Tag Archives: Kenya

23Sep/22

Women sacrifice their health to shield families from spiking costs

  • Rising inflation is widening gender gaps, say charities
  • Women report skipping medical care to feed families
  • Campaigners sound alarm over government austerity measures

By Nita Bhalla

NAIROBI, Sept 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – When the pain started in Agnes Wachira’s chest almost six months ago, the Kenyan mother-of-three dismissed it as a symptom of the daily grind of working long hours hand-washing clothes in the narrow lanes of Nairobi’s Kawangware informal settlement.
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11Aug/22

Scam loan apps extorting Mexicans thrive in Google Play Store

  • Menacing messages, threats spiral along with debt
  • Legal loophole creates Wild West for lending apps
  • Complaints mount but regulators powerless to act

By Diana Baptista and Avi Asher -Schapiro

MEXICO CITY, Aug 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A week after Pedro Figueroa borrowed 10,000 pesos ($500) from José Cash, a popular Mexican lending app, the barrage of online abuse began.

A slew of WhatsApp messages swamped his phone, threatening harm – to him and his reputation – if he did not pay. Continue reading

05Aug/22

Beyoncé has helped usher in a renaissance for African artists

James Chikomborero Paradza, University of Pretoria

Beyoncé has released her seventh solo studio album, titled Renaissance (2022). The album, an event in global popular culture, is the first of a three-part project by the US artist. Her previous outing, the visual album Black is King (2020), collaborated with a host of African artists. Renaissance pays tribute to black dance music and again features African artists, including Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, who is having a global moment of her own.

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04Aug/22

As online hate speech hits Africa, social media firms told to act

  • Online hate speech targets Zimbabweans in South Africa
  • Widespread digital abuse also seen in Ghana, Kenya
  • Culturally sensitive content moderation key, say activists

By Kim Harrisberg and Nita Bhalla

JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, Aug 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Social media used to be a source of light entertainment for Nora, a 47-year-old Zimbabwean domestic worker living in South Africa. But lately, it has become a source of fear.
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19Jul/22

Africans turn to crypto as charity funding dwindles

  • Fundraising via crypto, NFTs grows amid funding downturn
  • Advocates say crypto donations faster, easier to access
  • Challenges include internet, power access and gender gap

By Kagondu Njagi

NAIROBI, July 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A sculpture of a giant tap spewing plastic waste greeted delegates at U.N. environment talks in Kenya earlier this year – a reminder of the urgent need for them to agree a global pact to curb plastic pollution.

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18Jul/22

The Cost of Living Crisis: The Human Impact

People around the world are facing increasing pressures on their day-to-day lives. Food, energy bills and living costs are rocketing as inflation reaches record levels due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and rising global instability.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation has spoken to people living in 18 countries around the world in an attempt to gauge the human impact of the crisis.
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