Volunteering in an orphanage is often seen as an opportunity for young people to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children while they see the world traveling. The reality is often very different. Children are not tourist attractions and Stahili strongly opposes “orphanage voluntourism”. In this latest post in our series by former …
Continue reading “The Harms of ‘Orphanage Voluntourism’: Volunteering in a Thai Orphanage”
The lack of rainfall in late 2016 has resulted in a drought in Kenya, as well as in Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda. In February 2017, the Kenyan government declared the drought to be a national disaster, severely affecting the arid and semi-arid regions of the country. Water bodies have dried up and food insecurity has …
Continue reading “Drought in Kenya raises concern beyond malnutrition”
The word ‘voluntourism’ commonly brings to mind images of young people from the West flying to developing countries in Africa, Asia or Latin America to volunteer, with orphanage volunteering as one of the most popular and easy-to-find options. However, the trend of combining tourism with volunteering is also growing rapidly as a “South to South” …
Continue reading “China and the Rise of “South-to-South” Voluntourism”
by Rebecca Mazzu In January, the city of peace of justice, The Hague, played host to the annual Model United Nations (THIMUN) conference, a five-day event attended by over 3,000 high school students from around the world. I went as a delegate of Japan in the 2nd General Assembly. But I also had an opportunity …
At Stahili we believe that all children should know about their rights and responsibilities and have opportunities to reflect on what rights mean for them, and for others. In collaboration with educators from the International School of The Hague (ISH) and in Kenya, Stahili has developed a series of workshops to help students explore the …
Continue reading “Empowering children to know their rights and responsibilities”
By Cassia McCann (Stahili Volunteer) The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague (part of Erasmus University, Rotterdam) has become the first educational institution in The Netherlands to sign the pledge to support the global campaign to stop orphanage volunteering. As a Masters student, I coordinated the pledge, which was signed …
By Tamar Begun As a Canadian student living in the twenty-first century, accumulating stuff feels inevitable. Each September when school begins, something as basic as the latest hi-lighter gets replaced with an even brighter version before any ink has even dried. New supplies quickly replace the old. Just prior to the start of Grade …
Continue reading “Stahili and School Endz: You don’t need to go abroad to make a difference”
For many children around the world, having a safe space to learn is far from guaranteed due to the threat of armed conflict and the targeting of schools. In this guest post for ‘In Focus’, Peter Klanduch and Margaret Sinclair of Education Above All’s legal advocacy programme PEIC – Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict …
Sexual and other forms of gender-based violence (SGBV) while prevalent in conflict zones around the globe, is grossly underreported. Used as a method of war or as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, SGBV impacts men and boys as well as women and girls. Fear and cultural stigma are among …
Continue reading “Sexual Violence Against Girls and Boys in Armed Conflict”
Children continue to be recruited and used in a number of conflict zones around the world. Although international efforts are being made to prevent the use of child soldiers and to hold those responsible to account, it is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of children in armed groups around the world. Unfortunately, the …
Continue reading “Recruitment and Use of Children in Armed Conflict: Myth and Reality”