Vamos! Radical approach to learning Spanish in Mexico
It’s amazing how much the wandering monoglot can convey with grunts, smiles and gesticulations –but in Latin America, the only way out of the expat bubble is to actually speak Spanish. Who has time though, for months of classes only to prepare for a week’s vacation? Help, it turns out, is at hand. Lina Polonsky-Doyle (not pictured) was born and raised in Venezuela and lived... Read More
Could France’s empty buildings ease its homeless crisis?
In a brazen move to help homeless families endure the cold winter, activists have taken over empty Paris office buildings and moved dozens of people in. Property-owners are alarmed. But the government’s response has been surprising. Read More Read More
Former French Colony Marks Break with Brutal Past
Marking their 50th anniversary of independence, Algerians have been looking back at the triumphs and tragedies that finally led to their pyrrhic victory. In the uprising against French rule that began in 1954, some 150,000 Algerians and 18,000 French troops died. But one thing kept the Algerian nationalists going. Read More Read More
Baby Steps taken to reduce Child Mortality
Not far from the beaches and cafés of seaside Cape Town, is the township of Du Noon, where children play in rubbish-strewn streets near pools of stagnant water and lop-sided rows of outdoor toilets. “They play and eat without washing their hands, so it’s not healthy,” says local health care worker, Nontuthuzelo Debesse, who is paying home visits. “That’s why there’s... Read More
CHILD MORTALITY: A strategy that could help arrest its rise
Not far from the beaches and cafés of seaside Cape Town, is the township of Du Noon, where children play in rubbish-strewn streets near pools of stagnant water and lop-sided rows of outdoor toilets. “They play and eat without washing their hands, so it’s not healthy,” says local health care worker, Nontuthuzelo Debesse, who is paying home visits. “That’s why there’s... Read More
Could they be the Future Leaders of Africa?
Toronto Star>> JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — They have had a hand in changing national legislation in Kenya, built a school for refugees in Uganda and synthesized fuel from natural waste in South Africa — and they’re not even in university yet. This summer, they became the first graduates from the African Leadership Academy, which has drawn students from 33 African nations. ... Read More
South Africans Turn on Foreigners
Toronto Star >> JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Just past midnight, more than a dozen men poured out of the two pickup trucks that pulled up outside of Carlos Mambosassa’s wooden shack in Khayelitsha Township, near Cape Town. Wakened by the loud knock on the door, he says, he faced them on his doorstep. Read More Read More
Racial reconciliation and the World Cup
cbc.ca >> JOHANNESBURG — Seeing South Africa’s FIFA World Cup stadiums throb with fans of numerous nationalities makes it hard to imagine that sports in this country were once systematically divided along racial lines. Read More Read More
Rounded up and run out of town
Toronto Star >> DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA—With uniformed police officers standing over them, bleary-eyed boys and girls slowly get up from the sidewalk, throw their blankets over their shoulders and walk to the police truck, clearly knowing the drill. The officers herd them into the back of the wagon, where they will sit, looking out grilled windows as they’re taken to the... Read More
World Cup Crime: Hysteria vs. Reality
MEDIA-FUELLED HYSTERIA about crime in South Africa is scaring some tourists off from attending the World Cup, and prompting others to take unusual measures to ensure their safety. Of some 350,000 foreign fans expected to attend the 32-team tournament in June and July, those with the money to spend are hiring bodyguards, renting bullet-resistant vehicles, and packing GPS tracking... Read More
