He can scribble in his notebook for hours, erasing the sentences that don’t work and replacing them with second, third, or fourth attempts at perfect flow. His poetry is about our connections with infinity, love, philosophy, and nature. This year he might finally publish some of his work instead of just sharing it among friends.…
Category: Impact Stories
Since 2017, when I moved to live and work in the Philippines for about 19 months, I have been writing stories of remarkable people who are working towards a world that is more equal and where human rights are respected. Often as a volunteer, sometimes for freelance assignments, but always in awe of the work of these change makers and the impact they have in their own community or sometimes their country. I gather these impact stories here with click-throughs to the websites where they have been published originally.
Being a refugee in your own country: internally displaced people in Mindanao
End of 2018 I visited several camps for internally displaced people in Iligan City on the island of Mindanao in southern Philippines. This was part of an assignment I did for the Dutch non-profit organisation Mensen met een Missie. I interviewed and photographed several of the people living in the camps as well as people working for…
Kiruba, fighting caste cruelties in India
Kiruba was happy to accept the police training institute’s invitation to speak about human rights violations in India. After her talk she met fifty of the institute’s young students. They had seen some of her Facebook posts and expressed their admiration for her work. “We don’t know how you do it, but we feel inspired,”…
Yamen, documenting history for a righteous future in the Gaza Strip
He was still a newbie with only two years of experience under his belt. But Yamen didn’t need long to decide to risk his life for what he believed was right. Under the cover of darkness he walked from Al-Sheikh Ejleen along the beach to central Gaza Strip. He heard Israeli soldiers talking on their…
Janel, helping community voices echo even louder in Mindanao
Janel Ello Pesons is only thirty-five years old, but she could already easily write an autobiography or two. A human rights defender and peace advocate from Mindanao in southern Philippines, she has dedicated her life to empowering local communities. Because change is at the local level, she believes sustainable peace can be achieved that will…
Arsène, adding drops of justice in the DRC
“I used to feel lucky to be born in Congo. Now, it’s a problem to be born in Congo.” Arsène Lumpali, human rights lawyer from South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has seen the country of his birth, which he describes as “beautiful with extraordinary potential,” go down a dark…