Mercy Corps in the news
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West Bank and Gaza: For Palestinians, Google's Small Change Is A Big Deal May 15, 2013
"Google means a lot to us," he says. "[No day passes] without using Google." That might be especially true for Kumboz. He is part of Gaza Sky Geeks, an incubator for nascent IT businesses. It was started by Mercy Corps, and is funded by a £540,000 grant from Google's charitable arm. So far, Kumboz has developed a game, called Mighty Cow, in which players help save a rather sweet-looking cow from the butcher's knife.
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Colombia: Colombian rebels recruit child fighters even as they negotiate to end conflict May 15, 2013
Colombia’s largest rebel organisation has stepped up the recruitment of children to boost its weakened fighting units even as it talks peace with the government, according to child welfare workers, officials and community leaders.
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The FP Power Map April 30, 2013
Foreign Policy magazine's inaugural FP Power Map cites Mercy Corps’ CEO Neal Keny-Guyer as one of the world’s 500 most powerful people. Editors of the May/June 2013 issue used a "'list of lists' approach, consulting the authoritative rankings for a given industry and substituting judgment where quantitative assessments do not exist," to identify the 500 people with the most influence on the world today. Keny-Guyer, who has led Mercy Corps since 1994, is recognized on the alphabetical list as a force for good.
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Lebanon, Syria: Syrian refugees in Lebanon need our help April 2, 2013
Imagine the population of your town swelling with war refugees by 25 percent in one year – or even doubling or tripling in size. Imagine the competition for work, housing, and social and medical services.
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West Bank and Gaza: As Obama visits the West Bank, Palestinians reach for their tech startup future March 25, 2013
Sitting in Snobar, a cool bar shaded by fir trees in deepest Ramallah, George Khadder is practically thumping the table as he speaks. A Palestinian who has worked in Silicon Valley, he talks passionately about his desire for Palestinian entrepreneurs to control their own destiny. “I came back from Silicon Valley because I believed I could affect change,” he tells me. It’s a sentiment that has been echoed during President Obama’s visit to Israel and the West Bank.
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Mali: What we must get right before attention falls elsewhere February 19, 2013
Mali, long on the international backburner, is now having its moment in prime-time. Media from around the world have breathlessly covered the lightning offensive by French and Malian military forces and the liberation of the legendary city of Timbuktu. But the limelight is already beginning to fade, obscuring that the hardest task is yet to come. Restoring a degree of normality in northern Mali will mean dealing with a humanitarian emergency and building peace amid weak governance and worsening ethnic tensions.
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Haiti: Haiti launches micro-finance catastrophe insurance program February 11, 2013
When Hurricane Sandy struck Haiti late last year, the home Guerda Pierre shares with her three children and mother in Cabaret, north of Port-au-Prince, was flooded — and so was the merchandise she sold to make a living. "The books, the food, everything was wet after Sandy," said Pierre. The plantain plants and beans in her garden were also destroyed. But unlike the majority of Haitians, Pierre had an insurance policy.
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Resilience meets disaster economics February 6, 2013
Each January, thousands of leaders—from the private sector, civil society and government—gather in the snowy hamlet of Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. Each year, we wrestle with weighty issues, including global recession, energy crises, and political upheavals. This year was different. Instead of focusing on the problems of today, we considered how to anticipate and better prepare for the problems of tomorrow. The World Economic Forum calls this concept “resilient dynamism.” I call it smart work that is long overdue.
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Jordan, Syria: Syrian refugees flood into Jordan January 28, 2013
Several thousand Syrian refugees cross the border into Jordan every day – in the dark, braving shots fired by the Syrian military. They find safety but not comfort, as the refugee camps are days from filling up. NBC’s Stephanie Gosk reports.
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Jordan, Syria: Refugees struggle with cold, hunger and uncertainty January 15, 2013
HAMED ONE RECEPTION Centre, Jordan -- Just after dark on a bitterly cold January night, a truck full of refugees arrived at a reception centre on the border with Syria. Carrying their belongings in suitcases and plastic bags, about 50 men, women and children climbed out of a Jordanian military vehicle. A little girl cried while clinging to an older sister. A frail elderly man had to be helped off the truck. One teenage boy arrived without a coat and wearing plastic sandals on his bare feet.