When TikTok fame builds schools: The story of Dora Moono Nyambe

Joseph Schmitt/Thomson Reuters Foudation

Popular Zambian TikTokker Dora Moono Nyambe sits with students at her school in Mapapa, Zambia in this undated photograph. Ms. Nyambe's TikTok fanbase donated almost $500,000 to build a school in Zambia.

Dora Moono Nyambe, a Zambian teacher, used TikTok to share videos of daily life in her village and drew millions of followers. Thanks to the donations from her fans, she plans to bring education to hundreds of rural African children.

By Nita Bhalla Thomson Reuters Foundation
February 17, 2023|LUSAKA, ZAMBIA

When Zambian teacher Dora Moono Nyambe started posting videos on TikTok three years ago, she had to ask her daughter’s friend how to use the popular social media platform.

Today, Ms. Nyambe has amassed 4 million TikTok followers with colorful videos of daily life in her village of Mapapa – and raised almost $500,000 to bring education to hundreds of marginalized rural children.

“I had no idea when I first started using TikTok – so I just started showing how life in the village was,” Ms. Nyambe told the Thomson Reuters Foundation via video call from the Zambian capital Lusaka.

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“How we lived under the thatch roof, how we cook on an open fire, and how we used to teach under a tree as there was no proper school for the children. The response was overwhelming – people were so interested.”

Ms. Nyambe started a crowdfunding appeal in 2020 with the aim of building a school for the children of Mapapa located 280 km (175 miles) north of Lusaka.

While some critics have accused her of using media that exploits the lives of vulnerable people to generate donations or publicity, Ms. Nyambe said the impact of her work should judge her.
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In three years, she has founded a charity called “Footprints of Hope” and built a school that has 350 children and 24 teachers. It has 12 classrooms, a kitchen, a dining hall, dormitories, and a science laboratory.

The TikTok star – who has 13 adopted and 150 foster children – has also installed four water boreholes in Mapapa, and hired teachers to work in schools in neighboring villages.
Teen pregnancies, child brides

While nearly 72% of Zambian children complete primary school, there are considerable regional disparities that mask the lack of education in many rural areas, according to the U.N. children’s agency (UNICEF).

Girls are more disadvantaged than boys and have higher dropout rates in upper primary and secondary grades due to factors like teenage pregnancy, child marriage, and a lack of menstrual hygiene facilities in schools, UNICEF adds.

Almost 1 in 3 Zambian girls becomes a mother by age 18, according to government data. A similar percentage are married by the time they reach adulthood, according to the campaign group Girls Not Brides.

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Ms. Nyambe, who is not originally from Mapapa, said she visited the village in late 2019 to see a friend’s family and was shocked by the number of children who were out of school, and the high rates of early marriage and teen pregnancies.

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“As a teacher, as a human being, I felt I had to do something to bring education to these children,” said Ms. Nyambe.

With her savings and her then-five adopted children, Ms. Nyambe moved to Mapapa, bought a plot of land, and started teaching the village children under a tree in the hope that she would eventually be able to build a school.

Soon she began documenting her life on TikTok: creating videos of her cooking or dancing with her students, buying food for her children, and having conversations with them about issues from climate change to child marriage.

“I just tried different things and the TikTok posts seemed to get a lot of likes and comments ... people wanted to know more and wanted to help me,” said Ms. Nyambe.
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Ms. Nyambe’s videos now attract tens of thousands of views – even drawing the attention of U.S. popstar Meghan Trainor, who shared one of Ms. Nyambe’s videos of the school dormitories set to Ms. Trainor’s hit song “Made you look.”

Ms. Nyambe’s charity funds the school, and also supports rural children through food distribution, clothing drives, and health assistance.

A book titled “Under a Zambian Tree” documenting her journey was released on Feb. 7, with proceeds of the first 5,000 copies going towards her charity. ​

Ms. Nyambe said she has had to negotiate with villagers to allow their children to attend school and has rescued many girls from child marriages – often having to reimburse the families for the cost spent on their weddings.

The former English teacher has faced online abuse, with some accusing her of “charity porn” and exploiting the students for personal gain.

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Ms. Nyambe said much of the negativity came from people in Zambia who said she was a fraud or painting a bad image of the southern African country.

“Most comments are positive, but on almost every post, there will be a comment where I am accused of being a scammer, stealing money, or exploiting the children,” she said.

“The trolling used to bother me a ton. But with everything comes growth. ... I know I am not using the children and if people came to Mapapa, they would see it, too.”

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Another impending challenge is a possible ban of Chinese-owned TikTok in the United States, from where she gets most of her followers and donations.

Ms. Nyambe said she planned to grow her following on other platforms like Instagram and YouTube and wants the school to become more financially self-sufficient through activities like raising chickens and planting kitchen gardens.

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But she cannot imagine leaving TikTok behind.

“There is no way I would have been able to achieve what I have if it wasn’t for all the TikTokers who have supported me,” said Ms. Nyambe.

