Josephina – Women Thrive
Josefina Ruiz Viada de Martinez explains her life like this: “I’m the motor. I keep this farm running, and my family follows my example.” At the age of 72, she isn’t the type of motor you might expect...
View ArticleIrma Morales – Women Thrive
*UPDATED* 4-19-2011 10:23 CST Like most people in La Pelota, Irma Morales does not own her land. Instead, she must rent it from land owners who are constantly trying to drive her and her family from...
View ArticleDisaster Risk Reduction in El Salvador
Believe it or not, the gentleman in this picture is not in any danger. He’s not an injured person being transported to the hospital nor is he part of a part of any show or stunt (or on the losing end...
View ArticleWhere We Work: The Human Development Index
Ever wonder just how poor the countries we work in are? Thanks to Google’s Public Data Explorer, now you can easily visualize complex data like the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is an...
View ArticlePage 7a: Stories You May have Missed
Another week has come and gone, with some news making the front page and even more stuck in the middle. Here are this week’s stories, excavated from page 7A: Tales of Joy: American Near East Refugee...
View ArticleAlternatives for Teenagers
This past Monday, the New York Times published an article about the successes of a major gang truce in El Salvador. Five months after bringing jailed gang leaders together to negotiate a truce,...
View ArticleCocoa Farmers Come Together to Learn & Share
“Cocoa is my passion.” These were among the first words that cocoa farmer Leonor Gomez shared during the two-day National Cocoa Forum that LWR co-hosted in Nicaragua last week. The cocoa forum was a...
View ArticleRene Santos: Fair Trade Coffee Farmer
October is Fair Trade Month, and we want to lift up one of our long-time Fair Trade partners: Equal Exchange. In their honor, every Tuesday we are sharing stories of farmers whose lives are changed...
View ArticleOne Kitchen at a Time
For many of us, cooking is a pleasure, and for others it’s just a pain. For Albertina Grandados in Tepititán, El Salvador, cooking is dangerous. Unfortunately, it’s also a necessity which means that...
View ArticleWhy I’m Grateful for Community
I had the joy of attending my brother’s wedding just a few weeks back. Surrounded by family, old friends and communities that have all played an important part in my life and my faith journey reminded...
View ArticleLeaf Rust Is Damaging Coffee Plants, But Can We Protect Farmers?
Leaf rust is the common name for a nasty little fungus, Roya, which causes big problems for coffee plants. Leaf rust first appears on the underside of the leaves of coffee plants as yellow spots, and...
View Article10 Facts about Clean Cookstoves
Last week, CNN highlighted Nancy Hughes, the founder of StoveTeam International, the organization who makes clean burning Ecocina stoves, as one of their CNN Heroes. Last October, we wrote about...
View ArticleWhat Independence Day has to do with Cocoa Farmers in Latin America
“May our barns be filled, with produce of every kind; may our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields, and may our cattle be heavy with young.” -Psalm 144:13-14a This week here...
View ArticleThree ways LWR is helping unaccompanied minors
More than 50,000 children have arrived at the U.S./Mexico border alone so far this year. Nearly 40,000 women and children have arrived as families.[source] All have endured an incredibly dangerous...
View ArticleHow Mimes are Helping Youth in El Salvador
Even though it is a small town, Lolotique has big problems. Not too long ago, the mayor was killed by gang members. Unfortunately in this area – located in the eastern part of El Salvador – death...
View ArticleHow Climate Change is Affecting Coffee Farmers
Climate change is a clear and present danger to coffee farmers in Central America, and Lutheran World Relief is working with farm families and cooperatives, helping them to cope, LWR’s Rick Peyser...
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