All People Making a Difference
Prison inmates refurbish bikes for childrenAt Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, S.D., about 1,300 bikes are restored and given away every year through its Pedal Power from the Pen program.
World鈥檚 first solar airport takes off in southern IndiaThe airport uses 46,000 solar panels spread across 45 acres to power all its electricity needs 鈥� and sells excess power to the government-run grid.
Tide and wave energy may yet live up to their potentialProgress in harnessing the power of ocean tides and waves is being made as governments and the private sector bring marine energy into the mainstream.
Colombia's 'new men' confront machismo and gender violenceThe past decade has brought a growing recognition that boys and men must be in the forefront of combating violence against women.
Shine and Inspire asks those it helps to 'pay it forward'The nonprofit group wants to know 'if we help you to shine, what would that inspire you to do?'
Difference MakerAlexis Hurd-Shires found her calling helping Syrian refugeesShe headed to Lebanon with the general aim of doing some good. Finding a struggling refugee community badly in need of a school, she decided to open one.
Online 'mappers' track child slavery in GhanaA crowdsourcing project is working with The Global Fund to End Slavery to produce accurate, public data for use by activists and governments to clamp down on trafficking.
Cheap, off-the-shelf technology cuts climate losses in BangladeshA multimillion-dollar investment improves a dam system, but it only works because a $50 salinity monitor allows villagers to make good day-to-day decisions.
Three cool solutions to the clean water problemProviding safe water around the globe is a huge undertaking. But several solutions 鈥� from drinking straws to a 'drinkable' book 鈥� are making a difference.
TripAdvisor-style ratings may save migrant workers from slaveryContratados.org, a site for migrants from Mexico working in the US, lets migrant workers rate their experiences with recruiters or employers online, by voicemail, or by text message.
Difference MakerJohn Hope Bryant wants African-American students to be smart about moneyOperation HOPE is helping to fill a yawning gap that many finance experts see between what Americans know about financial planning and what they need to know.
New ways to help Hong Kong's human trafficking victimsHong Kong is a hotbed of sex trafficking and forced labor but it narrowly defines what trafficking is. Now Liberty Asia is creatively applying existing laws to trafficking cases.
Young Iraqis in Baghdad hold a peace carnivalThe goal for next year: a 鈥榙ay of peace鈥� celebrated in every province of the war-torn country.
More Than Words uses books to boost foster teensThe Boston-area nonprofit employs troubled teens to run online and storefront bookstores while also teaching them life skills.
Engineering Smiles aims to bring mobile dental care to those in needA group of engineering students in Arizona, most of them women, is designing a mobile dental facility for use in Nicaragua.
Difference MakerJeff Lee and Ann Martin started a place to read about 鈥� and experience 鈥� the WestThe Rocky Mountain Land Library, 32,000 books about the American West, will find a suitable home聽on the historical Buffalo Peaks Ranch in Colorado.
Geek teams on two continents write poverty-breaking apps for KenyaThe Nov. 20-22 Poverty Hackathon will be the first international development-focused virtual hackathon. A panel of judges will choose a winning idea.
Difference MakerTemsutula Imsong picked up a broom and bucket and cleaned up a riverbankThe ghats, or steps, along the Ganges River seemed to be beyond help. But her volunteer effort has now been lauded by India's prime minister.
How one American found a way to help Syrian refugees: baby carriersMothers around the world are sending聽baby carriers to聽Syrian refugees, revealing a compassionate face behind the ongoing immigration debate.
Syrian journalist wins award for her courageous reportingShe has been targeted by both the Syrian government and militant forces after setting up an underground newspaper to report on what was really happening.