This story was reported by Thomson Reuters Foundation

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2024 Republicans are done with the Affordable Care Act. It might not be done with them.

Updated Feb 17, 2023

REUTERS/Randall Hill/

Republican presidential hopefuls are firing up crowds with attacks on President Biden’s age, his spending and border policies, and “wokeness” writ large. But one go-to applause line from the last several campaigns has gone missing: Obamacare.

The 2024 Republican primary is likely to be the first in which the Affordable Care Act is treated as settled law over a decade into its embattled existence.

“I would be surprised if it isn't,” Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, told Semafor. “I haven't seen any evidence that people are looking to relitigate at this point a 12-year-old law.”

It’s a dramatic shift from 2016, when GOP candidates vying for the White House regularly trashed Obamacare, and 2020, when President Trump was leading efforts to overturn the law in court.

With Obamacare repeal no longer a unifying goal, it’s not clear where candidates will end up positioning themselves on access to health coverage. Trump and Nikki Haley made no mention of health care in their announcement speeches.

We reached out to seven current and possible candidates with a detailed list of questions about their positions on the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid. Only New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu responded, saying through a spokesman that “a repeal to the Affordable Care Act cannot happen until a viable, free market solution is on the table that lowers costs and reduces government bloat.”

Joseph Zeballos-Roig

JOSEPH'S VIEW

It may be possible to skate through the Republican primaries without getting into too much detail on health care. But Republicans will have to address the issue sooner or later.

Democrats have only grown more confident running on protecting the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare and are clearly signaling they will be major issues in the general election.

In addition to Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence’s ACA repeal attempts in the White House, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis voted to repeal the ACA as a GOP congressman and was part of a conservative faction that resisted an early repeal-and-replace plan in 2017 until it allowed insurers in some states to raise prices for people with pre-existing conditions whose coverage lapsed.

Haley and DeSantis also rejected expanding Medicaid in their states through the law as governors. Sununu reauthorized his own state’s Medicaid expansion, with some changes.

Biden already seems eager to make Republicans pay a political price for blocking Medicaid dollars. “The only reason Medicaid expansion hasn’t happened here is politics,” he said at an event in Florida last week.

For their part, Republicans appear less interested in pursuing major health care reform again after failing to undo Obamacare and overhaul Medicaid, wary of the enormous political backlash it generated at the time.

“Healthcare has always been this big complicated minefield that if you say the wrong thing, you get hurt politically,” Chris Pope, a senior healthcare fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute, told Semafor. “I think that is the dominant mood among Republicans.”

So far leading Republicans have mostly talked about more incremental ideas that are less polarizing, like more price transparency for hospital services, along with some conservative mainstays like work requirements for Medicaid.

Pence tweeted out an op-ed by former Trump health official Seema Verma this week calling for Medicare and Medicaid to pay hospitals a fixed amount based on a patient’s diagnosis, a favorite of many health care wonks.

The America First Policy Institute, a think-tank organized by Trump administration veterans, released a platform last year that did not include repealing Obamacare, but called for changes like encouraging telemedicine, giving states more flexibility with Medicaid programs, and expanding access to more barebones coverage outside of the ACA.

James Capretta, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, described the ideas in play as relatively modest.

“American health care is a $4.3 trillion supertanker,” he told Semafor. “This is like a flea on the side of the supertanker.”

But Democrats will have ways to force the debate back to the ACA. Under President Biden, Democrats in Congress beefed up the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies, which have lowered premiums and pushed the uninsured rate down to record lows. They expire in 2025, setting up a general election fight over whether to continue them that’s so far flown under the political radar.

One health care expert who’s worked with past Republican presidential campaigns said the GOP shouldn’t cede health care debates to Democrats.

“What’s going to be important is for Republicans to have a constructive agenda on reducing the cost of health care and not merely avoid the issue because it's politically challenging,” Avik Roy, a former health care adviser to Mitt Romney, told Semafor.

ROOM FOR DISAGREEMENT

Some conservatives see an opportunity to go on offense against Biden’s boost to ACA subsidies by framing them as a corporate giveaway.

“We don't think health insurance companies should get the vast majority of the revenue from taxpayers,” Brian Blase, a former Trump healthcare adviser, told Semafor. “We think they should have to compete for consumer dollars.”

Shelby Talcott contributed reporting.

Calling all in Labour to the defence of Jeremy Corbyn

DIANE ABBOTT MP says there is more than principle and respect for party rules at stake — the progressive politics Corbyn represents must be defended as well as the man himself

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn

FIGHTING Jeremy Corbyn is a complete distraction from the fight against the Tories and Tory policies. Yet this is the path the current Labour leadership has chosen.

It may be no surprise that I think Corbyn and basic Labour Party democracy should be defended. Yet it is something of a surprise — to me at least — that there is not a mass chorus in his defence. Perhaps that will form in time.

