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Beside a Vast Graveyard, a New City Rises in Haiti

Jacob Kushner

March 21, 2020 |

Pacific Standard |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Haiti, Canaan

A survivor of Haiti's earthquake sought out a new home on an unclaimed plot of land which is home to one of the country's largest cemeteries. Madame Roy built a neighborhood from the ground up with the help of architects and funding from people who wanted to be residents of the future city. Roads, homes, a cistern, a soccer field, and a school were all built without the help of the Haitian government. 200,000 residents who lost everything in the earthquake have found a chance to start over in the new city of Canaan.

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‘It became part of life': how Haiti curbed cholera

Jacob Kushner

March 16, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Haiti

Haiti has gone an entire year without any new reported cases of cholera, which is a significant accomplishment for the country that once faced 800,000 cases of the infectious disease. Although it's too soon to declare the country cholera-free, Haiti's success thus far is largely due to collective efforts to increase education and implement preventative measures such as pop-up clinics and rapid response teams.

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'They paid a guy to kill me': health workers fight homophobia in Uganda

Jacob Kushner

October 21, 2019 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Mbale

Reaching individuals at risk of HIV requires tackling stigma head-on. In Uganda, the director of the Eastern Region Women’s Empowerment Organisation deploys mobile health clinics to test and educate Ugandans on the risks of HIV transmission. The campaigns are held in neighborhoods and counseling is done in public, to help address the issue of stigma. The mobile clinics have received support from international organizations like USAid.

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Haiti and the failed promise of US aid

Jacob Kushner

October 11, 2019 |

The Guardian |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Haiti

Since Haiti's catastrophic earthquake in 2010, the US has spent $2.3 billion in aid money that has failed to alleviate poverty or help the impoverished nation recover. Bill Clinton led the global response to Haiti's recovery and focused efforts on bringing international manufacturers to Haiti by building an expensive new port from which multinational corporations would bring in investments and stable jobs, but the project failed to do so. This strategy was a continuation of previous US solutions that have failed to bring economic independence to Haiti and have often had the opposite effect, leaving it worse.

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Gay and out in rural Uganda? For some, it feels less impossible

Jacob Kushner

November 26, 2018 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Uganda

For those identifying as LGBT in Uganda, living in a rural area can make acceptance surprisingly easier. Due to smaller community sizes and more close-knit relationships, personal relationships often triumph over the prejudice beliefs permeating the culture.

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Can Science Save Development Aid?

Jacob Kushner

July 06, 2018 |

Pacific Standard |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya

A data-driven approach to foreign development/aid, one that centers randomized controlled trials and other markers of rigorous study, is gaining steam as a way to push forward programming and solutions that actually work. There are critiques that the method is expensive and doesn't scale easily, but many are excited by the potential for a new era of accountability and impact.

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Uganda Attempts to Shut Down Controversial Silicon Valley-Funded Schools

Jacob Kushner

February 14, 2018 |

Columbia Global Reports |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Uganda

Well-known Silicon Valley companies started the Bridge International Academies in 2007, an experimental school model, across some East African countries in an attempt to increase the quality of education, while promising a cost of $6-7 monthly per student. Bridge has now opened over 520 schools, serves over 100,000 students, and consistently showed rising graduation rates and testing performance, but its system of tablet-centered education and standardized curriculum has received criticism from its own teachers and government officials, who are weary of releasing control of their country's education system.

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Americans Are Getting Their Voluntourism Fix on a New Carnival Cruise

Jacob Kushner

November 07, 2016 |

Vice |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Fathom is the world's first-ever cruise line for people who want to vacation and volunteer as a way of helping poor families in the Dominican Republic have concrete floors, water filters etc. However, the impact of this organization is unknown given a lack of data and contrasting anecdotal evidence.

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Controversial Railway Splits Kenya's Parks, Threatens Wildlife

Jacob Kushner

April 18, 2016 |

National Geographic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Tsavo

As a new railway is built in Kenya, conservationists are using satellite collars to study elephant movement and how they interact with the transport system. There are some overpasses at various points throughout the track for the elephants to cross through, but little is known about how they are passing under the railway. While building overpasses can be costly, conservationists hope the data can convince the government to ensure that any future infrastructure will include this design to allow the animals to migrate.

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Tanzania's ambitious water project undercut by dueling economics

Tom Murphy Jacob Kushner

November 26, 2014 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Tanzania

A water program funded by the World Bank has run into some obstacles as it tries to bring clean water to rural villages in Tanzania. The use of private contractors for projects and allowing communities to decide what water system they should build has led to delays in bringing access to water for residents.

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