It’s been said that money can’t buy happiness. While this can be true in many ways, a steady source of income can alleviate many stressors. Living below the poverty line in the United States leaves many families looking for a roof to sleep under each night, ways to put food on the table, and the means to obtain physical and mental healthcare. A recent study done by researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) reports that you don’t have to be homeless to experience both adverse physical and mental health outcomes from housing insecurity. The study interviewed more than 22,000 families about...

In the everlasting struggle for human rights, the advocacy of women’s equality is one of the most controversial and complex aspects. The importance of considering the huge ethnic, religious and cultural differentiation and the complexity of the contemporary world is vital, when demanding the realization of these rights. To establish and achieve political, economic, personal and social gender equality means to consider each diversity and to treat that diversity according to the person’s values, without trying to have a cultural or ideological hegemony. So, why when it comes to Muslim women, the...

What is this world that is full of cruelty? Where should I live to find people with honesty? Humans on this earth are without humanity. They proclaim in media about freedom and liberty. But in the real world they despise me. Do they hate me because of religion, colour or nationality? Why do they treat me with racism and inequality? Ain't I a human who should live with them equally?

Syria sees its first major national campaign: 16 Days of Activism is a campaign that was organized by the United Nations Population Fund in Syria. The campaign succeeded in portraying the solidarity and resilience of the Syrian community. After the crisis hit, it was a great challenge for all the partners to run a harmonized program in 8 cities (Damascus, Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Lattakia, Tartous and Swida). However, our goal is to keep spreading the same values we worked on in this campaign. Today, UNFPA along with 7 local partners is celebrating the success of illuminating Syria...

They say the world is a Spectrum, More than infinite shades that fit in between Violet and Red. Mix them all up to get White, Their absence stains Black. But in this world of non binaries and, multiple mixed colors; Don't we find stark contrasts? Like Black and White derived from the spectrum. Like the poor that call slums their home and the privileged living within glass doors. Like politicians that call the Amazon their own, dissecting the planet's very lungs, corrupting it with mines, mills and more. And in contrast the people that fight for their forests to live; Sheltering the flora...

It’s not my cup of tea to dramatize. I might be an opera singer, but I don’t like to dramatize in real life. Actually we should keep our feet on the ground, our heads up high and act with courage and determination to what we think is important. The Sustainable Development Goals Over the past years I am fascinated by the work the United Nations does. Yes, I know, I hear you thinking “but the UN is as well a very expensive, bureaucratic system, what do they actually do?” Well, let me tell you this: the UN are saving mankind from hell. In conflict situations of war, poverty and hunger. But it...

I am currently representing young migrants at the Global Forum for Migration and Development. I held a speech on youth participation and am actively taking part in the discussions. I want to share with you my answers to an interview with the UNICEF colleagues from Germany. In your opinion, why is the Global Compact on Migration so important for migrant children? The Global Compact on Migration is a first international step to tackle migration on a global level. While migration has always existed, additional dimensions and challenges are now influencing it. An increasing number of people are on...

International Women's Day is a day celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to differences, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political As an empowered Djiboutian young woman living in the 21st century, I reflected on the progress of women’s rights in my country. In all these reflections, I gathered that all I want is a Djibouti that puts women first in all its planning, considers our plight and does not take us as an after- thought. This is the Djibouti I want. In the past five years...

To a lot of people, Kazakhstan is still a mystery. After I published my first article, a lot of readers messaged me to know about the situation of children in Kazakhstan. On World Children’s Day, with the release of the Situation Analysis from UNICEF Kazakhstan, I am sharing my two cents in this article to cherish the tremendous achievements and indicate the remaining challenges ahead for every child in Kazakhstan Children and adolescents in Kazakhstan constitute 31.4% of the total population, which means 1 out of 3 citizens is a child. The vast proportion of children in Kazakhstan requires...

Hey there girl with the mini skirt, don't go out looking like that. it's just too provocative. I mean God forbid women have legs, right? Oh, and girl with the pants and the dress that touches her ankles, and the women from 100 years ago who wore layers of clothes. you too. You were showing too much skin. God forbid women have thighs, and arms, and worst of all, dignity and respect. Hey there, going somewhere? Well, you should just stay inside that way nobody can get to you. That is unless you lock yourself in a closet because your dad, or your brother, or your uncle may like girls in pajamas...

There are ways to solve social/political problems. It's understandable that countries may not react positively to foreign people entering their territories, but it is also understandable that there are human ways to solve conflicts. Tear gas, hitting, discrimination, among many other things are some of the situations that migrants are dealing with. This is a TOTAL violation of their human rights. This is not about migrants from Honduras alone, it is about humanity and the way we are ending it ourselves. There are hundreds of people from Central American countries migrating who are suffering...