The context for this latest attack is an important factor in understanding it, and in understanding how damaging it is. This country is facing the longest crisis of living standards since records began — and the government’s answer to the failure of austerity is to double down on it. This is after their catastrophic response to the pandemic which has left well over a quarter of a million people dead and many more living with serious long-term conditions.

We are also now at war, engaged in a lethal conflict where both sides have nuclear weapons. There are multiple social crises in this country, increasing poverty, rising crime, a massive strike wave consciously provoked by government ministers as well as collapsing public services. We also face a climate catastrophe which is only deepening.

Yet the current Labour leader has made headlines not by attacking the Tories and their policies on any of these, but by attacking his predecessor, who remains a Labour member.

It is undoubtedly true that the headlines were favourable from the anti-Labour press; commentators who have never supported Labour and never will, strongly welcomed Keir Starmer’s intervention. But the oligarch-owned press’s appetite for Labour’s internal divisions only grows with feeding. It can never be satisfied.

And even within that praise, there was some sober assessment. On the same day that the Times carried an article by Starmer, its main editorial, entitled Gloves off, said, “The Labour leader has been admirably clear in condemning anti-semitism in his party but he will need to be equally detailed in his election promises.”

So, even according to his supporters in the Murdoch press, it is clear that Starmer is fighting the left, and has detailed policies to do so, but equally clear that he has neither the fight nor the policies to take on the Tories. As a result, all the impositions on ordinary people, all the draconian legislation being enacted and all the disastrous outcomes for our public services go unchallenged.

Instead, we are on a never-ending rollercoaster of attacks on Corbyn in particular and the left in general. This cannot go unanswered.

Starmer told reporters multiple times that Corbyn would not be allowed back as a Labour MP. The BBC reports him saying, “What I said about the party changing, I meant, and we are not going back, and that is why Corbyn will not stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election.”

The first point worth emphasising to rebut this position is that is not in the Labour leader’s gift to determine who is selected to be Labour’s candidate at the next election, or in any election. In this case, as a Labour Party member, Corbyn is entitled to be selected by his constituency as the party’s candidate in the election. But that is for the members of Islington North Constituency Labour Party to decide, no-one else.

Any other approach is outside of the party rule book. Because if the apparatus can override the rules, they are not really rules at all, but guidelines at best, which can be rejected at whim. It would trample on the democracy of our party.

It would also contravene any form of natural justice, by denying an individual the right to the proper procedures in disciplinary matters and due process. It also denies the collective rights of the members. A human rights lawyer like Starmer should know this.

This is the single most important point in defence of Corbyn — that all attempts to block or bar him in this way are anti-democratic and do not conform to Labour’s rules.

Even so, recent practice does not suggest that this will be a water-tight defence. The party apparatus has taken control of the process of both creating the long list and shortlist for potential candidates. No rules have been changed, it has just been a takeover which has excluded leading left activists and local favourites.

At the same time, there is also the suggestion that Corbyn could be barred by being declared someone who is unfit to be a Labour candidate. This could be done by a body of the party which supports the current leadership. It should be clear that there is a great determination to exclude Corbyn.

Partly as a result, there is also a political defence of Corbyn and Corbynism which should be made. This is not simply the argument that this attack on the left and its key leader is a gift to our opponents and a complete distraction from taking the political fight to them. Both of these arguments are valid.

There is a more fundamental argument in Corbyn’s favour, which is crucial in the current period.

The depth of current crises means that steady-as-she-goes politics is not going to work. 2023 and 2024 are not the same as 1997. The parallel with a rotten, corrupt Tory government that had spent far too long in office is of course correct. But the economic and political context is completely different.

In 1997 GDP growth touched 4.4 per cent, which seems extravagantly large by current standards, where perma-stagnation has set in. At the same time, consumer price inflation was 1.8 per cent. This combination spelt rising prosperity which was essentially uninterrupted until the Global Financial Crisis ten years later.

Official forecasts point to a completely different economic outcome over the next several years. This will only deepen the fall in living standards and all the social crises already mentioned. In response muddling through simply will not work.

Radical solutions will be required which defend the interests of ordinary people and offer a way out of the crisis. This can be called Corbynism; the label is immaterial. But there is an absolute need for these solutions and all their leading advocates.

Diane Abbott is MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

Wheat genes from history help scientists make crop disease breakthrough

Chris Hill
Sun, 19 February 2023

Dr Sanu Arora and Prof Paul Nicholson with experimental wheat crops at the John Innes Centre - Picture: Phil Robinson (Image: Phil Robinson)

Norwich crop scientists have made a vital breakthrough in the battle against a destructive wheat disease - after finding defence genes in plants gathered almost 100 years ago.

The John Innes Centre (JIC) is leading international efforts to combat the "looming threat" of wheat blast, which has spread across South America, Zambia, India and Bangladesh since it was first reported in Brazil in 1985.

