USAID LGP Film English voice
Published on Apr 26, 2017 Adrian Banda carries the weight of his world on his shoulders. He is a slender man with chiseled high cheek bones and solemn eyes. Quiet and contemplative from afar, Adrian transforms when he speaks. Both fast and determined, a current of words cascade out of his mouth in his local dialect, Chichewa, and broken English. Adrian is a man who wears many hats. He is a farmer, a husband, a father of five and a guardian to another dependent who lives in his home. Adrian also serves his community as a volunteer community health worker. With a health system choked by a shortage of doctors and other health workers, volunteers like Adrian are essential in their communities.
Chuma and Sifuba’s story features in one of the seven real-life video case studies that are part of the Moving Forward Together guide, produced by WorldFish and Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
In the young half-island nation of Timor-Leste, fisheries are small-scale and have low catch rates, meaning fish is an underexploited source of nutrition and protein that can help combat the country’s high rate of malnutrition. Recognizing this, WorldFish is partnering with Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to lead a project funded by the Kingdom of Norway to develop the fisheries sector. Key project activities include a nearshore stock assessment, deployment of fish aggregating devices (FADs) in five rural communities and drafting of a new national fisheries strategy.
In Bangladesh, many poor fishers struggle to cope during the government-imposed hilsa fishing ban. Boosting the resilience of the communities whose livelihoods depend on hilsa (also known as ilish), the national fish of Bangladesh, is therefore the goal of the USAID-funded Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh (ECOFISH Bangladesh) project. Since 2014, the project has established 280 hilsa conservation groups in 81 villages, and is training women in new livelihood activities such as vegetable gardening.
The Mekong River in Cambodia’s Stung Treng Province has been designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. It is a unique environment, with deep pools that harbor young fish and seasonally flooded forests where numerous species of fish go to spawn. In 2011, WorldFish initiated a research project to provide technical support to 15 Community Fisheries groups. This video was filmed in August 2017.
WorldFish and Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs partnered together to produce the Moving Forward Together guide, which is now ready for piloting with communities. The guide, which includes seven real-life video case studies, will be used by facilitators in community workshops, where women and men will be invited to examine and re-shape gender norms and practices. The aim of the guide is to create an inclusive society where women and men mutually respect each other and make shared decisions.
Nearly half of Earth’s forests have been cleared or degraded – but we have the power to change this! WRI’s Global Restoration Initiative works with governments and international partners to inspire, enable and mobilize action to restore vitality to degraded landscapes and forests around the globe. Global Restoration Council Co-Chair Wanjira Mathai describes how restoring degraded landscapes can benefit people and planet.
Faced with devastating hunger, three women in Ethiopia learn to farm nutritious sweet potatoes to feed their children. See how USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, Food for the Hungry, and GOAL partnered with this community to change and improve their lives.
