Archives

Context:

Classified among the poorest nations of the world for several years now, since 1993 Burundi has faced an armed conflict that has severely affected all sectors of society. Other unfavourable factors have contributed to the despairs of poverty, including movement of refugees, recurring droughts and a severe malaria epidemic.

Project:

Alternatives and its partners have developed a rehabilitation project in the provinces of Kayanza, Muramvya, Bururi and Bujumbura.

This project was created by Alternatives in collaboration with ADRA, the Angola Development Coalition and local NGOs.

Context:

The project was born out of a post-civil war context, characterized by high inflation, immobilized businesses, excessively high unemployment rates and mass exoduses from rural regions due to violence and instability. The public social support system was being thinly distributed, which caused increased violence in cities. In short, the country was struggling to recover from fifteen years of conflict.

Given the failure of diplomacy, the apathy of the international community and Canada’s refusal to recognize the rights of the Palestinian population, it is our responsibility as citizens to act to put an end to the isolation and violence imposed on the Palestinians by Israel.

From April 15-21, more than 1,000 people from around the world will journey to Bethlehem to help build the International School of Palestine, to meet with Palestinian civil society organizations and to observe the checkpoints along the separation wall erected by Israel.

Context

The prolonged war in Angola has seriously impacted the quality of school conditions, on both academic and material levels, which in turn affects human development potential, social dialogue and the power of Angolan democratic institutions. Fleeing combat zones and in constant pursuit of safety, over the past years parents and teachers have struggled to provide schooling for their children.

Objectives

Strengthening civil society

Afghanistan is going through a long-term, compound crisis situation. Over twenty years of war have forced more than 3.5 million people to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. The crisi is multifacetted and the entire region is struggling with ethnic tensions and blatants cases of human rights violation, not to mention the steep inequalities between men and women.

Afghan societyhas been exhausted by 23 years of wars, repeated drought and chronic poverty. Decades of violence and suffering have exacerbated ethnic divisions, with disastrous humanitarian consequences.

In 2002, Alternatives was involved in the creation of the popular research and education group Research & Education in Development, mainly through developing a portal for research and networking on South African social movements. Using the content management system Drupal, the portal enables the social science research community to publish material, exchange points of view and stay on top of social movements in Southern Africa.