Millennium Villages Blog

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015

Post Archive for Topic: Infrastructure


Community gets second wind after disaster

Storm clouds had been gathering all afternoon that Sunday. But no one in Mindhine expected the heavy downpour and strong winds that hit this Millennium Village last August. The roof of the health facility, covering six rooms that offer out-patient services, was blown off. The electricity line, kitchen and a pit latrine nearby were not spared either. At the time, the dispensary was being refurbished and expanded, and so construction materials like timber were damaged by water. Drugs and paper work were destroyed, iron sheets were blown away. Property worth approximately Ksh 450,000 ($5,600) was damaged. The only surviving building . . . [more]

Mayange sees the light at the end of the tunnel!

Mayange had been yearning for this moment for a long time: finally, the community of this Rwanda Millennium Village has seen the light, in every sense of the word. Janvier Nzanywayimana was one of the people who were living in the dark. Now connection to the electricity grid has allowed him to go to university. How? 'I finished high school in 2007 but couldn't afford to continue my education. . . . [more]

Sauri looks back on five years of success

Located in Western Kenya, Sauri was the first Millennium Village (MV) to see the light in 2005. Five years on, the project area has grown to nearly 70,000 people and has registered numerous successes in its multi-sectoral approach. The MV team and the community celebrated this at the inauguration of new classrooms at the end of October 2010. [caption id="attachment_1457" align="alignright" width="150" caption="The Sauri . . . [more]

Koraro receives an award for its education achievements

The Millennium Village of Koraro, Ethiopia, was recognized for its achievements in the field of primary education in the state of Tigray, and was awarded a trophy and certificate in the local educational festival in December 2010. Since 20005, Koraro has significantly contributed to the expansion and strengthening of universal primary education in the 22 establishments located in the project area. Through partnerships with the government . . . [more]

Evaluating the Millennium Villages: A response to Clemens and Demombynes

To download this article as a PDF, please click HERE. The discussion around evaluating large-scale development projects is an important one. Michael Clemens and Gabriel Demombynes offer a critique of the Millennium Village Project (MVP) and its research methods. Their paper misunderstands the MVP's aims and evaluation methods. We respond briefly here, to clarify some of those basic misunderstandings about the project's goals and approaches to evaluation. 1. Goals of the Millennium Villages Project The MVP is a ten-year project running through 2015, the deadline year for the Millennium Development . . . [more]

WFP Director hails the “revolution of hope” in Ruhiira

'Welcome visitors, welcome today, we've all been waiting so long!' Coming over the crest of the hill into the Millennium Village of Ruhiira, Uganda, children's singing voices gradually become louder, intermingled with bursts of clapping and laughter. The long-awaited visitor, Jeffrey Sachs, is due to arrive at any moment, and the anticipation is palpable. Sachs, Head . . . [more]

Sauri farmers learn about new concepts in water and agriculture management

Fifty farmers, including 10 women, from Sauri Millennium Village, Western Kenya, were trained in July on new concepts in water and agriculture management by a team from the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies. The training came as a result of a two year old collaboration between The MDG Centre and Mashav, Israel's National Agency for International Development Cooperation. In December 2008, three staff from the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) went to Israel . . . [more]

Coding Progress: Matt Berg on ICT in the Millennium Villages

When is a text message more than just “hello?” When a community health worker can text symptoms of an illness and receive an instant diagnosis without leaving a patient’s home. When a farmer can report a broken water pump and instantly activate delivery of replacement parts. And when a herder can learn the day’s commodity prices without traveling to . . . [more]

Improving Water Resources in Tiby

In the savanna of central Mali where rainfall is unreliable, water is precious and clean water rare. Relying on unprotected water sources for drinking and cooking, most of the community in the Millennium Village of Tiby has been constantly at risk of exposure to waterborne disease, which can lead to serious illness and even death. Today, an ambitious new piped water system is changing this situation, bringing safer water to more convenient locations throughout the Millennium Village. Read the rest . . . [more]

Millennium Promise Japan: Connecting Japan and Uganda through Secondary Education Partnerships

Japan can feel like a very long way from Africa, and after 21 hours on a plane and a few delayed connections, this feeling certainly rung true for the delegation from Millennium Promise Japan who recently paid a visit to the Ruhiira Millennium Village in Uganda. And yet connection . . . [more]

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