“I took this photo at Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand, which just became eligible for the U.S. refugee resettlement program this year.

The kid was drawing a USA flag on the ground while listening to our information session about US resettlement. The info sessions were organized for camp residents to learn about the program and about America, so that they can make an informed decision whether or not to apply when the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) starts registering interested refugees next month.  

Refugees also get a chance to ask questions and express their concerns in the sessions.”

Today was great: hundreds of children marched through the streets of Kitale and literally brought the town to a standstill to mark the Day of the African Child. The children carried homemade signs promoting messages from ’stop child trafficking’ to ‘let a child decide’, while what felt like the whole town looked on.

The march ended in the Kenyatta Stadium with a series of dances, songs and moving poems. Ann, a visually-impaired 5 year-old, showed great courage as she kicked things off with a poem called ‘I have a right’. And one young boy had the crowd in stitches as, totally lost in the music, he ignored his schoolteacher’s choreography and improvised to his own, unique beat.

We also managed to pack in a quick visit to a collection of women’s groups in Geta. The women have returned there after being uprooted earlier this year by violence following Kenya’s presidential elections. They now feel safe once again due to a prominent police presence, but many still live in tents while they wait to rebuild homes that were destroyed in the fighting. 

The IRC is helping women’s groups come together in a peaceful setting
after the electoral violence earlier this year.

The International Rescue Committee has given the women’s groups knitting and crochet materials. The women regularly come together to knit but at the same time also receive information from our volunteers about preventing and reporting cases of violence against women. Together, after everything they’ve been through, they can now share experiences, seek advice, and be referred for counseling or medical care. A small but powerful step.

New photos from my colleague Alison Zureick in Sierra Leone. Alison recently returned  from a field visit to rural Kono District where she was documenting IRC health programs in remote communities.

The International Rescue Committee’s child survival program is helping to save lives and improve the health of young children in Kono District, one of the areas hit hardest by Sierra Leone’s ten-year long civil war which ended in 2002.

The program, which is the first of its kind in the country, depends on IRC-trained local volunteers known as community-based distributors who identify vulnerable and ill children and provide treatment in the children’s homes. Before, many mothers had to walk miles to a local health center to get treatment for their children.  Now children receive free treatment in their own villages. 

IRC supervisor Mustapha Bawoh reviews the ledger book of Richard Mbawa, the community-based distributor for Madina village. As a community-elected health worker, Richard provides first line treatment to children under five with diarrhea (“ron belle”), malaria (“warm bodi”) and pneumonia—three of the most common causes of death in young children. Richard and his fellow volunteers also encourage mothers to take their children to the local clinic if their conditions worsen and to attend monthly health education sessions.

A young mother named Anamie sits with her daughter, Christiana, who recently received treatment from Richard for malaria. “Before community-based treatment we had to walk long distances to the clinic and pay for treatment,” Anamie says.  “Now our children receive free treatment in the village.”

Susan Matthews, the maternal and child health aide at the local health center in Kodama displays mortality data for the area served by the center.  Community-based distributors record and report on deaths in their communities to help identify vulnerable groups and unmet needs.

Sia Kanessie, a community-based distributor in Kodama, displays her supplies for treating childhood illness.  “Since I started working as a volunteer, the sickness in the community has gone down,” Sia says. “I like what I do because I get to help children have well bodi (good health). I encourage mothers to take their children to the clinic and to breast feed for a child’s first six months. I also work at night, making sure mothers use bed nets to prevent the child from getting malaria.”

A mother prepares her child to be measured and weighed at a monthly outreach session in the community of Small Sefadu. 

Health center staff and IRC child survival staff work together to track the height and weight of children under five to identify those who are malnourished. 

Traditional birth attendants sing about safe motherhood at a monthly pregnant women’s support group in the community of Bangabaya. The IRC works with the attendants to encourage pregnant women to visit the clinic for regular check-ups and for delivery.  Bangabaya is one of four communities in Kono where IRC is piloting its safe motherhood program. 

IRC child survival coordinator Dorice Manasseh introduces the pregnant women’s support group at Bangabaya to IRC’s safe motherhood initiative.  The program aims to increase the number of women giving birth at the clinics by improving access and quality of care.  Since many women find it difficult to reach the clinic,the IRC is helping the communities around Bangabaya to build a traditional house nearby where women can stay comfortably a few days before they go into labor.  The IRC also provides the clinic with a midwife and basic drugs and equipment for emergency obstetric care.

