News
SWP to Hold Discussion about Mara River Basin Project
January 25, 2021
Join the USAID Sustainable Water Partnership (SWP) and its partners in Kenya and Tanzania for a discussion about the project’s achievements, lessons learned, and the future of transboundary water governance in the Mara River Basin. To attend the event, click here. Beginning in 2018, SWP worked with transboundary, national, regional, and local institutions and community organizations […]
In Mali, Girls Thrive Despite the Challenges
January 14, 2021
Growing up in rural Mali, Sali Kassogue had never been to school. That all changed in 2018 when then 11-year-old Sali started attending an accelerated schooling center (ASC) through the USAID-funded Mali Girls Leadership and Empowerment Through Education (GLEE) program. Implemented by Winrock International, Mali GLEE operates more than 300 ASCs that provide a specialized, […]
Building a House — and a Future — in Malawi
January 11, 2021
When he joined the Model Farm School as part of the Achieving Reduction of Child Labor in Support of Education (ARISE) program in Malawi at age 17, Besta Fesitala had no idea that it would change his future, that he would apply what he learned in such a direct and tangible way. ARISE, funded by […]
Thoughts on January 6th
January 7, 2021
President and CEO Rodney Ferguson recently addressed Winrock staff about the events of January 6, 2021. Here are his remarks: Yesterday was one of the darkest, most troubling days in American history. To see what is perhaps the most iconic symbol of American democracy desecrated, and public servants terrorized, and a vital moment in the […]
Reuters article highlights SWP’s work to preserve springs in Kenya
December 23, 2020
A recent Reuters article has highlighted SWP’s collaboration with water resources users associations (WRUAs) in Kenya to protect and rehabilitate springs in the country’s portion of the Mara River Basin. Launched in 2018, effort aims to improve biodiversity and increase access to drinking water in an area where some people walk three miles for drinking water, having […]
Celebrating 35 Years of Making the World Smaller… One Volunteer at a Time
December 16, 2020
Flash back to 1985: “Live Aid” concerts raise millions for famine relief in Ethiopia, Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power and Michael Jordan is named NBA’s Rookie of the Year. In the U.S. Congress, another Farm Bill quietly passes — this one with a tiny amount of funding for an obscure USAID program now officially titled […]
Winrock Introduces Early-Stage Fund to Close Financing Access Gap in Arkansas
December 10, 2020
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – DECEMBER 10, 2020 – Winrock International is pleased to announce the Validation Fund, Arkansas’ first evergreen, not-for-profit fund dedicated to deploying early-stage awards to validation-stage Arkansas startup companies. Powered by an initial $1.1 million contribution from the Walton Family Foundation (WFF), the Validation Fund aids in the creation of jobs and […]
Making Forest Conservation Pay
December 4, 2020
By Chris Warren As a boy growing up on the outskirts of Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park, Koren Gren spent his days surrounded by the natural world. Today, he still does. Gren is the leader of a group responsible for ensuring that a 30-hectare swath of trees remains healthy and intact. From Friday through Sunday […]
Resilient Together: Farmer-to-Farmer in Mali
December 3, 2020
Yacouba Diarra, an émigré from Côte d’Ivoire to Mali, has lived and worked in the small southern community of Bougouni since 2005. Diarra is a member of the 70 member Bougouni Farmers’ Cooperative (BFC), and they organize fishermen and animal breeders to mutually support one another to increase production, improve nutrition, and raise incomes throughout […]
‘Making’ a Safer World
November 12, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic brought regular life to a halt, the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, which is implemented by Winrock International, launched a task force of independent makers and manufacturers to produce personal protective equipment (PPE). Using tools such as laser-cutters and 3D printers, the Hub’s task force produced face shields, acrylic barriers and other […]