Concern Blogs

Mrs Sokhom pictured feeding the chickens that managed to provide her with a lifeline. Photo: Cambodia, Concern Worldwide

I have been in Cambodia for just nine months now, and the hectic nature of the lifestyle in Phnom Penh is matched only by the sheer volume of work that needs to be tackled on a weekly basis.

Then again, I have come to expect this when working with Concern, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It is easy, particularly in an office-based role such as mine, to get immersed in the Mekong-like flood of different things coming across your desk. Read the rest of this entry »

Philip Wegner is Health Advisor for Concern Worldwide’s Child Survival programs in Haiti, Burundi, Rwanda and Niger.

In Western nations, most people don’t think twice about mosquito-bites except as a minor annoyance.

However, as Health Advisor for Concern Worldwide’s Child Survival programs, I cannot help but wonder how the world would be altered if the mosquitoes that cause so much suffering in Africa or Asia did the same thing here?

At one time, malaria was also present in the West—but its impact never compared to the illness and death it brings to people in developing countries. Read the rest of this entry »

Concern paves the way for the newly built settlement in Tabarre Issa, which can accomodate more than 500 families. Photo: Haiti, Concern Worldwide

By Mark Jafar – Vice President of Corporate Communications at MTV Networks. Mark is currently visiting Concern’s emergency operation in Haiti.

Bourdon Valley, Port-au-Prince – Tucked into the hills that rise above central Port-au-Prince lies Bourdon Valley, an enclave of beautiful, verdant forest flanked by the eastern suburbs of Delmas and Canape Vert.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ange Kamugisha, Education Liaison Officer, Rwanda

Rachael and Sarah pictured carrying out household chores in 2009 when Concern went to check why they'd dropped out of school. Photo: Rwanda, Concern Worldwide

I cannot imagine the sadness of watching my child grow up without the chance to go to school, learn to read and write, or have opportunities to achieve her potential.

And yet, here in my native Rwanda, each time I meet an out-of-school child, I feel a measure of that sadness.

Lack of access to basic, quality primary education is one of the root causes of extreme poverty, and disproportionately affects girls: the majority of the world’s 72 million out-of-school children are girls. Read the rest of this entry »

In the absence of school buildings, children in South Sudan attend class under the shade of trees. Photo: Nina Gehm, Concern Worldwide

For nearly two years now, I have worked in South Sudan, helping Concern empower the poorest of the poor through programs in education, farming, nutrition, and water.

Even though I live here and I witness daily examples of the hardships people face just trying to survive, the statistics never fail to dishearten me.

Consider for example that a 15-year-old girl has a greater chance of dying in childbirth than of finishing school.

Read the rest of this entry »