Researchers have identified two genes which protected experimental wheat plants against the fungal pathogen which causes the disease.

The team used a technique called AgRenSeq to search for useful resistance genes among wild grass relatives of wheat and a panel of heritage varieties called the Watkins Collection.

Collected from around the world in the 1930s, it consists of more than 300 wheat lines containing genetic diversity which existed before intensive plant-breeding - but which could now help protect modern crops from emerging diseases.

JIC group leader Prof Paul Nicholson said: “We have made an important discovery on an emerging disease that threatens global food security and, in the process, highlighted the power of the Watkins Collection and the AgRenSeq genomic toolkit.

"Now our role is to interact with organisations such as CIMMYT (the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) to provide information on additional resistance genes and enable them to ensure that their breeding materials contain these genes so that they are protected against blast."

Dr Sanu Arora, first author of the study which appears in the Nature Plants journal, added: "The disastrous effect of wheat blast in the wheat belts of South America, South Asia and Africa is a warning bell for Europe.

"We are not certain if this disease is already sitting on the horizon of Europe but it could potentially travel through human migration or seed import. Therefore, it is critically important to defend this vital crop against the looming threat."

Shock Horror, Men Are Worried About Side-Effects From New Contraceptive Pill

Dayna McAlpine
Sat, 18 February 2023 

'But what if it gives me side effects?'

Buckle up folks, we might be about to see a 62-year-old gender contraception gap close thanks to some huge progress in the development of ‘revolutionary’ pill for men.

The ‘on demand’ pill could be taken just before sex and works by blocking a fertility protein for 24 hours. Scientists have said that this could be even more effective than the tiny pills women have been taking daily for the past six decades in a bid to avoid pregnancy.

Tests on mice have been very successful, and co-author of the research Professor Lonny Levin has said that: “The team is already working on making sAC inhibitors better suited for use in humans.”

At last! There may just be a chance that women can stop putting themselves through hormone havoc and will be able to hand over the contraception baton to men.

Alice Pelton, founder of The Lowdown, the UK’s leading reproductive and sexual health platform, says it’s about time there was progress.

“There’s been very little innovation in the last 60 years for contraception so it’s about time a new male method was invented.

“Currently, the only options available to men are condoms or a vasectomy - so the majority of women end up being responsible for protection against pregnancy (and suffering the side effects and procedures as a result).”

Users would be able to take a pill before they have sex

Users would be able to take a pill before they have sex

But what do blokes actually think of this new ‘miracle’ pill? Is everyone quite as enthusiastic about us when it comes to the development?

Well, the stats are quite eye-opening to say the least - and unsurprisingly, men are worried about the side effects women have had to endure for decades becoming their reality instead.

In a recent study, We-Vibe, leading manufacturer of couple vibrators, and YLabs, American research institution from the Harvard Innovation Lab found that 78 percent of men worldwide and 65% of men in the UK would take contraception if it was available - woohoo!

However, here’s the kicker – 47% of men in the UK would not be willing to tolerate any side effects of contraception. Especially if it could affect their libido.

Excuse us while we roll our eyes so hard to the back of our heads that they may never return.

The biggest fear surrounding contraception for men in the UK is ‘unknown long-term effects’ (28%) and ‘side effects’ (22%), both things caused by female contraceptive pills.

Sigh.

And then there’s the issue of someone having to take a pill every day - despite the majority of men in the UK (67%) saying that they think that male contraception sounds like a good idea, fewer than a quarter (22%) say they would be willing to take it daily.

It’s a point that’s even made daytime telly - when the news of the pill’s development broke earlier this week, This Morning presenter Dermot O’Leary said he would not “trust men to be organised” enough to remember to take a male contraceptive pill each time they are about to have sex.

Women who took part in We-Vibes study agreed, saying that they would find it difficult to give away responsibility and there was too much concern that their partner might not take the contraceptives regularly.

One Twitter user told us that she’d love to have her partner take the pill but that they’d have to develop a system to ensure pregnancy could be avoided: “I have wrecked myself with the side effects of hormonal birth control for years and I would love a break, but I’d be wary of trusting my partner to always remember to take it so I would have to have a system in place for peace of mind.”

Another voiced their concerns about timing to HuffPost UK and whether the pill would be effective after a few drinks (because let’s be real, it’s easy enough to forget after a wine or six): “I would take the male pill, though the timing thing is a slightly concerning variable, and I guess in humans, alcohol etc comes into the mix, whether that would effect the result or make it more likely to take at the wrong time.”

However, those who’d be willing to take the pill regularly have explained that the option of a male pill could give them the option to bypass having a vasectomy.

That’s certainly the case for Chris Wilson, founder of Trequartista Consulting, who tells HuffPost UK:

“When I was younger I had no real appreciation for girls I was friends with or in relationships with taking contraceptive pills, it was just ‘the norm’.

