Category: Articles

Poor sanitation is a silent killer. Every year, unsafe sanitation contributes to over 432,000 deaths from diarrhoeal diseases, with the vast majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, sanitation remains one of the most underfunded and neglected public health issues globally.

The WHO’s Guidelines on Sanitation and Health provide a stark reminder: access to a safe toilet isn’t just about dignity, it’s about life, equality, and development. Sanitation is crucial for preventing disease outbreaks, reducing healthcare costs, and enabling children—especially girls—to stay in school.

What’s more, the guidelines stress that simply building latrines is not enough. Systems must be safe, context-appropriate, and sustainably managed. This means integrating sanitation into health policies, investing in long-term operations, and addressing inequalities in access — especially for women, children, and people with disabilities.

At PROSDOMA, we advocate for a world where no one is left behind when it comes to basic human needs. Because sanitation is not a privilege — it’s a human right.

✅ What Can Be Done?

1️⃣ Adopt Health-Based Sanitation Policies

Governments should align sanitation investments with public health goals.

2️⃣ Support Community-Driven Sanitation Plans

Include local voices in design, maintenance, and education efforts.

3️⃣ Invest in School and Health Facility Sanitation

Ensure every school and clinic has safe, gender-sensitive toilets.

4️⃣ Tackle Inequity in Access

Prioritize sanitation services for marginalized and remote populations.

Healthy people, healthy systems — it starts with sanitation.

www.prosdoma.org

#SanitationMatters #HealthForAll #WHO #CleanToiletsSaveLives #Prosdoma #WASH

by E.D.

Source:

World Health Organization (2018). Guidelines on Sanitation and Health. Geneva: WHO. ISBN: 9789241512893.

What if climate change isn’t just an environmental concern, but a global security threat? That’s the warning from the new Climate Realism Initiative — and it’s a wake-up call we can’t ignore.

Launched by policy expert Varun Sivaram, the initiative challenges traditional thinking. Instead of focusing solely on cutting emissions in one country, it urges a smarter global approach:
 Accept that global temperatures may rise by 3°C this century
 Prepare for the impacts: forced migration, food insecurity, extreme weather
 Invest in tech with real global potential: next-gen geothermal, advanced nuclear, solid-state batteries
 Make climate a top security priority
 Use trade to hold high-emission countries accountable

This bold new approach acknowledges that piecemeal solutions aren’t enough. We need to build resilience — now.

At PROSDOMA, we support vulnerable communities in both Canada and Africa to do just that. From training newcomers on essential skills in Alberta  to boosting sustainable farming in rural Africa , we help people adapt, thrive, and grow stronger in the face of climate and social change.

Let’s move beyond talk. Let’s act with realism, compassion, and impact. Join PROSDOMA in creating a future that’s not only sustainable, but secure.

Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/04/07/climate-change-realism-security
#ClimateRealism #EnvironmentalSecurity #ResilientCommunities #MigrationMatters #ClimateJustice #CleanTechFuture #FoodSecurityNow #SustainableLiving #ProsdomaImpact #ClimateAdaptation
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With over 60,000 species, Alberta is a biodiversity hotspot. From boreal forests to grasslands, each ecosystem plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of life.

But this balance is fragile. Climate change, habitat loss, and pollution are threatening native species—some of which are now at risk.

At PROSDOMA, we believe environmental justice includes protecting wildlife and ecosystems that sustain us all. Through our sustainability initiatives, community education, and reforestation projects, we’re doing our part to help biodiversity thrive.

 How you can help:
– Stay aware of local species & support biodiversity in your area
– Give space to wild animals & keep natural areas clean
– Report injured/orphaned wildlife to AIWC
– Get involved with local conservation & sustainability efforts

 Learn more & support our mission: prosdoma.org
 Source: alberta.ca | aiwc.ca

#WildlifeConservation #AlbertaWildlife #Sustainability #PROSDOMA
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When people think about migration, they often imagine paperwork, borders, and legal
processes. But for many migrants and asylum seekers, the real challenge begins long after the
flights have landed and forms have been filed.
Behind every asylum case, job search, and permanent residence application is a person
navigating the invisible weight of trauma, uncertainty, and isolation. For migrants and refugees,
especially those forced to flee due to conflict, poverty, or persecution, migration is not just a
physical transition—it is an emotional upheaval.
Globally, up to 30% of refugees and migrants are estimated to suffer from post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), 40% from depression, and many more from anxiety and prolonged grief,
according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Many assume that once migrants secure legal status, the hardest part is over. But in reality, the
trauma of what was left behind doesn’t disappear and the demands of starting over in an
unfamiliar system can be overwhelming.
There is pressure to find work immediately. To understand complicated government forms. To
navigate racism or isolation and to do all of this while grieving home
In Alberta, where an increasing number of migrants are resettling in smaller towns and remote
communities, the gap in culturally relevant mental health care is stark. Many migrants come
from cultures where mental health is stigmatised or misunderstood, making it even harder to
reach out for help.
While PROSDOMA is widely known for its work in agricultural development—providing
training, infrastructure, and services to empower small-scale farmers—it has quietly become a
lifeline for vulnerable migrant communities, particularly in Alberta.
Between 2024 and March 2025, PROSDOMA filed 16 asylum cases, with 5 individuals
successfully granted Protected Person Status, and submitted 7 permanent residence
applications, 2 of which have already been approved.Understanding the link between mental
health and socioeconomic stability, PROSDOMA combines legal aid with holistic community
support.
In the past year alone, 14 newcomers were trained in basic computer skills, easing the stress of
job searching, 3 individuals secured full-time employment, and 2 found part-time work—
restoring a sense of agency and purpose. 5 migrants were given security and first aid training,
offering short-term employment opportunities and stability 13 migrants were connected to legal
aid, food banks, and shelters, easing daily stressors that often worsen anxiety or depression, 9
individuals received help filing their income taxes, a small but critical act that fosters inclusion
and reduces bureaucratic overwhelm.
Each of these achievements are more than a number; they are mental health interventions in
disguise. Reducing uncertainty, building trust, and restoring dignity are foundational to mental
well-being.
As Canada continues to welcome migrants fleeing war, persecution and instability,
PROSDOMA is showing that healing does not happen through paperwork alone. It happens
when newcomers are seen, heard, and supported—emotionally and practically.

