'No Sex For Fish' Update

Mouthwash and coronavirus; polio setback Goats and Soda editor's note Julia Gunther for NPR Just a year ago, my colleague Rebecca Davis and I were enjoying a meal of fried, fresh caught fish and homemade bread in the home of Alice Amonde (pictured above) in Nduru Beach, Kenya. We sat on her comfy green couch and chatted while a kitten played at our feet. Today, Alice Amonde's home sits under 5 feet of water. Davis and I were part of an NPR team reporting on a revolutionary group -- the "No Sex For Fish" collective. These are women who said no to the practice of trading sex for a catch of fish to sell and were able to get grants to buy their own boats. They flipped the power dynamic. [But in 2020, their lives took a terrible turn.]( After an extremely rainy spring, the waters of Lake Victoria rose. Nduru Beach was flooded. The residents were evacuated. "The swelling of the lake has totally destroyed our lives," Amonde told Viola Kosome, a Kenyan journalist who was part of our team. Many of the villagers now live in shelters further inland and report that they are struggling to feed their families. This is one 2020 disaster that has nothing to do with the pandemic -- a reminder that for so many people in the world, life is always precarious and unpredictable. "I am just surviving by the grace of God," says Naomy Akoth, a mother of four who is now living with her children in a school classroom. Yet she refuses to give in to despair: "I am still hopeful that fate will change for us." [Read the story here.]( Marc Silver Editor, Goats and Soda --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- COVID questions Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR [Are 3 Masks Better Than 1? Will Mouthwash Keep You Safe?]( Readers are asking: Will doubling up on masks double our protection? And why am I seeing headlines about gargling away coronavirus? in the news [Poor Countries Fall Behind In Race To Reserve COVID-19 Vaccine]( Wealthy countries have a strategy to secure doses of any forthcoming vaccines. And that's creating a problem for lower-income nations. [The Campaign To Wipe Out Polio Was Going Really Well ... Until It Wasn't]( It looked as if polio would be the second human disease to be eliminated -- after smallpox. But "2020 has been a terrible year," the head of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative says. from the archives Jean Briggs Collection/American Philosophical Society [How Inuit Parents Teach Kids To Control Their Anger]( These parents use powerful -- and surprising -- tools to teach their children. Correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff wrote that it's "one of the most intriguing parenting strategies I've come across." links we like - Anna Kalbarczyk, assistant director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health, argues for ["smashing obstacles to women's global health leadership"]( in Global Health Now. - NPR's Picture Show documents ["a health care worker's new normal"]( with photos and text by her daughter. - Why are they playing a Michael Bolton version of ["Lean on Me" in a psychiatric unit in Nigeria?]( The Guardian explains. - Feeling stressed by ... everything? Maybe you'll feel better after watching a clip of [a snowball fight in France in 1897](. Brought to you by The New York Times. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [goatsandsoda@npr.org](mailto:goatsandsoda@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Health, Daily News, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Goats and Soda emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]