It’s a terrible thing to think about, but the people who stand up for human rights are often mistreated and even killed for their beliefs. In 2009, a human rights activist named Natalia Estemirova was kidnapped and murdered while performing her important human rights work. Human rights defenders are often attacked in remote locations and their fates can remain a mystery for untold lengths of time. The Natalia Project was formed in Estemirova’s honor to help other civil rights activists stay safe.

The project involves an alarm worn on the activist’s wrist. If the wearer is injured, attacked or abducted in the line of duty, he or she can manually trigger the wristlet’s alarm. The alarm will sound on its own if the bracelet is removed forcefully. A signal goes out to the Civil Rights Defenders and a network of committed individuals who then spread the word on the activist’s situation. The activist’s location is transmitted via the GPS located in the bracelet.

All parts of the network have jobs to perform. Some send reports to news outlets, some speak to the media, some work with government officials to ensure the safety of the endangered activist. The regimes behind the kidnappings and other atrocities obviously want to avoid having their actions broadcast to the entire world, so the Natalia Project aims to shine a spotlight on them. The bracelets will start appearing on the arms of civil rights workers any day now.

The post Anti-Kidnap Bracelet Keeps Human Rights Workers Safe first appeared on Gajitz.

In rural Africa where electricity is scarce, kerosene lamps are often used for light. Besides being prohibitively expensive for the poorest families, kerosene lamps are also extremely dangerous and a major cause of death around the world. Replacing kerosene lamps as the primary source of light in the developing world could save millions of lives as well as saving users money. Plus Minus Solar has a solution that will improve the lives of those in developing countries while also providing a useful product for those in the developed world. Plus Minus Solar’s Solar Pebble is a small solar powered lamp that charges easily, either on the ground or strapped to a backpack. It provides a light that is much safer than the improvised kerosene lamps currently used in many parts of the world.

But the product isn’t only geared toward developing nations: it’s also going to be sold in the UK, where festival-goers, campers and anyone who needs a clean source of light can make use of the Solar Pebble’s power. It can even be used as a mobile phone charger, coming to the rescue of anyone who’s ever been caught away from home with a low battery. The ratcheting handle allows it to sit on the ground, be carried in one’s hand, or be strapped to a tent or backpack to soak up the sun during the day. And when the sun goes down, the handle allows the user to prop the light up at the needed angle or hang it from above. The company plans to launch the product in Africa in June 2010; the Solar Pebbles will be assembled in factories in the target countries, adding another level of commitment to healthy social change in areas that need it the most.

The post Sun Powered Humanitarians: Lamp Lights Developing World first appeared on Gajitz.