“Since becoming a Dad I have been keen to organise a vasectomy so that my partner didn’t have to put herself through any more unnecessary hormonal fluctuations. But, I foolishly read about the procedure and freaked myself out, so, being able to take a pill really does appeal to me.”

The male pill is still very much in its preliminary stages, despite this week’s ground-breaking developments, and in the time we must wait for it to become FDA-approved, it’s clear from the stats that double-standards need to be slashed.

UNTIL THEN 

UK

Massive solar farm approved despite loss of agricultural land

George Thompson, Local Democracy Reporter
Sun, 19 February 2023

A massive 254-acre solar farm in Great Dunham has been approved (Image: Google)

A solar farm the size of 127 football pitches has been given the go-ahead, in one of the biggest green energy projects in the country.

The project, known as JAFA Solar Farm, will be built on roughly 254 acres of land, west of Palgrave Road and between the villages of Great Dunham and Little Dunham, near Swaffham.

The scheme will generate around 13pc of Breckland’s energy needs, powering around 16,000 homes.

At 49.9 megawatts, it would be one of the biggest solar schemes in the country, just behind Wroughton Airfield Solar Park in Wiltshire, which is believed to be the fourth-largest, generating 50MW of energy.

The project is of a similar scale to Bloy’s Grove, a massive solar farm approved by South Norfolk Council last year, which will be one the biggest in Norfolk.

However, speaking at a Breckland Council planning committee on Tuesday, Brenda Upton, of Great Dunham Parish Council, said it would be “extremely misleading to assume that there is a significant body of opinion in favour of this scheme".

She described the plans as being of an industrial scale on agricultural land which would have a “hugely detrimental impact on the local environment” and take a massive amount of land out of food production.

She also pointed out that other solar farms have been rejected due to their loss of agricultural land, including one at Sedgeford by West Norfolk Council.

But Simon Fowler from Little Dunham Parish Council (LDPC) argued that the energy needs of the country were important while accepting the development would “deface” unspoiled countryside with “urban clutter”.

He said: “The imperative of green energy and energy security outweigh that in the unanimous view of LDPC.”

But he said the support was dependent on a traffic management plan during construction.

Breckland councillors voted nine to one in favour of the scheme.

Refugee charity rejects Tory vice-chair’s claim they are ‘just as bad as people-smugglers’

Nadeem Badshah
Sat, 18 February 2023 

Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty

A volunteer organisation has dismissed a claim by the new Conservative deputy chair that Calais refugee charities are “just as bad as people-smugglers”.

Lee Anderson, who was given the role by Rishi Sunak during the prime minister’s recent reshuffle, accused refugee organisations based in northern France of “fuelling” people’s desire to cross the English Channel in small boats.

Anderson said that on a recent trip to Calais with the Commons home affairs select committee, he saw “hundreds of young men” being helped by those working with the British charity Care4Calais.

He told the Telegraph: “You’ve got the people-smugglers, you’ve got the camps, the charities at the camps.

“You’ve then got, when you get to England, the hotels, the lefty lawyers – it is one big multimillion-pound industry.”

In response, Care4Calais said: “Our operations in northern France focus on the provision of humanitarian aid and we seek to provide some friendship and dignity through activities like English lessons, football matches, and simple teas and coffees.

“We provide no assistance – or encouragement – to refugees with journeys to the UK. We do not want any individual to attempt to cross the Channel in a small boat, or by other dangerous means.

“We see the real-life consequences of people-smuggling; that is why we campaign for safe routes for people who want to seek asylum in the UK.”

The volunteer-run charity distributes aid to refugees sleeping rough in and around Calais, many of whom have fled war, persecution and political oppression, according to its website.

Anderson, a former Labour councillor who defected to the Tories, also claimed migrants were “encouraged” to make the dangerous crossing by being taught English by the volunteers.

“They weren’t fleeing any war, or persecution, they told us that they wanted to come for a better life in the UK,” he claimed.

Anderson has been no stranger to controversy. He was criticised earlier this month for calling for the return of the death penalty in an interview with the Spectator magazine a few days before his appointment.

Sunak was forced to note that neither he, nor the government, shared this view.

Where love is illegal: What it's really like travelling Sri Lanka as a gay couple

Liam Gilliver
Sun, 19 February 2023 


We're playing cards by candlelight to the sound of humming cicadas and peacock mating calls. Our host Taranga never explained the rules. Naturally, he's winning.

"The lights will come back on soon," he says, shuffling the cards for another game of... well, who knows? "This happens every night."

I glance over to the silhouette that is my partner, struggling to make out his expression, and feel the light-hearted mood drain away into the inky darkness.

It's the first time in my life I have had to hold back from making any physical contact with him. Why? Because doing so could get us arrested or sectioned.
Were we stupid to visit a country where it’s illegal to be gay?

Sri Lanka still criminalises homosexuality under the 1883 Penal Code - threatening both men and women with a 10 year prison sentence.

