News
A Conference, an Exhibit, a Plan
December 13, 2017
More than 330 participants attended a two-day conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on the National Plan of Action for Combating Human Trafficking. Organized by the government of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Trafficking in Persons Program (BC-TIP), implemented by Winrock International, the conference featured remarks by USAID Mission Director Janina Jaruzelski as well as the secretary of Bangladesh’s […]
Water Security and the Global Water Strategy
December 13, 2017
By Eric Viala, Sustainable Water Partnership Director On November 1, in what otherwise might have been a typical congressional hearing, Republican Congressman Charles Dent looked toward his former colleague, newly installed USAID Administrator Mark Green, and posed an interesting question: “Water scarcity is known as a threat multiplier… What more will USAID do under your […]
Innovative Job Portal That Prevents Trafficking Named Best Tech in Asia
December 7, 2017
December 7, 2017 — The 2017 ASEAN Information and Communication Technology Awards recognized Bong Pheak, a USAID-funded employment service for low-skilled workers, as the year’s most important technology-for-development initiative in ASEAN. Winners were selected by a panel of regional business and innovation specialists. Bong Pheak is an internet-based employment service for unskilled factory, construction and […]
Life Lessons
December 4, 2017
“Before, I did not know what my children were learning in school. Now, I can guide them,” says Tamanna Khatun, the mother of five sons who lives in Khulna, Bangladesh. “I wanted to learn how to write my name; that’s why I enrolled in this class,” says her classmate, Parveen Begum. Tamanna and Parveen didn’t […]
SWP to Continue Wilson Center Series with “The Challenge of Too Much Water”
November 29, 2017
From Hurricane Harvey to Typhoon Damrey, this season’s extreme weather events have made it clear that too much water can be as deadly as too little. Flooded streets, destroyed villages, unsafe water: as these and other impacts of extreme weather increase, how can we help already vulnerable communities prepare for the next wave? And how […]
Winning Innovations
November 27, 2017
A low-cost aquaponics operation in Nepal. A mobile app that helps farmers work together to share equipment and manage their incomes. These are just two of the new ideas pitched at the Tech4Farmers Asia Challenge 2.0 in Bangkok this fall. The event, organized by USAID and Winrock International, brought together some of South and Southeast […]
“We Are Still In”
November 16, 2017
Speaking at USAID’s Global Innovation Week in late September, Winrock President and CEO Rodney Ferguson pledged to continue meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Winrock International maintains that pledge every day with projects that safeguard critical ecosystems and strengthen natural resource management. Winrock has also been present at the 23rd annual Conference of […]
Letter from Sumba
November 9, 2017
Illustration by Jessica Kelley; Story and Photographs By Anne Cassidy To reach Kataka School, you drive east along the coast from Waingapu, then head south into the rugged hills of Sumba, Indonesia. Flashes of silvery ocean appear outside the car windows, and, deeper inland, a herd of wild horses. As you near the school you […]
Keeping Heads Above Water
November 8, 2017
Arriving in Katmandu days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, I watched footage of the storm’s torrential rains batter southern Texas and saw heartbreaking images of families trapped on rooftops surrounded by toxic stormwater. Here in Nepal, more than 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away from Houston, the worst monsoon season in years is also inundating villages […]
Hydraulic Despots and the Origins of Water Planning
November 8, 2017
To understand modern water management, it helps to go back thousands of years, to the Hydraulic Empires of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and Mesoamerica. These early advanced civilizations grew out of the need to divert water for human use and to harness the power of flowing water. The more control the ruling elites took over […]