Africa’s lion population plummets by two thirds in 50 years, study finds
(Photo: Stephane De Sakutin / AFP - Getty Images file)
Africa’s lions are running out of habitat and some populations, especially those in West Africa, are running toward extinction, according to a study published Tuesday.
Source: worldnews.nbcnews.com
Two baby gorillas rescued in Congo; escalation of smuggling feared
(Photo: Luanne Cadd / Virunga National Park)
Two orphaned baby gorillas rescued in Congo were being cared for Tuesday by national park staff who fear their plight might signal a new escalation of wildlife smuggling by rebel groups fighting each other and Congo’s army.
Source: worldnews.nbcnews.com
In Niger, child marriage on rise due to hunger
(Photo: Jerome Delay / AP)
Even during the best of times, one out of every three girls in Niger marries before her 15th birthday, a rate of child marriage among the highest in the world, according to a UNICEF survey. Now this custom is being layered on top of a crisis. At times of severe drought, parents pushed to the wall by poverty and hunger are marrying their daughters at even younger ages. A girl married off is one less mouth to feed, and the dowry money she brings in goes to feed others.
Source: photoblog.nbcnews.com
Cholera infects 13,000 in Sierra Leone, national emergency declared
(Photo: Simon Akam / Reuters)
Sierra Leone’s government has described the current cholera outbreak in the West African state of Sierra Leone as a “national emergency.” According to Associated Press, more than 258 have been killed and some 13,000 more are infected by the disease.
Source: photoblog.nbcnews.com
Baby elephant orphaned in slaughter finds a foster mom
(Photo: SOS Elephants)
A three-week-old elephant orphaned when his mother and two dozen other elephants were slaughtered in Chad last month appears to have been adopted by a foster mom, a nonprofit in the Central African country told NBC News.
Nicknamed Toto, the male was being cared for by village officials when he ran away and later reached a nearby herd, said SOS Elephants founder Stephanie Vergniault.
Source: worldnews.nbcnews.com
‘Building Tomorrow’ - one school at a time in Uganda
(Photo: Barbara Kinney)
KAMPALA, Uganda – The Building Tomorrow Academy of Gita, about an hour outside of Uganda’s capital city of Kampala, is an amazing example of what can be accomplished when local communities and international organizations work together toward innovative solutions to educational challenges.
While in Uganda last week, I met the dynamic tag team of George Srour, the American founder and “chief dreamer,” and Joseph Kalisa, the Ugandan country director, behind the school in Gita, as well as seven other Building Tomorrow “academies” in Uganda.
Source: nbcnews.to
