A 12-year-old girl named Sally al-Sabahi may just be one of the happiest girls in Yemen today—her divorce from a husband that was much older than her has finally been granted. Last February, Sally’s case was made public. For an amount equivalent to a thousand dollars, Sally was given away in marriage to an older man. The child bride then spent weeks being mistreated in her new home—forced to cook, clean and have sexual intercourse way before she has reached sexual maturity. Sally was then only ten years old.

Despite threats from her husband, Sally finally managed to escape a few months later but was still unable to get a divorce mainly because her father could not afford to repay the dowry. After the story came out, several readers came forward in order to help Sally’s case. One of these readers was lecturer Nalan Gungor Ozisik from Stanford University.

According to Osizik, it was devastating how cases of child brides have misrepresented the religion of Islam. She also hopes that now that the divorce has been granted, Sally can now take back the childhood that has been stolen from her.

Women’s rights activists and other humanitarians are also happy about the success of the divorce. They say that this small step could persuade the Yemeni government to adjust the minimum marriage age in the country. This possibility is enormously significant in a country where almost half the women being married are under 18.

Four years ago in Huruma, a project was launched in order to improve the slum areas in Northern Kenya. Today, at least 200 families are now living in improved conditions and enjoying basic infrastructures that were once considered luxuries, such as sewer systems, running water, electricity and more.

Chiara Camozzi is the manager of the said project. He works for COOPI, an Italian non-government organization which launched the housing project. Camoozi says that there are still about 50 houses that are still being constructed and that his team hopes to complete these houses as the project comes to a close.

The 1.5 million euro project was expected to be finished by the year 2007. However, due to some conflicts such as the violence that erupted after the elections in 2008, the project’s deadline was pushed back.

The housing project is not entirely free for the slum dwellers. Through a saving scheme, the residents will pay the first 20% cost of the house before the remaining 80% is then loaned to them. Once they have repaid the loan, the house will then officially belong to them. For most of the residents in Huruma, finally being a homeowner is a reward on its own.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock or MAIL recently reported that as many as 25 million seedlings will be sowed in Afghanistan ground in 2010. Non-government organizations and other humanitarian groups are joining the project to fight desertification and soil erosion. The planting will also contribute to the improvement of air quality in urban areas. The USA Agency for International Development is one of the agencies that are funding the planting project.
The planting of the seedlings will focus mostly in urban regions. According to the health ministry, more than 3000 residents in Kabul are victims to premature deaths because of air pollution. In fact, studies have shown that the mortality rate in Kabul has seen a yearly increase of four percent. The Ministry of Public Health says this is due to the respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that are primarily caused by the serious air pollution. Most people know Afghanistan to be a country rampant with terrorist activity and violent wars. This is perhaps the reason why other “killers” such as environmental pollution tend to get overlooked.
Abdul Majid Qarar is the spokesman for MAIL and he expressed the need for the revitalization of forests and other green areas in the country. Over the past three decades, over 80% of Afghanistan’s forests have been lost.

The general election is drawing near in the Philippines and it seems that the issue of family planning is taking center stage in the campaigns. For a conservative country like the Philippines, a topic like contraception can be controversial. However, the growing population and spread of HIV are calling for desperate measures.
Family planning organizations are encouraging voters to withdraw their support for candidates who are not willing to fund contraceptives for communities.
Fe Nicodemus is a humanitarian for reproductive health. She says that the city of Manila lacks a real program for reproductive health. She also states that it is the candidates’ duty to provide sufficient funds for contraceptives if they want support from voters. Since 2000, Nicodemus has been in the forefront of the protest against the order passed by former Mayor Lito Atienza. The order prohibits the distribution of modern means of contraception such as condoms and birth control pills. Although the city now has a new mayor, requests to bring down the order are still being ignored. And according to Nicodemus, this is the reason why the reproductive health in Manila is continually deteriorating.
The 50-year-old campaigner related how many girls are getting pregnant at the tender age of 14. She has even come across 18-year-old women who are already mothers to as many as four children.
Most of the population in the Philippines is Catholic, which is perhaps why contraception is continually looked down upon. But reproductive health workers are expressing the dire need of the country for modern contraception and a concrete family planning.

Several months ago, a 30-year-old woman was finally divorced from her husband of 10 years. For this woman who is staying in a refugee camp, the divorce has been something she has waited for after a decade of being abused mentally and physically by her husband.
Many might wonder why the woman did not seek help sooner or bring her case to the local police or to any women’s rights group. The woman said that her husband’s threats to kill her prevented her from bringing the case to the police and her fear of being discovered kept her from asking help from women’s groups.
Gaza is only one of the many countries in the Middle East where violence against women continue to be rampant and humanitarians and activists are pointing to several factors that have worsened the problem. Aside from the economy, the political tensions and the conflict with Israel are reasons for the widespread maltreatment of women. Since the government and local authorities are too preoccupied with political matters, other issues such as domestic violence have been set aside.

A report was recently released this month by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces or DCAF. According to the report, a lot of women and young girls continue to feel insecure and this is worsened by the growing national conflict. These women also feel that society is not prioritizing their welfare. Most of them are also unaware of women’s groups that can help them. Some of those who are aware still doubt the assistance that these groups can provide. The report suggests more campaigns to make women aware of the possibilities of seeking help to prevent abuse.

