Category: Blog
Get together
Are you looking for opportunities to get together with friends and families? Host a 20 year celebration and support families in Kenya at the same time – right now they are still dealing with the impact of the pandemic with high case numbers, no vaccines, rising poverty levels – they need your support more than […]
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20-year challenge #WalkOurJourney
For 20 years we have worked tirelessly with families addressing many inequalities. Our goal is to protect all daughters from FGM and teenage pregnancy so they can finish school giving them better options in life; all sons to have the tools and direction they need to grow into responsible men; all mothers to be safe […]
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Menstrual health: the essential universal passport
Have you ever thought about something that could be a universal passport? A passport to education; a passport to employment; a passport to positive mental health, to self-esteem? For me this is the sanitary pad! Here in Kenya many girls and women do not have access to sanitary pads – they stay home from school […]
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Green sauce and sprinkles
Listening to the radio last week I was both amazed and delighted that finally conversations were taking place on subjects that before now were taboo. Who would believe that Joe Duffy would be taking about menopause! Of all subjects on National radio in broad daylight and not just for a half hour segment for the […]
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Healthy childhoods and making milestones – Maria Kidney reflects
Maria Kidney (Co-founder and Director) and Martin Ballantyne (CEO) have made the difficult decision to remain in Kenya this Christmas. There are too many reasons as to why they simply cannot leave…
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1,000 children need our help
When COVID-19 stop schools re-opening – what happens to the children? COVID-19 has brought about many challenges not least to the lives of the children across Kericho County. As we launch a fundraising campaign to support community based learning groups for the children, we asked Maria Kidney – (co-founder and director) who has remained in […]
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Smokeless Stoves in relation to climate action
Habari, my name is Freya Casey and I am a final year International Development and Food Policy student, in UCC. I am writing a piece on smokeless stoves and how they are helping the environment and the health of the communities where Brighter Communities Worldwide work. This blog is following on from my previous blog […]
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The Wonders of Biodiversity
Ned Dwyer is a volunteer with Brighter Communities Worldwide. He is a freelance consultant in environmental management and climate change issues. We have invited Ned to write a blog for World Environment Day 2020 – Celebrate Biodiversity. It was my aunt, Bid, who introduced me to the wonders of biodiversity – although it is not a […]
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2020 International Year of the Nurse and Midwife
When I was asked early in the year to write a blog on being a nurse/midwife for World Health Day, I agreed without giving too much thought. I planned on writing a bit about my professional career as an Emergency Department nurse in Mercy University Hospital Cork and my volunteering experience with Brighter Communities Worldwide […]
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It’s a big enough umbrella to help us all!
Maria Kidney has been involved in Brighter Communities Worldwide since its inception as co-founder and leader of the first volunteer group who travelled to Kenya in 2002. Maria works as a consultant with many organisations, non-profit and government sectors, globally developing, implementing and evaluating strategies, programmes and results. She continues to volunteer with Brighter Communities […]
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Celebrating Kenya
This year’s Kenya Ball took place on Saturday, October 12th at Rochestown Park Hotel and has been described by frequent attendees as “The best one yet”. The purpose of the Kenya Ball is not only to fundraise but for us all to come together and celebrate all that we do and all who we are … to […]
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Challenged but not defeated
Hello from a slightly stiff and sore Aoife. I am the Fundraiser at Brighter Communities Worldwide and this is my first experience in organizing and partaking in the Brighter Communities Worldwide Mountain Challenge. On Saturday, 17th of August, 43 participants set out to tackle the Galtee Mountain Range on a group Hike. The Galtee Mountain Range […]
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