Tag Archives: helping

Kenyan Innovator Uses Solar And AI Tools To Help Farmers Tackle Climate Challenges

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Climate change is increasingly threatening agriculture in Kenya, where farming remains the backbone of the economy and the primary source of income for millions of families. With up to 75 percent of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, unpredictable weather patterns and declining soil productivity are putting growing pressure on rural communities.

Against this backdrop, Kenyan entrepreneur Maryanne Gichanga is using technology to help smallholder farmers adapt to a changing climate and improve crop productivity.

Speaking ahead of the International Day of Clean Energy, observed annually on January 26, she described how innovations such as solar-powered sensors and artificial intelligence-driven satellite data are helping farmers better understand their soil conditions, crop health and local weather patterns.

Personal Experience Inspires Innovation

Gichanga’s interest in agricultural innovation is rooted in her own childhood experiences.

She grew up in a farming family and witnessed firsthand how climate change began affecting harvests and livelihoods.

“I grew up in a farming set-up. My parents are farmers. I witnessed a lot of harvests, but when climate change started happening, we could not understand what was happening,” she said.

When crop yields declined, the impact was felt across the entire household. Farming was the family’s main source of income, and poor harvests meant fewer opportunities, including difficulties paying for education.

Those experiences motivated her to search for solutions that could help farming families cope with climate uncertainty.

“I always wanted to offer solutions to my parents and other people from farming families,” she explained. “That is what inspired me to start my company and work with people who are like-minded to build technology that supports smallholder farmers.”

Technology Helping Farmers Make Better Decisions

Through her work, Gichanga provides farmers with access to data that was previously unavailable to many small-scale agricultural communities.

Solar-powered sensors placed in farmland monitor soil moisture and other environmental conditions. These devices are combined with satellite imagery and artificial intelligence tools that analyse crop growth and changing weather patterns.

The information helps farmers make better decisions about irrigation, planting schedules and soil management, improving both productivity and resilience to climate shocks.

Her work has been supported by Greenovations Africa, a programme backed by the United Nations that supports women entrepreneurs working on climate and sustainability solutions.

The initiative provides training, mentorship and seed funding to help early-stage businesses expand their impact.

Breaking Barriers In A Male-Dominated Field

Despite the success of her work, Gichanga says building a technology-focused agricultural company has not been easy.

Agriculture and technology sectors across many parts of Africa remain largely male dominated, and women often face skepticism about their leadership and technical expertise.

“In Africa, communities are quite patriarchal,” she said. “Trying to get into this male-dominated field is hard because people would rather work with a man.”

She noted that some people initially doubted that women could lead technological innovations in agriculture.

Over time, however, demonstrations of the technology and visible results helped build trust with farmers and communities.

Persistence, collaboration and a clear sense of purpose, she said, were essential in overcoming those obstacles.

“You cannot give up. Collaborate with the people you meet and eventually it will work out,” she added.

Transforming Lives Through Agricultural Innovation

For Gichanga, the most rewarding part of her work is seeing how improved farming practices directly change people’s lives.

Access to better data can increase crop yields, strengthen farmers’ bargaining power and help families achieve greater financial stability.

“When you empower farmers, their lives change,” she said.

She recalled moments when farmers who once struggled to buy seeds were eventually able to sell their harvest at better prices and regain control over their livelihoods.

Such progress, she said, reinforces the importance of continuing to develop solutions that strengthen rural economies.

Encouraging The Next Generation Of Women Innovators

Gichanga also hopes her journey will encourage more women and young people to pursue innovation in agriculture and climate action.

Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: start, even if the path ahead seems uncertain.

“You will learn along the way, and there are many people who will support you financially or offer advice and training,” she said.

“There is no perfect time to start. You will never feel fully prepared. Just do it and don’t be scared.”

As climate change continues to reshape agricultural systems across Africa, innovators like Gichanga are demonstrating how technology and determination can help farmers adapt and build more resilient futures.

Top marks for Lebanon schools project helping marginalised kids

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According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 300,000 children with disabilities in Lebanon today, although data is limited. To help them access learning opportunities, the UN agency and Lebanese authorities launched a pilot project in 2018 to create inclusive schools in 30 public institutions across all governorates.

Today, that number has grown to 117 inclusive schools nationwide.

Equal right to learning

All children need access to inclusive schools and inclusive environments, Amal El Jabali, an Education Officer with UNICEF Lebanon, told UN News.

“It is not about society including them – it is about society adapting its ways to ensure they are part of the community and have an equal right to be there.”

Under the programme, children with disabilities can receive therapy and gain access to assistive devices at participating schools, creating a more level playing field.

