Headline

On $15 A Month, Venezuela’s Teachers Live Hand To Mouth

Published

6 months ago

February 22, 2025

Editor

With a monthly salary of $15, a teacher in Venezuela earns nowhere near enough to cover their basic food necessities, never mind rent or medicine.

Many in the crisis-stricken South American country are forced to work multiple jobs, or pool their money with family.

Thousands have emigrated in pursuit of greater financial stability.

“For the past two years, the situation has been horrible; you can’t even buy shoes,” 70-year-old Maria Cerezo, who has been a teacher in the public sector for 39 years, told AFP at a thrift shop in the capital Caracas.

She had just selected a blue nylon dress with white polka dots — and a price tag of $2. She hid the garment behind other clothes for sale.

“I’ll get it tomorrow, God willing, because I don’t have the money today,” Cerezo explained.

She remembers a time when a teacher would buy “clothes, shoes, electrical appliances” with their yearly bonus.

Nowadays, “it’s not possible.”

A basket of food essentials for a family of four in Venezuela costs about $500 a month, 33 times the salary of a teacher — a profession that has historically been underpaid, but never as little as now.

Cerezo’s family budget is augmented by the salaries of her daughter — also a teacher — and her husband, a lawyer.

– Role models –

An 80-percent drop in GDP over a decade of increasingly repressive rule by President Nicolas Maduro since 2013 has pushed more than eight million Venezuelans — a quarter of the population — to seek a better life elsewhere.

A public sector teacher’s salary is not even among the lowest.

The minimum salary in Venezuela today is $2 a month, which the government supplements with subsidies.

In the private sector, the average monthly income is about $200.

Most public schools today operate only two or three days a week so that teachers can work additional jobs.

Some give private lessons, others drive taxis or sell crafts.

Venezuela’s education system has a deficit of 200,000 teachers, according to the government, and enrolment of student teachers is down nearly 90 percent.

For those who remain in the profession, there is the El Ropero Solidario thrift store in Caracas, run by teacher Kethy Mendoza and supported by the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers.

Much of the merchandise comes from educators, who receive half of the sale price of an item of clothing — which they can also opt to donate — while the other half keeps the shop running.

“We are role models for the children,” Mendoza, 64, explained of the endeavor, which also aims to help teachers in need of medicines, food and emergency hospital care.

“If we go to school poorly dressed because the economic crisis doesn’t allow us to buy a change of clothes or decent shoes, how can we expect of the pupils to come dressed properly, presentable?”

Maduro, who claimed victory in July 2024 elections that the opposition and much of the international community says he stole, insists low salaries are a consequence of international sanctions.

Experts point to economic mismanagement and corruption in the oil-rich former petro state as other factors.
AFP

Headline

Medical Plane Crash Kills Six In Kenya

Published

8 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

A medical light aircraft crashed into a small residential block near the Kenyan capital Nairobi, killing at least six people and injuring two seriously, a local official said Thursday.

The plane took off from Nairobi’s Wilson airport at 2:17 pm local time (1100 GMT) and was en route to Somaliland when it came down in Ruiru, Kiambu County, shortly after 3:00 pm (1200 GMT).

“We have lost four people, including the pilot… it was all fatal,” said Kiambu County commissioner Henry Wafula, adding that two people were killed on the ground. He said another two had been “seriously injured”.

AFP

Headline

FULL LIST: Ghana Releases Identities Of Helicopter Crash Victims

Published

16 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

The Ghanaian Government has released the names of individuals who died in Wednesday morning’s military helicopter crash.

The crash involved a Z-9 helicopter belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces, which lost contact during a flight from Accra, the capital, to Obuasi, a gold-mining town in the south, where the crew headed for an official engagement.

In a post via its official X handle on Wednesday, the Ghana Armed Forces said the victims comprise eight people.

The names and portfolios of the victims are listed below:

1. Edward Omane Boamah – Minister for Defence

2. ⁠Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed – Minister for Environment, Science and Technology

3. Muniru Mohammed – Acting deputy, National Security Coordinator and former Minister for Food and Agriculture

4. Samuel Sarpong – Vice- Chairman, National Democratic Congress

5. ⁠Samuel Aboagye – Former parliamentary candidate

6. Peter Baafemi Anala – ⁠Squadron leader

7. ⁠Manaen Twum Ampadu – Flying officer

8. ⁠Ernest Addo – Sergeant

Following the sad development, Ghanaian President John Mahama described the incident as a national tragedy and suspended activities upon receiving the news.

He also directed that flags fly at half-mast to honour the memory of the victims.

Headline

Bodies Of Helicopter Crash Victims Arrive In Accra

Published

16 hours ago

August 7, 2025

Editor

The Ghana Armed Forces on Wednesday confirmed the arrival in Accra of the remains of the victims of the Z-9 military helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of eight personnel.

It stated that the victims’ bodies were transported from the crash site aboard a Ghana Air Force Casa aircraft and received at the Air Force Base in Accra on August 6, 2025.

According to a statement issued by the Acting Director General, Public Relations, Ghana Navy, Captain Veronica Arhin, government officials, military personnel, and sympathisers led by the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Julius Debrah, were present to receive the bodies.

The statement said the remains have since been deposited at the 37 Military Hospital for preservation and preparations for burial.

It noted that all eight bodies were recovered from the crash site located in the Sikaman area, near Adansi Akrofuom in Ghana’s Ashanti Region.

The Ghana Armed Forces extended its appreciation to the people of Sikaman and the security services for their support during the recovery operations.

“The Deputy Minister for Defence, Hon. Brogya Genfi, and the Military High Command extend their deepest condolences to the families in this difficult national tragedy,” the statement added.