These post-imperial laws are often naively dismissed, viewed as nothing more than an unpolished relic of Britain's colonial obsession.

But only last year a gay couple were arrested here for their sexuality, and sent off to a psychiatric unit for 'evaluation'.

Panic stirs in my stomach, and I'm no longer laughing along at the fact that I have somehow won the fifth round of cards.

At 6pm the power comes back on. Air con units kick back up, the pool lights flicker on, and the warm glow of lost fireflies dissipates into the thick, humid air.

The candle is extinguished and I resist the urge to turn to my partner and blurt out my thoughts. Instead, I feign an unconvincing smile towards Taranga and excuse myself to our room.

Did we make the wrong decision? Are we stupid for coming to a country that effectively sees us as criminals? Should we just go home?
How we stayed safe while travelling as a gay couple

When we planned to visit Sri Lanka we of course knew that it still has laws against homosexuality.

So before packing our lives into our backpacks we agreed on three precautions: we would always book a twin bed, never engage in public displays of affection, and avoid anything that would attract attention.

Our safety and our ability to remain inconspicuous were intrinsically intertwined, so anything that would make us stand out was strictly off limits.

To avoid detection, we agreed not to engage in public displays of affection. - Liam Gilliver

We even created a little backstory that we were cousins, but never had the courage to deploy it. Instead, we nodded along when people assumed we were friends - or sighed in relief when they chose not to ask.

I realised a week in that I had packed a vest with a quote about pride and love on the back. It stayed in the suitcase the whole time, perhaps a subtle metaphor for our temporarily-hidden identities.

Over time it became easier to stick to the rules while still enjoying our trip.

We slowly acclimatised to the weather, the blackouts, the not holding hands. We strangely fell in love in Sri Lanka, even if it could not reciprocate.
Tourism has taken a hit in Sri Lanka

Tourism has been slow to return to Sri Lanka following the country’s recent political instability and economic collapse. In the last two years it has been hit hard with COVID, then even harder with protests, inflation and a nationwide shortage of fuel.

A lot of businesses didn't make it; some are still on thin ice.

Because of this, our arrival was often greeted with sincere appreciation and gratitude on our visit in November 2022. Restaurant managers came over to us, thanking us personally for tipping, or for simply showing up.

"Please tell your friends and family that it is safe - that they can travel here now," one bar owner pleaded with us.

It was heartbreakingly heartwarming. We were rooting for Sri Lanka to recover from this despite all of my reservations against even coming in the first place.

But the lack of tourism also meant it was hard to stay invisible. It wasn't rare for us to book a hotel then find we were its only occupiers.
Were we being watched, or was I just paranoid?

At times, being in Sri Lanka overwhelmed me into an anxiety-riddled wreck. It was simply too much. I felt like we were being watched constantly, observed with suspicion and caution.

Or was I just gaslighting myself into an unjustified state of paranoia?

Policing your natural instincts comes with consequences. Constantly checking yourself and reminding each other of the three simple rules eventually took a toll on my mental health.

I had locked myself back into the closet and swallowed the key. I could hardly complain - this was all my own doing. I chose to come here. It was supposed to be fun, but we were struggling to relax.

There were many late-night whispers with my partner, as we sat on separate beds across the room from each other, when all I wanted to do was feel some kind of warmth.

"If you ever feel unsafe - we can leave," he reminded me more than once.

But I continued, and three weeks later I felt strangely conflicted when arriving at the airport.

I was sad, but relieved. Happy, but subdued.

Aside from a few stares, and one ignorant comment about sin from a tour guide (he snubbed homosexuality in the same sentence as touting peace), we had left Sri Lanka safe and sound.

Had I made a fuss out of nothing or were the microaggressions I experienced real?
White privilege cushioned our visit to Sri Lanka

Of course, our time in Sri Lanka was cushioned by the safety net of white privilege, and the economic symbol we represented as westerners.

We were never confronted or explicitly questioned about our sexuality, and never physically threatened or endangered.

It was almost like we had unknowingly entered a trade-off. Sri Lanka was desperate for tourists, and we were here. We were desperate to not be seen, so they turned a blind eye.

We were cushioned by white privilege on our travels. - Liam Gilliver

But gay Sri Lankans are not afforded the same level of luxury. If the trip taught me anything, it's that my anxiety was unrivalled against what LGBTQ+ individuals have to endure around the world.

According to a 2021 report by UK public body Westminster Foundation for Democracy, 69 per cent of Sri Lankans believe LGBT persons face discrimination by the police because of who they are.

More than half (51.4 per cent) also said being LGBT goes against their religion.

In a country where there are no protections against discrimination for your sexuality, the fallout extends far beyond paranoid tourists.

It’s no surprise that 89 per cent of LGBT Sri Lankans say they face discrimination in finding rental housing and/or in school because of their sexuality.

Is there hope for Sri Lanka’s LGBTQ+ community?

