement, depopulation, and despair of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, otherwise known as the Nakba, meaning “the catastrophe.” 76 years later and effectively nowhere, and no one, in Gaza is safe. Airstrikes are intensifying, thousands are yet again fleeing, and aid delivery is disrupted. Aid workers in Rafah…
Tonight marks the first night of Passover – a celebration of the Biblical exodus of the Jewish people out of slavery and into the Promised Land. Passover happens to be my favorite Jewish holiday, as I have always found strong connections between the exodus of the ancient Israelites and the forced flight of so many…
The story of Hanukkah is one of the Jewish people fighting against a tyrannical ruler for the freedom to practice their religion. The Jews then rededicated their holy temple and witnessed a small amount of oil – meant to light the temple’s menorah for just one night – miraculously last eight nights. On this holiday,…
The recent launch of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report confirms the alarming reality of increased hunger in some regions of the world, namely the Caribbean, Western Asia, and all regions of Africa, with women and people living in rural areas being the groups most affected. This is not…
At a wedding I attended recently, I fell into an interesting conversation with another guest. She asked me what I ‘do’ (somehow the words ‘for work’ are always implicit in this phrase, yet rarely spoken out loud), and I shared that I fundraise for an international human rights organization. I quickly assured her that I…
The leaders of development agencies and big donors, such as the EU and the United States, gathered today to comment on the Global Report on Food Crises 2023, which is dramatically alarming. In the words of the World Bank Director during the launch: “food crises, once exceptional, are becoming the new normal.” In 2022, 258…
In a tearful interview in a Q’eqchi Indigenous community of Rio Zarquito in Alta Verapaz Guatemala, Florinda Noemí Xol, told Prensa Comunitario why her 25-year-old son, Byron Lopez Xol, had left to migrate to the United States and had perished along with 38 other migrants abandoned to die in a horrific detention center fire in…
I was disappointed, on multiple levels, to hear about the Biden administration’s nomination of Ajay Banga, a private equity executive with no experience in public service, to head the World Bank. First, the U.S. should have no real right to unilaterally name the World Bank President – it does so through an archaic “gentleman’s agreement”…
I am the new Development Intern at ActionAid USA. In my role, I assist the Development team with managing donor care and stewardship, researching prospects, and any other tasks that need to be done! I am incredibly excited to be starting this new journey. That is how I look at each job, internship, and class…
