State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Millennium Cities Initiative3

  • How Far Can a Bicycle Take You in Uganda?

    How Far Can a Bicycle Take You in Uganda?

    In rural Uganda a bicycle is the key to many destinations.  It can take you to be an entrepreneur offering delivery and taxi services, it can also increase the revenue from the crops since you will be able to transport your “Matoke” bananas to the nearest town and boost the price. A bicycle here means…

  • Empowering Girls through Literacy: Kisumu Girls’ Club Leader Honored at LitWorld Gala

    Empowering Girls through Literacy: Kisumu Girls’ Club Leader Honored at LitWorld Gala

    In Kenya, as in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, girls have lower primary and secondary school completion rates than boys. Yet learning can empower girls, providing them with critical skills that enable them to become higher wage earners and community leaders. Ms. Lois Owiti, a teacher at Kisumu Day Senior High School in Kisumu, Kenya,…

  • A Medical Mission to a Millennium City

    A Medical Mission to a Millennium City

    The following is a guest blog, authored by Dr. Medhat Allam, Chairman of International Surgical Mission Support, one of MCI’s partners. In Kenya, like with many developing counties, residents often lack access to specialized medical care. International Surgical Mission Support (ISMS), which strives to train medical professionals and provide free care to those in need,…

  • Millennium City and U.S. Students Chat and Read Aloud Online, Celebrating World Read Aloud Day

    Millennium City and U.S. Students Chat and Read Aloud Online, Celebrating World Read Aloud Day

    Words – and worlds – were shared in celebration of the second annual World Read Aloud Day, organized by LitWorld, on March 9, 2011. As part of LitWorld’s much larger celebration of reading, literacy and learning, students from across the Millennium Cities connected with students in the United States via Skype, to share stories and…

  • Widening the World for Students

    Widening the World for Students

    The following is a guest blog, authored by David Homa, an anthropology and economics teacher at Los Gatos High School in California, one of MCI’s School2School partners. As the world shrinks through the use of technology, it is possible to widen the world to students all over the world. During the past week, I have…

  • Production Starts on Sustainable Bamboo Bikes in Ghana

    KUMASI, Ghana, January 18, 2011–The Bamboo Bike Project (BBP) and the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, along with Ghana-based Bamboo Bikes Limited (BBL) have launched a two week long bamboo bike training program to begin production of 750 bikes for a test run in Kumasi, Ghana. The training program will…

  • My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    The following is a guest blog, authored by Mayuko Hashimoto, a GlaxoSmithKline PULSE volunteer from Tokyo, Japan, who is working with the Millennium Cities Initiative for six months in Kisumu, Kenya to further maternal and neonatal survival. As a volunteer with GlaxoSmithKline, I’ll be in Kisumu for six months to support the Millennium Cities Initiative…

  • $3.8 Million Raised for Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…

  • The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…

  • How Far Can a Bicycle Take You in Uganda?

    How Far Can a Bicycle Take You in Uganda?

    In rural Uganda a bicycle is the key to many destinations.  It can take you to be an entrepreneur offering delivery and taxi services, it can also increase the revenue from the crops since you will be able to transport your “Matoke” bananas to the nearest town and boost the price. A bicycle here means…

  • Empowering Girls through Literacy: Kisumu Girls’ Club Leader Honored at LitWorld Gala

    Empowering Girls through Literacy: Kisumu Girls’ Club Leader Honored at LitWorld Gala

    In Kenya, as in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, girls have lower primary and secondary school completion rates than boys. Yet learning can empower girls, providing them with critical skills that enable them to become higher wage earners and community leaders. Ms. Lois Owiti, a teacher at Kisumu Day Senior High School in Kisumu, Kenya,…

  • A Medical Mission to a Millennium City

    A Medical Mission to a Millennium City

    The following is a guest blog, authored by Dr. Medhat Allam, Chairman of International Surgical Mission Support, one of MCI’s partners. In Kenya, like with many developing counties, residents often lack access to specialized medical care. International Surgical Mission Support (ISMS), which strives to train medical professionals and provide free care to those in need,…

  • Millennium City and U.S. Students Chat and Read Aloud Online, Celebrating World Read Aloud Day

    Millennium City and U.S. Students Chat and Read Aloud Online, Celebrating World Read Aloud Day

    Words – and worlds – were shared in celebration of the second annual World Read Aloud Day, organized by LitWorld, on March 9, 2011. As part of LitWorld’s much larger celebration of reading, literacy and learning, students from across the Millennium Cities connected with students in the United States via Skype, to share stories and…

  • Widening the World for Students

    Widening the World for Students

    The following is a guest blog, authored by David Homa, an anthropology and economics teacher at Los Gatos High School in California, one of MCI’s School2School partners. As the world shrinks through the use of technology, it is possible to widen the world to students all over the world. During the past week, I have…

  • Production Starts on Sustainable Bamboo Bikes in Ghana

    KUMASI, Ghana, January 18, 2011–The Bamboo Bike Project (BBP) and the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, along with Ghana-based Bamboo Bikes Limited (BBL) have launched a two week long bamboo bike training program to begin production of 750 bikes for a test run in Kumasi, Ghana. The training program will…

  • My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    My Work as a GSK Volunteer for MCI: Gathering Baseline Data on Maternal and Neonatal Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya

    The following is a guest blog, authored by Mayuko Hashimoto, a GlaxoSmithKline PULSE volunteer from Tokyo, Japan, who is working with the Millennium Cities Initiative for six months in Kisumu, Kenya to further maternal and neonatal survival. As a volunteer with GlaxoSmithKline, I’ll be in Kisumu for six months to support the Millennium Cities Initiative…

  • $3.8 Million Raised for Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…

  • The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…