To learn more: Read the full story

To help: Give children in Sierra Leone a fighting chance at life by supporting the IRC’s effective child survival program. Your gift will be tripled, allowing IRC health workers to save thousands of lives in communities across Sierra Leone. Donate now - triple your impact >

As the sun slowly rises over the pine-covered peaks, we continue our journey deeper into the Himalayas. Many exhausting hours later we stop in a valley with emerald green wheat fields flanked by white mountains. In dozens of villages in the remote Mugu district, like here in the hamlet of Shreekot, the IRC is providing aid to the many thousands who have returned after years of displacement sparked by the conflict between Maoist guerillas and the Nepalese army.

We sit down with a group of villagers. One of the elders, Dhana Saran, complains that despite Shreekot’s wheat production, the village suffers from food shortages, especially during the harsh Himalayan winter. 

Malnutrition is a major cause of death in Nepal and the mountain communities in the remote
Karnali zone have a long history of chronic food shortages and periodic famines.
Photo: Peter Biro/The IRC.

In this mountainous area, a very small portion of land is fertile enough to farm, my colleague Mohan Acharya, assistant protection manager, tells me. In other rural areas, medicinal plants and other cash crops can be grown to trade in the southern plains for money to buy food. But with the extremely poor transportation infrastructure in Mugu and the surrounding districts in the remote Karnali zone, this is not feasible. According to the United Nations, malnutrition is a major cause of death in Nepal and the mountain communities have a long history of chronic food shortages and periodic famines. The soil here is poor, food production from farming barely lasts six months each year and the area is often hit by droughts. The government is airlifting subsidized food to some of these areas, Mohan says, but it rarely reaches the people most in need. 

To help people grow their own nutritious food in sufficient amounts, the IRC has provided Shreekot and other villages in the district with agricultural training along with tools and special types of high-yielding seeds that can withstand excessive cold. The seeds can therefore be planted regardless of season. Crops include radishes, cauliflower, spinach and chili. In some villages, the IRC has helped start the production of apples and other fruit. 

Village elder Dhana Saran (left) says that Shreekot suffers from food shortages,
especially during the harsh Himalayan winter. “We need all the help we can get,” he says.
Photo: Peter Biro/The IRC

“Clean water is also a problem in these communities,” Mohan adds. “To help prevent water-borne disease we installed a system for drinking water near the village clinic.”

Dhana Saran says almost everyone in Shreekot fled during the conflict. They are now returning to overgrown fields and broken houses.

To help the village recover in the long term, the IRC recently organized a course where the villagers were taught to write proposals for funding that will be submitted to the local authorities and aid organizations.

“Our village economy is very bad and the illiteracy rate almost 90 percent”, Dhana Saran says as we prepare to leave. “We need all the help we can get.”

 There is a serious shortage of health services, clean water and nutritious food
in Nepal’s western mountain communities. The IRC has helped people here restart their lives by
providing seeds, agricultural tools, livestock, essential household items and clothing.
In the remote village of Ludku, villagers are now growing apples and other fruits.
Photo: Peter Biro/The IRC.

Soon we are high above the village as we continue our walk to the neighbouring district of Jumla. The area is strikingly beautiful and still. After several hours I realize that I haven’t seen a living thing – not even a bird. The only thing I hear is a mild wind rustling through the trees and the crinkle of dry leaves beneath my feet. Each time we reach a peak, I find myself knee-deep in snow. The valleys far below us are springtime green. 

Suddenly I spot an old man and a little boy, dressed in camouflage fatigues, coming toward us on the narrow trail. We take a break and strike up a conversation. Seven-year-old Janak Rokaya and his grandfather Dhanasingh are on their way to their village a day’s trek away. Dhanasingh tells us that Janak’s father served in the Maoist army and was killed in battle three years ago. Shortly thereafter, the boy’s mother left, leaving the old man to look after him.

On the four-day journey from Mugu to Jumla, Mohan Acharya (pictured) and I must cross
several mountain passes, like this one at an altitude of 5,000 meters. The area is strikingly
beautiful and still. Sometimes we walk for hours without a single sign of life.
Photo: Peter Biro/The IRC.