Activist groups and humanitarian organizations are expressing their concern regarding the spread of tuberculosis or TB in overcrowded prisons in the Philippines. While medical workers perform their rounds in the Manila city jail, it is apparent that almost every space in the facility has been taken over by prisoners, to such an extent that some do not even have a bed to sleep in.
Aside from the lack of space, the unbearable heat has also produced an odor which can be nauseating even to the strongest of stomachs. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The high temperature is also an ideal breeding ground for the spread of Mycobacterium which ultimately causes TB. Officials say that although the disease is curable, the rapid spread of the condition among inmates is far more challenging to solve.
Jean-Daniel Tauxe, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross has made numerous visits to prisons in the Philippines. He reports that the overcrowding in these prisons is bringing serious health consequences to inmates. He also says that hygiene, clean water and overall health care are also major problems in these facilities.
In 2008, a factory worker named Melvic Lupe died of TB. 18 survivors remained until one of them passed away last year. The Asian Human Rights Commission expressed its concern over the death of inmates due to a disease that is otherwise treatable. And it seems that TB is only one of the problems that need to be addressed. A lawyer from the Far Eastern University in Manila recently did a study that showed how inmates are also suffering from contagious such as boils and infections, a situation that calls for serious reform.

Early marriages have always been a controversial topic. The forced marriage of young girls—some are children—to older men have garnered a lot of protests from activists from all over the world. In Yemen, a 10-year old girl relates her story when she was forced to wed an older man. She related how everything started with a nice wedding party where she was given a fancy dress and jewelry and all her friends were invited. Little did she know that once the party was over, she would have to leave her home to live with a much older man whom she will have to have sex with as well as cook and clean for. Because of the dowry that her father received from the man, she will have no choice but to stay with him. Two years later, the girl is still looking for a way out of her forced marriage.

This tale is only one of the many stories of early marriages in Yemen. In an effort to protect children, a women’s rights group passed a bill to the Islamic Sharia Codification Committee in hopes that the minimum age for marriage becomes set on 17. Unfortunately, the bill was denied.

Shada Mohammed Nasser is a lawyer who has defended many child brides over the years. She regretfully reports that most of her cases have been unsuccessful and the girls were not able to divorce their husbands. Nasser also insists that what is happening is not marriage, but is already a case of rape. She also states that the marriage law prohibits the husband from sleeping with his bride until she has reached the age of sexual maturity which is 15, but this rule has not really been implemented.

Nasser and other women’s groups continue to fight against early marriages.

Last month, thousands of health volunteers and workers were sent out to various regions on Bangladesh in order to provide measles vaccinations to about 20 million children.
According to UNICEF’s Carel de Rooy, the campaign is off to a good start, what with the 2 and a half million children that was already vaccinated during the first day. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers and NGOs have participated in the campaign and everyone aims to cover more than a hundred thousand vaccination sites in two weeks. Children who are below five years but above five months are the target of the campaign. All children under five will also be given polio vaccine drops. Children in this age bracket who receive the vaccination will still have to be vaccinated again later on. The health minister also said that even a single child without vaccine can cause a spread to other children.
According to reports by UNICEF, there are about four million children who are below the age of five but do not have immunization. The campaign seems to be accomplishing what it set out to do. The number of measles outbreaks has dramatically decreased in 2006 and there were no cases at all in 2007. Only one outbreak case was reported in the years 2008 and 2009.
This is good news for Bangladesh as well as the UNICEF. Harmless as it may seem, measles is actually a disease that claims thousands of children’s lives each year, especially those who are under the age of five.

It has been nearly five months since Ketsana and two other powerful typhoons have devastated the country of the Philippines but aid workers are reporting that there are still thousands of displaced people even after most evacuation centers have shut their doors.

According to Paula Brennan, the Ketsana response manager for Oxfam, the situation in the country is unfortunately getting worse and victims are forced to cope with it. She also talks about the need of several evacuation centers to close down for various reasons. For instance, churches that were used as evacuation centers needed to close down because of the masses last Christmas seasons. Schools have also stopped accommodating evacuees because classes have begun.

It was the 26th of September last year when without a warning, Ketsana filled 80% of Manila with four days’ amount of rainwater in a few hours. It wasn’t long before typhoons Parma and Mirinae followed suit and wreaked havoc across the country.

Earlier this year, the International Organization for Migration or IOM reported that more than 5,000 families have been forced to evacuate their homes. But this figure is estimated to be higher since the survey did not include families who sought refuge in the homes of their relatives.

The communities around Laguna de Bay have been particularly affected. The lake is the largest in the Philippines and is the main source of livelihoods for nearby fishing villages. A single mother, Anna Maravilla, used to run a fishing business along with her brother. When Laguna de Bay overflowed due to Ketsana, Anna’s home were among the houses destroyed. Anna and her family have now been relocated thrice since September.

If you have just gotten married and you want you honeymoon to be a unique experience that you and your new spouse can share then why not opt for a humanitarian honeymoon instead? A humanitarian or charity honeymoon provides newlyweds with the opportunity to enjoy the first chapter of their married life while doing something good for the environment and for a community. This opportunity is a great chance for those who have always been active at charitable work and those who have always wanted to be a humanitarian.

You can search for your ideal humanitarian honeymoon by consulting your local charities, talking to other volunteers and doing some research online. Charity workers will provide you with a humanitarian trip based on your skills and interest. For instance, if you’re interested in eco-friendly work, then you will have plenty of options to choose from. For instance, you can volunteer for habitat conservation, wildlife conversation, rainforest conservation or marine conservation.

If you and your spouse are both in the medical industry then you can also opt for a humanitarian trip that allows you to provide healthcare in impoverished communities. If you have a passion for teaching, you can also head educational classes in English, crafts, vocational subjects and more.

A humanitarian honeymoon may sound exciting on paper but you have to remember that it’s also hard work. It won’t be your typical honeymoon where you and your partner get to enjoy relaxing by the poolside, sipping tropical drinks and eating in fancy restaurants every night. On the other hand, it will be a trip that will allow you to share your blessings with others.