My hope for Sri Lanka is twofold. I hope tourism not only recovers, but flourishes.

Everyone should visit the country at least once in their lifetime to experience the amazing wildlife, unique cuisine, and exceptional hospitality.

But I also hope for LGBT Sri Lankans to have an authentic future. For them to be able to live as their true selves without fear of judgement or compromised safety.

There is a glimmer of hope. Just a few months ago, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reportedly said his government will not oppose a bill that aims to decriminalise consensual same-sex sexual relations.

Last year also saw the country’s first-ever Pride rally as citizens bravely took to the streets, emblazoned in rainbows.

If the Prime Minister sticks to his words, the future of Sri Lanka will look brighter than ever.

Climate change is redrawing the coffee growing map. Here's how farmers are clinging on

Claire Roney and Hannah Borwitzky
Sun, 19 February 2023 a

Climate change is redrawing the coffee growing map. Here's how farmers are clinging on

Harvesting coffee is a delicate process that occurs just once per year in the plant’s 20 year lifetime, and only after reaching around four years old.

The perennial tree must take root in temperate conditions, and pass a series of milestones before it can blossom.

But climate change is throwing the €458 billion global coffee market - of which Europe represents the largest consumer share - into flux.

What is climate change doing to coffee farming?

Most coffee is produced in highland tropical regions. But researchers have found that rising temperatures could reduce the areas suitable for growing coffee by 50 per cent.

This redrawing of the global coffee map poses devastating risks; not only to national economies such as Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Brazil, India and Madagascar. It would also crush the livelihoods of coffee farmers - 70 per cent of whom run small-scale operations.

The long lifespan of the tree is a distinct challenge to this majority, explains Dr Christian Bunn from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.

Small-scale farmers need to invest in alternative farming methods now to survive in the future, but investments are costly and may not result in the higher production yields desired.
Searching for sustainable alternatives to coffee farming

Indoor farming techniques fall at the pricier end of the investment portfolio.

While Bunn is not aware of any coffee farmers currently adopting vertical, indoor or hydroponic farming methods, researchers are exploring these possibilities.

Vertical farming and indoor farming would allow for greater control of resources like water, light and exposure to wind, all of which can be unruly in the open field.

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“Technically it is possible to grow coffee trees, let's say in a greenhouse,” says Bruno Telemans, a perennial and horticulture crops specialist at the UN’s FAO.

But small-scale farmers face various challenges with vertical farming, including high costs for a low yield that is only available once a year and may sell slowly due to its long shelf-life.

“When you have vertical farming, you have to go to high value crops where the farmer can harvest several crops per year and sell them on a very high value market,” Telemans explains.

Growing coffee in hydroponic systems and vertical farms would be challenged by high energy needs and water management issues, says agriculture engineer and FAO specialist Leone Magliocchetti Lombi.

Farmers fear a second colonisation of coffee

The rise of expensive indoor farming methods may lead to coffee production being relocated to major consumer markets in Europe or the United States.

The market value of raw coffee is relatively low compared to the prices consumers pay, and small-scale farmers generally see the least of those profits.

Whereas wealthier farmers and investors can afford to subsidise the cost of more expensive farming methods like engineered fertilising and drip-irrigation systems. This helps them gain entry to niche premium coffee markets where the bigger profits are to be made.

Endre Vestvik, founder of Ugandan coffee company Wild, fears this would bring a second colonisation of the commodity. “Every coffee that's being consumed by the coffee lovers there is basically contributing to increasing inequalities in the world,” he says of the Western consumer market.

Instead, Vestvik advocates for farming solutions that bring profits back to origin countries and farmers. “I think the sustainability challenges in coffee can be solved in other ways, and I think they should be solved by the people who now grow the coffee,” he shares.

Can coffee seeds be bred to resist climate change?

Vestvik is partly pinning his hopes on the development of climate-resilient coffee seed varieties. With these breeding programmes, plants can develop tolerance to drought, pests and high heat.

However, FAO agricultural officer Melvin Medina is not overly optimistic about this approach. “A breeding programme on coffee will need years and years of work,” he explains. And coffee is simply not a priority compared to other, more nutritious foods.

Food production on a warming planet: Can we grow crops that are resistant to climate change?

Though seed variety may have a part to play, Medina wants to see other sustainable outdoor methods employed first.

“The way forward to sustainable coffee production is really in the field with small-scale farmers looking at water consumption for the production of the coffee,” says Telemans.
How can we rewild coffee?

Shade trees, for example, are used to shield coffee plants from direct sunlight and help steady temperature changes throughout the day.

These extra trees protect the coffee plants from strong winds and upgrade the soil quality, as the leaf litter naturally fertilises the earth. Their deep roots can also promote a deeper infiltration of rainwater so the coffee plant has easier access to water.

New irrigation technologies are another key tool in managing water consumption. Drip irrigation systems allow water and fertiliser to drip slowly to the roots of the plants. Other options include sprinkler systems or micro-jets, though there is little research on how these technologies boost the yield of coffee farms.

