World News & Stories

Buying cruelty-free makeup may be a no-brainer. Then last year I found out that the “cruelty-free” products I was using might not be cruelty free for children.

When rebels attacked and burned their village in Central African Republic, 15 year-old Angela and 11 year-old Innes escaped with their mothers during the night, carrying nothing but the clothes they were wearing. Now they are in a safer place, but at the same time, they’re facing a different kind of danger. One that lasts much longer. The prospect of no education and a difficult road ahead. 

When civil war first erupted in Nyamal’s village, four years ago, she became one of the four million people who were forced to flee their homes. At Nyamal’s school in the camp, students learn to read and write, tackle math equations, learn about science and how to be good leaders in the future.
 

Jipara and her family were forced to flee their home in Myanmar when their village was burned down by the military, and it was no longer safe to stay. She attends a Child Friendly Space at the refugee camp where she tries hard to continue to learn and teach the other children.

After fleeing war-torn Somalia, Fatuma says education literally saved her life. She spent much of her childhood and adolescence in a refugee camp in Kenya, and is currently attending the University of Toronto. “Going to school gave me hope for a better future,” Fatuma says.

After the horror of Nepal’s 2015 earthquake, Nikita struggled to find the courage to step indoors. Her own home and school were badly damaged. Nikita joined the thousands of Nepali students who were trying to keep up with lessons in temporary structures, during the weeks and months that their schools were off-limits.

Seven examples of countries in crisis. Seven girls, coming of age amidst unthinkable circumstances. They share a common courage, in the face of danger and deprivation. And they share something else: an urgent need for education. Hadeel is the first girl.

As someone who survived a mental illness, I'm glad conversations around mental illness are beginning—especially for women in the world’s toughest places.

Robert’s favourite video game is League of Legends. Like most 14-year-old boys, he could spend countless hours playing it. But there’s one big thing that sets Robert apart from other boys his age — he makes charcoal for a living. 
 

We’ve gathered 10 unique ingredients for food activism. These life ingredients take care of the earth and share the bounty with the most vulnerable in our global community.

You want to purchase flowers for someone special. You also want to be socially responsible. Where do you start in the search for ethically sourced flowers?
 

This World Day to End Child Labour is a poignant one for me. It’s been over three years since I started living as a more conscious consumer, by educating myself about child labour in the products I buy and use. That all started with a little blue dress I bought in England.

Malala Yousafzai is a name that, by now, should need no introduction. The youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate, and a courageous champion for girls' right to education, she is a hero to girls everywhere.

Meet Melvin. He's only 11, but he says he can't remember the last time he played as a child. As a worker on a coffee farm, Melvin let go of childhood a long time ago.

Everyone knows Indian weddings are extravagant, colourful and dazzling. When I received the invite from one of my best friends to attend her wedding in India, I couldn't say no.

In 2004, Gennri became part of a World Vision-sponsored savings group, which serves as a bank for the poor.

My first public screening of the film Girl Rising was in Seattle. The theatre was sold out. The energy was electric. Despite five years of work on the film and a huge campaign to support it, I wasn’t nervous. I was more curious to see how people would respond to the stories on the screen.

The health clinic in Nnalinya, a village in central Uganda was in very poor shape. And as things go in Nnalinya, being one of the poorest and least serviced parts of Uganda, it would have remained that way for many years if not for the determined advocacy efforts of local residents.

Learn how child marriage, female genital mutilation and obstetric fistula negatively impact millions of women and girls around the world.

I live in Toronto, a city full of high rises and a population over 6 million, if you include the surrounding suburban area. While the city is not usually known as a hotbed for sustainable living, you will find farmers; markets scattered around the city.