In Timor-Leste, which shares its island with Indonesia’s West Timor, there is a dangerous combination of a lack of understanding about the transmission of HIV and a strong stigma against those who are HIV-positive. CWS works in partnership with the East Timorese Defense Force, whose acronym is F-FDTL, the Ministry of Health and the United States Department of Defense to …

In the remote communities of northern Vietnam, where many ethnic minorities live, most babies are born at home. Pregnant women go to distant clinics for pre- or post-natal checkups, but they are hesitant around health care workers – no matter how qualified or well-intentioned they are – who often do not speak their language. The combination of clinic inaccessibility and …

In remote northern Vietnam, challenges to education can be steep: literally. Most ethnic minority students live in remote villages far from schools, especially those for older children. Roads and trails can be dangerous, particularly in the rainy season. Beyond the challenges that come from physically getting to school, community attitudes towards education are not enthusiastic. Education is not a priority …

As a special component to CWS’s response to the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, CWS worked with four members of ASR Haiti to repair or build schools. ASR Haiti – an acronym translated from the French for “Down with the Restavèk System” – is a network of 18 Haitian community based organisations joining forces to combat child domestic servitude. In …

Since July 2014, CWS has partnered with the Association for Rural Development of Haiti with a goal of improving food security and livelihoods of 42 farmers in the town of Lacoma. One element of this partnership is increasing access to water. There is only one water source in Lacoma and no rivers. When there is no rain, there is no …

While South America’s Gran Chaco region is prone to drought – stretches of up to nine months with no rainfall may happen – there are underground water sources in the region. With the right equipment and training, indigenous communities can access the water that’s beneath their feet. The Wichi have historically been hunter-gatherers. Due to the rapid deforestation affecting the …

After nine months of drought, the fall season finally brings some long awaited rain for the farmers in the Northwest department of Haiti, a CWS priority area identified as the department with the highest food insecurity rate in the nation. The lack of rain has been an issue of increasing concern in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic over the …