Coffee belongs in a wild natural ecosystem.

Vestvik wants Wild and other coffee companies to eventually rely on nature's power through rewilding coffee; a conservation practice to restore and protect natural areas. “Coffee belongs in a wild natural ecosystem”, says Vestvik.

Telemans counters that rewilding may be a suitable approach for niche-markets, but romantic for the global coffee market.

What coffee experts do agree on is that adaptations need to be made now, and in ways that are accessible for most producers. How this is done remains up for debate and dependent on the regional context.

“Climate change is already something that we're clearly experiencing,” says Bunn. “But this is not going to get better, this is going to get worse. So what we're experiencing now is just a start.”

UK
Government on precipice of historic mistake over NHS strikes, warns BMA chair


Ted Hennessey, PA
Sun, 19 February 2023 

The Government is standing on the precipice of a historic mistake by failing to stop strike action affecting the NHS, the British Medical Association’s (BMA) head will say.

On Monday, 45,000 junior doctors in England will know the result of their ballot for strike action over pay and working conditions.

The BMA’s chair is set to condemn the Government for refusing to meet the terms of trade unions, while addressing a young doctors’ conference in Bristol on Sunday.

Professor Philip Banfield will say Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Steve Barclay are standing on the precipice of a historic mistake.

He is due to say junior doctors deserve better pay, and that the Government is letting patients down.

Professor Philip Banfield will hit out at a “conveyor belt of prime ministers with empty promises to the people” over the NHS, who have been “cutting it to the bone and sucking out the marrow to boot.”

He is also due to point at bed numbers and funding, while patient demand and staff vacancies increase.

Prof Banfield will go on to say: “Doctors have never experienced so much stress, so much moral injury from not being able to undertake the care that they’re so desperate to give.

“This Government, with its silence and disregard for our highly skilled and expert workforce, is consciously and deliberately overseeing the demise of the NHS at a point when it is needed most.”

He will conclude: “All the levers to reverse the exodus of staff and the underfunding and chronic decline of the NHS are within the gift the Health Secretary, who can make pay review bodies properly independent and fit for purpose; the Chancellor, who as chair of the health select committee wrote a book about fixing the NHS and improving patient safety but seems to have forgotten that now he’s in a position to make things right; and the Prime Minister, who has money to ignore billions wasted in dodgy PPE so should have the money to rescue the NHS from the brink.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay is singled out by the BMA chair for criticism (PA)

“When the Welsh Government can acknowledge the cuts to pay in the healthcare workforce and can commit to supporting full pay restoration, it puts the UK government and its greater resources to shame.”

It comes as ongoing strike action continues to affect the NHS.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We hugely value the work of junior doctors and we have been clear that supporting and retaining the NHS workforce is one of our main priorities.

“As part of a multi-year deal we agreed with the BMA, junior doctors’ pay has increased by a cumulative 8.2% since 2019/20. We also introduced a higher pay band for the most experienced staff and increased rates for night shifts.

“The Health and Social Care Secretary has met with the BMA and other medical unions to discuss pay, conditions and workload.

“He’s been clear he wants to continue discussing how we can make the NHS a better place to work for all.”

Strikes Do Not Help Striking Workers, Says Penny Mordaunt

“The only people that benefit from strikes are the Labour Party. Striking workers don’t benefit from strikes."

Ned Simons
Sun, 19 February 2023 

Penny Mordaunt

Penny Mordaunt has said it was a “myth” that going on strike helps workers.

The Commons leader said on Sunday that encouraging people to take industrial action was “political cynicism”.

Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Mordaunt said handing out pay rises risked increased inflation which would cost people more overall.

“I think it is political cynicism of the worst kind to encourage strikes,” she said.

“The only people that benefit from strikes are the Labour Party. Striking workers don’t benefit from strikes.

“It’s a myth that strikes are helpful. They’re not. They exacerbate financial problems for the very people going out on strike. It’s not good for the country and I’d encourage people not to do it.”

Figures released last week showed December saw the highest number of working days lost to strike action for more than a decade.

About 843,000 working days were lost to labour disputes in the month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

It said this represents the heaviest impact from strike action during a month since November 2011, when 997,000 working days were hit.

Union leaders have warned industrial action across the public sector is not about to end, with Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite saying strike action “isn’t going away”.

On Monday, 45,000 junior doctors in England will know the result of their ballot for strike action over pay and working conditions.

The government is in the process of introducing new laws designed to make it harder for people to

Under the new law, unions and employers must guarantee a base level of service in the health, rail, education, fire and border security sectors while industrial action takes place.

Strikes will be deemed illegal if trade unions fail to do so, while employers will also able to sue unions and sack workers who do not comply.

Earlier, unions representing more than 20 million workers across Europe criticised the plans and rejected the government’s claims that the legislation would bring the UK into line with Europe.