One Million Sticks and a Harvest in Bloom

One Million Sticks and a Harvest in Bloom
For generations, farming in the remote hills of Ako, a town in the Donga Mantung Division of
the North-West Region of Cameroon has been a quiet struggle. Tucked between thick forests
and winding dirt paths, the communities here depend on the land but the land has not always
been kind.
Yields were unpredictable. A bad harvest meant going hungry. There was no training, no
support and no access to improved varieties that could survive pests or poor weather.
Cassava is not glamorous and rarely makes headlines, but for families in Ako, Nkambe and
Ndu, it is life. It is pounded, grated, dried, boiled and turned into everyday meals like fufu and
garri. But growing it was always difficult. Farmers used what they had; old, weak sticks just
hoping something would grow.
With support from government ministries and development partners, Promotion of Sustainable
development in Donga-Mantung Association (PROSDOMA), launched a program to help
farmers not only grow more but grow smarter. PROSDOMA has distributed over one million
improved cassava cuttings to local farmers, completely free of charge. These cuttings are from
stronger varieties that could withstand climate changes, resist pests and produce more food.
PROSDOMA worked hand-in-hand with farmers, offering training on how to prepare the land,
plant in neat rows, manage pests using safe method and store cassava after harvest to reduce
loss. Field schools and demonstration plots were set up and farming has became a shared
learning experience, not just a lonely chore.
Today, the fields in Ako, Nkambe, and Ndu are getting greener, fuller and more hopeful than
they have been in years. What was once dry, cracked land now stretches with rows of healthy
cassava plants.
For farmers who once barely had enough to eat, this is more than just a good harvest, it is the
beginning of something new. More cassava meant more food on the table, money for school
fees and savings for emergencies. It meant farmers did not have to rely on others to survive.
They had something of their own, something they built from the ground up.
A stronger harvest brings more than food. It brings dignity, confidence, and independence. It
allows parents to dream of a better future for their children. It gives farmers the power to plan
ahead, not just worry about surviving day to day.
PROSDOMA’s one million sticks has turned into thousands of stories of resilience and
renewal.

Starting life in a new country can feel overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. That’s where settlement agencies come in! 

These organizations, often supported by government funding, offer free or low-cost services to help newcomers like you:

 Navigate job searches
 Access housing resources
 Understand the healthcare and education systems
 Evaluate foreign credentials
 Learn about career licensing and bridging programs
 Connect with others in your community

 As Ruth Demeke, a newcomer turned community leader, shares: “Settlement agencies were vital to my success.” She now delivers info sessions at the same places that helped her family 30 years ago!

 Whether you’re new to Alberta or arriving from halfway across the world, these agencies are your lifeline to smoother integration, better opportunities, and a real sense of belonging.

At PROSDOMA, we’re proud to be part of this network of support—linking newcomers to everything from job search help to food banks, basic computer training, and immigration aid. And we do more than that! We also promote climate action and sustainable agriculture in Africa. 

 Don’t navigate your new life alone. Reach out to your local settlement agency—or connect with PROSDOMA today and let’s build your future together.

 Source: https://www.wes.org/how-settlement-agencies-in-canada-can-benefit-newcomers/

#NewcomersCanada #SettlementSupport #IntegrationMatters #PROSDOMA #CanadaImmigration #NewToCanada #ImmigrantSuccess #CareerInCanada #SustainableDevelopment #CommunitySupport

Since 1973, this United Nations-led day has united over 150 countries to raise awareness and take bold action for the planet. This year’s theme? Ending plastic pollution — a crisis we can no longer ignore.

Every year, the world produces more than 430 million tonnes of plastic, two-thirds of which become waste. These plastics pollute our oceans, harm wildlife, and even enter our food chain. That’s why countries like South Korea are taking the lead to push for a global plastic treaty — and so are we.

At PROSDOMA, we believe that environmental justice starts at the community level. That’s why we:
 Support sustainable food systems
 Promote zero-waste practices
 Host tree-planting & reforestation projects
 Educate and advocate on climate-friendly policies
 Support newcomers in building eco-conscious communities

 Whether you plant a tree, reduce single-use plastics, or share knowledge — your actions matter.

This World Environment Day, join the movement toward a cleaner, greener future.
 Learn more & get involved: prosdoma.org
 Source: worldenvironmentday.global
#WorldEnvironmentDay #PlasticPollution #ClimateAction #Sustainability #PROSDOMA
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