Follow their dreams

At Al Fadila Inclusive Public School in Tripoli, 10-year-old Lama studies alongside her classmates, supported by teachers, paraprofessionals and special educators. She is determined that her dwarfism will not hold her back.

She dreams of becoming a chef and believes that anything is possible, said Ms. El Jabali, adding that with the right support, children like Lama can be empowered to follow their dreams and reach their full potential.

After all, every child has a right to education, UNICEF insists.

UN migration agency helping migrants in the US return home voluntarily

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In a statement on Monday, the UN agency said it is supporting Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) – not deportation – for those who decide to leave the US.

At the request of the US Government, IOM is helping people who register to go back to their countries of origin voluntarily.

“AVR is a well-established, rights-based approach that helps migrants navigate complex global migration systems, regain control over their lives, and make informed choices,” the agency said.

Safe, dignified returns

“Our role is to ensure that those who lack the means to return on their own can do so in a safe, dignified, and informed way,” IOM added.

The agency made it clear that the US determines its own policies on migration. “IOM does not facilitate or implement deportations. Our involvement begins only after an individual gives informed consent to receive assistance.”

In these instances, “IOM ensures that people have access to accurate information and essential services, in line with international standards.”

The announcement comes as the US seeks to expand deportation of undocumented migrants in continuation of a policy President Donald Trump began nearly 10 years ago under his first administration.

He returned to office in January for a second term and has been cracking down on illegal immigration through raids, detentions and deportations. 

In a video posted to social media on Friday, President Trump said that he had signed an Executive Order “to launch the first-ever self-deportation programme for illegal aliens,” offering free flights from the US and payment of an “exit bonus.”

Support for a life-changing decision

IOM was established in 1951 and promotes humane and orderly migration.

For decades the agency has supported AVR programmes in more than 100 countries, “helping people without resources, legal options, or support return to their countries of origin safely and with dignity,” it said.

IOM noted that in the US, “many migrants face a challenging reality – navigating complex systems with limited options and resources,” and “this initiative provides support to those who choose to return, helping them make a life-changing decision with care and clarity.” 

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Random acts of kindness make recipients feel elated

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Even though they often enhance happiness, acts of kindness such as giving a friend a ride or bringing food for a sick family member can be somewhat rare because people underestimate how good these actions make recipients feel, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.

The study by UT Austin McCombs School of Business Assistant Professor of Marketing Amit Kumar, along with Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago, found that although givers tend to focus on the object they’re providing or action they’re performing, receivers instead concentrate on the feelings of warmth the act of kindness has conjured up. This means that givers’ “miscalibrated expectations” can function as a barrier to performing more prosocial behaviors such as helping, sharing or donating.

The research is online in advance in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

To quantify these attitudes and behaviors, the researchers conducted a series of experiments.

In one, the researchers recruited 84 participants in Chicago’s Maggie Daley Park. Participants could choose whether to give away to a stranger a cup of hot chocolate from the park’s food kiosk or keep it for themselves. Seventy-five agreed to give it away.

Researchers delivered the hot chocolate to the stranger and told them the study participant had chosen to give them their drink. Recipients reported their mood, and performers indicated how they thought recipients felt after getting the drink.

Performers underestimated the significance of their act. They expected recipients’ mood at an average of 2.7 on a scale of -5 (much more negative than normal) to 5 (much more positive than normal), while recipients reported an average of 3.5.

“People aren’t way off base,” Kumar said. “They get that being kind to people makes them feel good. What we don’t get is how good it really makes others feel.”

The researchers also performed a similar experiment in the same park with cupcakes. They recruited 200 participants and divided them into two groups. In the control group, 50 participants received a cupcake for participating. They rated their mood, and the other 50 people rated how they thought the receivers felt after getting a cupcake.

For the second group of 100, 50 people were told they could give away their cupcake to strangers. They rated their own mood and the expected mood of the cupcake recipients. The researchers found that participants rated cupcake recipients’ happiness at about the same level whether they got their cupcake through an act of random kindness or from the researchers. What’s more, recipients who received a cupcake through an act of kindness were happier than control group recipients.

“Performers are not fully taking into account that their warm acts provide value from the act itself,” Kumar said. “The fact that you’re being nice to others adds a lot of value beyond whatever the thing is.”

In a lab experiment, Kumar and Epley added a component to assess the consequences of kindness. Participants first either received a gift from the lab store or were gifted one by another participant, then played a game. All participants who received an item were told to divide $100 between themselves and an unknown study recipient.

The researchers found that recipients who received their lab gift through another participant’s random act of kindness were more generous to strangers during the game. They divvyed up the $100 more equally, giving away $48.02 on average versus $41.20.

“It turns out generosity can actually be contagious,” Kumar said. “Receivers of a prosocial act can pay it forward. Kindness can actually spread.”