Almost two years ago, Roots and Wings International wrote on our blog about the film Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, a film that chronicled the search for evidence and truth about former Guatemalan President Efrain Ríos Montt’s role in genocide. Now, in the wake of Ríos Montt’s conviction this spring, Cultural Survival writes about how this [...]
This past month, the SeeYourImpact Club at Interlake High School organized an online fundraising campaign to benefit Roots and Wings International. The two-year-old club first launched its interactive webpage in May, through SeeYourImpact.org, a platform that provides nonprofits with the technology to engage their community and share stories about the lives they change. In this [...]
In my last post I shared my experiences of engaging with the British public to raise awareness ahead of the 2013 G8 Summit, and it is with great pleasure that I can announce the great commitments that were made by our leaders. One of the main items on the agenda, and perhaps the most widely [...]
Soccer (or futbol) is one of the world’s most popular sports, and definitely the most popular sport in Latin America. As the world gears up for the 2014 World Cup (Copa Mundial) in Brazil, Brazil itself has been preparing to host the soccer tournament, as well as the 2016 Olympic Games, for the past few [...]
Roots and Wings International continues to further development in Pasac, Guatemala, through their latest project of a water purification system. The first such project of its kind in the region, the clean water supply will service to combat the health dangers posed by the toxic waters consumed by the villagers. Guatemala has the fourth highest [...]
This week it’s only right to post a blog about the G8. As you may well be aware, the eight members of the G8 High Level Panel are meeting this week in Northern Ireland to discuss a range of hot topics which are of particular interest to developing countries – Kofi Annan has publicly said [...]
Roots and Wings International stands out in the world of non-profit organizations for its remarkable group of volunteers. The Guatemala office is entirely managed and staffed by the local communities members. The international group of volunteers, who hail from across the United States and UK, supports the local staff in promoting RWI’s mission of local [...]
For the past four days (and through May 30th), indigenous peoples from around the world are convening in New York City for the Twelfth Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). There is no better time for continued discussions on the political, economic, social, and cultural rights of indigenous peoples, considering the dramatic twists [...]
Guatemala’s Constitutional Court Overturns Rios Montt Conviction and Sends Trial Back to April 19 by Emi MacLean Only ten days after a trial court issued its historic verdict convicting Efrain Rios Montt for genocide and crimes against humanity, and sentencing him to prison for 80 years, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court, in a 3-2 ruling, overturned the [...]
I’ve just returned from a talk by the awe-inspiring Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Tonight Yunus, who received an honorary degree from the London School of Economics back in 2011, spoke about his journey to become known as the ‘Banker to the Poor’ in a very packed lecture theatre on LSE’s campus. Yunus led us through [...]
In my previous post I explained that I wanted to start sharing stories here about science, technology and innovations that are making improvements in the developing world. This week’s focus is on a product that is literally shedding new light on the issue of lack of access to clean lighting sources in developing countries. Meet [...]
By Renata Avila for Global Voices: Guatemalan de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt was declared guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. After organizing and fighting in courts for years, Guatemala’s Ixil Maya indigenous achieved justice. The verdict was live-tweeted and streamed [es]. While Ríos Montt was declared guilty and sentenced to 80 years in [...]
One of Roots and Wings’ main focuses in Guatemala is education – changing the lives of individuals through access to education and empowering those individuals to create lasting change in their communities. Sometimes, it can be hard to visualize what “education” looks like in Guatemala coming from an American educational background. I recently came across [...]
With the summer holidays approaching for U.S. students, it is interesting to note that summer vacation as U.S. students know it takes place in December for Guatemalan students. Conversely, during the summer, Guatemalan students only get one week off. Last summer, we discovered that, during their brief vacation, RWI students stayed committed to their families [...]
The sun is shining here in London on this jolly May bank holiday. My only real concern today has been how much studying I’ll manage to do, and so I have stayed inside to get on with it. The fact that this an utter luxury compared to the concerns faced by girls around the world [...]
