For many years Kibera has been infamous for the so called ‘flying toilet’ – an old way of getting rid of human waste. This was specifically characterized by defecating on plastic bags and when one was done then they would go ahead and throw the bag which was mostly black in color as far as they could not regarding where they would fall or whom they would hit. Most people would throw the papers towards rivers which pass across the slum. Actually this is the main reason why most rivers in Kibera are heavily polluted with sewer waters and human waste. The tradition however came to an end as time would go by and the residents of Kibera became more civilized and...
Sometimes we just have to give a shout out to a company we find and love! We found Jonas Umbrellas recently and just loved their mission and knew we had to share about them! Jonas Umbrellas offers limited edition umbrellas that funds clean water wells at schools in Uganda. How cool is that? And we love the personal touch that each umbrella comes numbered on the handle - and you can register yours to receive exclusive updates, videos and info. And everyone I have shown this umbrella to is impressed. My husband said, "what can make an umbrella special?" when I was going on about how great these umbrellas are. After I picked my jaw up off the floor at his question -...
Note from Krista: Cherie is one of my closest friends. I remember being on our annual camping trip when she told me and our other girlfriend, Carolynn, she had "big news". Of course we both started shouting and over reacting thinking she was pregnant. Nope. She said "I am biking across Canada... and I'm leaving in two months". Um... do you own a bike? "Not yet" Um... have you been training? "No - but I will." Okay then. But if there is one thing I know about Cherie - she is one of the most determined, hardworking people out there. If she has a goal - she reaches it. So, in true Cherie form she set out to learn a...
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000. It's comprised of eight international goals that were agreed to by 193 countries aiming to meet the needs of the global poor by 2015. Over the next 8 weeks, we will discuss each of these goals, the progress that has been made and what can be done to further development past the year 2015. The Millennium Development Goals are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Create a global partnership for development Extreme poverty is define as living on...
-------A note from Krista: I saw this post from Bryan last week and I asked if he would share it on our blog. It really hit me. Our name is "JustOne" - becaus ejust one person can make a difference. And by helping just one person we can start a snowball effect of change. But also - every life - matters. This is a story of JustOne life lost. It won't be on our news stations or read about. But this little one's life matters. I dream of a day when rain does not have to mean fear - of losing one's home and health.------- Last week, I wake up at 6am trying my luck to getting a glimpse of the sunrise....
