All People Making a Difference
Interest-free loans don't make sense: But they do make a differenceIn a low-income area of Seattle, neighbors help to crowdfund the dreams of local entrepreneurs by providing interest-free loans.
Difference MakerMel King has spent a lifetime as an advocate for Boston familiesToday his聽South End Technology Center is helping the city's youths prepare for the future.
Solar network 'in a box' brings phone service to disaster zonesA small Rescue Base Station will allow people to call, send messages, and even browse the Internet for help when regular phone service is disrupted by a natural disaster.
Build a solar-powered school in rural Kenya 鈥� in 48 hoursThe flat-packed building kit from Aleutia, a British tech company, includes computers preloaded with educational resources.
Tanzania cooks up a sweet potato fix for its droughtFarmers are switching to hardy orange sweet potato to cope with drought and improve food security.
Barron Prize encourages youths who 'make the world better'In the 15 years since its founding, the Barron Prize has awarded more than $540,000 to some 364 young leaders who have collectively raised more than $15 million for their causes.
A farm grows in Philadelphia's ChinatownSet between a Shell station and a Catholic school, this small, corner-store-sized farm has big ambitions: to provide food to the homeless, purpose to the aimless, and satisfaction to everyone willing to get their hands dirty.
Difference MakerErik de Buhr builds huts for the homeless 鈥� but eventually gives them a 'loving shove'The 6-by-10-foot dwellings provide people who have been living on the streets a safe place to sleep and put together a plan.
NASA engineer repairs bikes 鈥� and young livesAn astrophysicist at NASA uses his engineering skills to help children in his neighborhood with free bike repairs.
Men are stepping up to oppose child marriage in PakistanMen make up the majority of a nonprofit human rights group working to protect girls and women.
On reality TV in Tanzania women win fame, fortune 鈥� and farm toolsThe series provides meatier content than the average TV reality show, but it resonates with viewers. The goal is to promote better agricultural practices and give a greater voice to women farmers.
Own a home in just four years? This program does it.In Cleveland, worker-owners at Evergreen Cooperatives can buy homes without a loan, keeping workers near their jobs and helping revitalize neighborhoods.
On former battlefields, Vietnam's pepper crop yields a brighter futureRoots of Peace provides Vietnamese farmers with training, seeds, and tools that have helped their pepper orchards to thrive.
Difference MakerPeg Hacskaylo created a haven for survivors of domestic abuseThe District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) in Washington, D.C., provides a launching pad for restarting women's lives.
In rural Africa, climate work brings political power to womenIn Mali, women have become central to efforts to adapt to climate change. Their work is gradually helping them increase their political clout too.
Difference MakerMel West promotes a vehicle that gives dignity and mobility to disabled peopleThe rugged, hand-powered wheelchairs, made by volunteers, are distributed in more than 100 countries.
For young girls, an education; for older women, jobsA successful businessman in the US, Virendra Singh returned to his home in India to found a nonprofit group that educates girls and employs older women.
School gardens fight hunger in developing countriesGovernments and private groups are seeing the potential of school gardens to help overcome a nutritional crisis.
World鈥檚 most endangered big cat may be on the reboundThe number of Amur leopards has more than doubled since hitting a low in 2007, researchers in Russia and China say.
Difference MakerTeresa Goines started Old Skool Cafe to bring jobs 鈥� and a sense of family 鈥� to youthsShe鈥檚 helped change the lives of more than 300 at-risk youths in an impoverished neighborhood of San Francisco.