 “It is very hard for us to survive,” Dhanasingh explains as he takes out his son’s death certificate, issued by the party’s armed wing, from a worn nylon bag. “We have almost nothing and we have seen no compensation from the party.”

It’s hard to find anyone in the area who hasn’t been deeply affected by the decade-long conflict. Even though the peace has been holding since late 2006 and largely non-violent elections saw the Maoist win a landslide victory, life hasn’t really changed for people here. Poverty is endemic and politics still frightens people in the countryside. Stories of local Maoist commanders, army officers and police harassing villagers for money and support are common. 

“We have trained people in human rights as part of our program here,” Mohan says as we sit outside a small mountain cabin where we are spending the night. In front of us the setting sun is casting its red glow on the mountains, signaling the end of the day. 

“Previously, people had no idea about the responsibilities of the army and the police. Now they know that the police need arrest warrants and that villagers can file complaints with the central authorities if they are abused. It is a start.” 

Karnplay, Liberia  I said that I would be making a special effort to reach out to Liberian youth on this trip.  Most have grown up in a war or fleeing from it.  They know little besides conflict and the processes involved with recovery.  Inheriting a new place than that which their parents lived in presents them with new opportunities, yes, but also new challenges. 

Put simply, they have a lot to do—and a lot to teach us.

Today I visited one of the six schools in Karnplay that the IRC supports:  Karnplay High School.  It sits at the end of a lovely, tree-lined lane and is surrounded by thatched huts and simple mud brick houses. 

Some of the houses are etched with the cell phone numbers of the inhabitants who live there. (Blog moderator’s note: We blurred out some of the numerals in the photo for privacy’s sake.)

I arrived at Karnplay High School—or Karn High—around lunchtime.  Three Liberian women were ladling out bowls of rice and cassava stew.  Between shifts of students, they chatted and knit beautiful table cloths. 

Waiting for afternoon classes to begin, I visited Karn High’s enormous auditorium.  Students gather here for assemblies and to perform cultural dances.  Later, I’d later get roped into one…  Next, I toured Karn High’s new library.  It was stocked with world maps, a set of encyclopedias, and African and Western classics including Things Fall Apart, Twelfth Night, and The Pony Express.  Students come here to read and write their research papers.  Soon, a card catalog system will be implemented so they can take the books home. 

Finally, it was time for classes to begin.  The seniors, who were preparing for national exams, weren’t around, so I visited several classes of younger students.  Some were learning to write their capital letters and compute fractions; others, Biology and English.  In one classroom, “Remember 9/11” posters were tacked to the walls.  That was strange to see 4,500 miles away from New York City, where I live.  It also reminded me conflict isn’t confined to countries like Liberia. 

That afternoon, right up the hill from Karn High, I visited the Karnplay community radio station.  I met 25 children who attend IRC-supported schools and, as an extracurricular activity, volunteer as student radio announcers.  One, named Chris, 15, is on the air many mornings and afternoons and is responsible for reading the list of guests who will appear that day, broadcasting news announcements, and managing the children’s phone-in program. 

What’s that you ask? 

“A show where local children call in to sing songs, say their ABC’s, and quote Bible verses,” he told me.  “Are all of them good singers, Chris?” I asked.  “No,” he laughed.  When I asked him about the development going on in Karnplay, Chris reported:  “You can see that the IRC people are building a clinic and the IRC women’s group is doing some projects.  And we are building a cinema.” 

Blessing, 15, another youth radio announcer, reads health messages on the air after school.  Most are supplied by staff who work at the IRC-supported clinic.  Blessing describes them as, “messages about the importance of being clean and taking care of the environment and our surroundings.”  This segues perfectly with Blessing’s professional goal:  studying science and one day becoming a nurse.

Finally, I said I’d be asking the kids about Liberian food.  The 25 I met reported their favorite things to eat were rice and “g.b.” (which is made from cassava), plantains, potatoes, pineapple, mangoes, coconut, oranges, and bananas.  Local dishes they enjoy include eddoes (something like cassava), bitter balls (fruit), and palava sauce (a spicy sauce which, translated directly, means “confusion”).  Other favorites?  Caterpillars and grasshoppers, which the kids called “special caterpillars and grasshoppers.”  While it’s unclear whether they’re in season, Blessing tells me she’s confident I’ll like them.  Think I’m up for the challenge?