Category: Health
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is celebrated on the 25th of November every year. This coincides with our Alternative Rite of Passage (ARP) courses, which take place annually in November and December. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice still carried out in areas of Kenya, despite being made illegal […]
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#PeriodFriendlyWorld
Millions of women and girls around the world are prevented from reaching their full potential just because they menstruate. May 28th is Menstrual Hygiene Day – a day that brings together non-profits, governments, the private sector and millions of individuals. Brighter Communities Worldwide are one of the founding partners of MH Day which started in […]
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Menstrual health: the essential universal passport
Have you ever thought about something that could be a universal passport? A passport to education; a passport to employment; a passport to positive mental health, to self-esteem? For me this is the sanitary pad! Here in Kenya many girls and women do not have access to sanitary pads – they stay home from school […]
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Healthy childhoods and making milestones – Maria Kidney reflects
Maria Kidney (Co-founder and Director) and Martin Ballantyne (CEO) have made the difficult decision to remain in Kenya this Christmas. There are too many reasons as to why they simply cannot leave…
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1,000 children need our help
When COVID-19 stop schools re-opening – what happens to the children? COVID-19 has brought about many challenges not least to the lives of the children across Kericho County. As we launch a fundraising campaign to support community based learning groups for the children, we asked Maria Kidney – (co-founder and director) who has remained in […]
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Smokeless Stoves in relation to climate action
Habari, my name is Freya Casey and I am a final year International Development and Food Policy student, in UCC. I am writing a piece on smokeless stoves and how they are helping the environment and the health of the communities where Brighter Communities Worldwide work. This blog is following on from my previous blog […]
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2020 International Year of the Nurse and Midwife
When I was asked early in the year to write a blog on being a nurse/midwife for World Health Day, I agreed without giving too much thought. I planned on writing a bit about my professional career as an Emergency Department nurse in Mercy University Hospital Cork and my volunteering experience with Brighter Communities Worldwide […]
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Climate change in Londiani
Jambo, my name is Freya Casey, and I am going into my final year of International Development and Food Policy in University College Cork (UCC). For my third year placement I am working with Brighter Communities Worldwide who does amazing work in Kenya, and have completed a pilot project in Uganda. In line with the […]
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Menstrual Hygiene Day 2019
1. What is your name and what is your role with Brighter Communities Worldwide? My name is Carol Galvin and I work as a Development Analyst in the Irish office of Brighter Communities Worldwide. As part of my role I source funding for our various programmes in Kenya and also report back to donors on […]
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Medical students join Harambee volunteers
Brighter Communities Worldwide currently have 4 volunteers who are studying medicine in University College Cork and on a placement with us for 4 weeks as part of the Surgeon Noonan student society. The volunteers – Fiona Murphy, Ciobha O Kelly, Emma Galvin and Chloe Spillane – have been on placement at Londiani Sub County Hospital, […]
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International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is part of the UN’s commitment to ending FGM in all its forms, all over the world. What is FGM? Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a harmful practice that involves removing all or part of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. FGM has no […]
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Carol Gavin’s presentation at the Water, Engineering and Development Centre International Conference
As part of my role with Brighter Communities Worldwide, I attended a conference hosted by the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) in Loughborough University in England from the 24th to the 28th of July. I was there to present a case study of our work in Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). This case study explored and detailed […]
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