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Until recently, Shover Singh Praja often went to bed without dinner and had to work on an empty stomach, barely able to feed his family. Born to a poor family in Makwanpur district, central Nepal, Shover now earns way above the national average and has become a role model among his fellow Chepang, an indigenous ethnic group who depend on wild yams. The secret of Shover’s success? Bees.

For the last 2 years, Shover has looked after 55 hives and last year he netted US$1,000 selling honey, as well as hives to other keen beekeepers. Right away, the money was put to good use.

Seven leading aid agencies call on donors to act now to prevent humanitarian disaster

Niamey (Niger), March 21, 2012 – A new study has found that between 70 and 90 per cent of people from communities in western and eastern Niger fear their food stocks will run out before the next harvest, creating an imminent ‘hunger gap’. All families surveyed said they had already reduced the amount of food consumed each day because they did not have enough to eat.

Knowledge is power. A truism, granted, but oh so true, as well known by 13-year-old Sur and 14-yearold Arbiew, stateless girls in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand.

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March 2012: One year after the tsunami hit Japan, Plan is still working to meet the overwhelming need for emotional support from children and their families.

"There are children who are scared to flush the toilet as the sound of running water reminds them of the tsunami," says Mie Kashiwade who is leading Plan Japan’s emergency aid response unit in Sendai.

27 February, 2012: Armed attacks by rebels in northern Mali have led to a large influx of families escaping to Niger, many to the bordering region of Tillabéri, an area which is already undergoing a severe food crisis caused by crop failure and low rainfall.

20 February, 2012: The aid effort to ward off severe hunger in Niger is being complicated by the large influx of Malians escaping fighting in northern Mali. Over 20,000 refugees are now in the Tillaberi region which borders northern Mali - out of that group over 2000 people have reached communities where Plan is working - a region where many inhabitants are already facing severe food insecurity and malnutrition.

MINDANAO, Philippines: They’ve seen their homes destroyed, their possessions drenched and their lives turned upside down, but for the victims of Typhoon Sendong, which wreaked havoc on the island of Mindanao, Philippines, on December 16, there’s no looking back. The well-storied horrors of the storm and floods, which forced 430,500 people from their homes, won’t soon be forgotten, but there are mouths to feed and lives to rebuild.