All People Making a Difference
Difference MakerHarnin Manalaysay is a father figure for hundreds of Filipino street childrenFor 30 years he has mentored youths, many of whom were out of school and on the streets 鈥� neglected, abused, or abandoned. He helps them go on to higher education and good jobs.
In Pakistan, solar lamps turn women into entrepreneursA project is training Light Ladies, who operate and maintain solar charging stations in their homes that boost their incomes significantly while cutting carbon emissions.
Mobile schools educate girls in rural KenyaRun by nonprofit groups, the schools bring learning to girls whose families are forced to move around the region to survive.
The 'lost girls' of South Sudan 鈥� and the woman who found themIn 2006 Cathy Groenendijk saw young girls living on their own on the streets of South Sudan. She offered them tea, food, and a place to sleep. She hasn't stopped since.
You, too, can hack for good causesHackathons offer opportunities to design new software and hardware. Citizens from all walks of life are using them to battle social problems 鈥� local and global.
Despite setback, Wall Street pushes ahead with social impact bondsSocial impact bonds funnel private capital into philanthropic projects. Investors receive a return based on whether the project saves public money by addressing the social issue it targets.
Difference MakerKeisaburo Toyonaga helps Koreans and other non-Japanese atom bomb survivorsThough Japanese himself, he's spent decades aiding non-Japanese survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hungry Congo looks to insect farmingThe love of edible insects in Democratic Republic of Congo may hold the key to tackling widespread hunger among its roughly 65 million people.
Schoolchildren learn to spot sexism as India grapples with abuse of womenActivists say classes that confront traditional gender roles and challenge sexism among youths are a key to changing attitudes and curbing widespread abuse.
For those without electricity solar is shining brighterSome 1.3 billion people worldwide live without electricity, affecting health, lowering incomes, and making education difficult. Low-cost solar energy programs are beginning to meet the need.
Growing crops inside a sack boosts yieldsSack farming allows people to grow food in places with limited access to good land and with little water. It's already making a difference in dry regions of Kenya.
Difference MakerJohn Meislin started a study abroad program for outstanding teens of modest meansThe Student Diplomacy Corps gives rural and urban students a chance to see the world while deepening their understanding of global issues 鈥� and each other.
Disaster debris becomes giant Lego blocks to build new homesThe Mobile Factory turns rubble from disasters into Lego-style building blocks that snap together without cement or mortar, allowing the building to flex under stress.
Secret South African orphanage cares for baby rhinosThe Rhino Orphanage takes extreme measures to protect its rhinos from poachers, barring all but selected visitors and not advertising its exact location.
Kidsave brings children in need of homes and US families togetherThe nonprofit program brings orphans and foster children from abroad to the US for a summer visit, where they stay with potential adoptive families.
Forget peanuts and Cracker Jack: These baseball teams have stadium-grown greensDirt is for more than filling base paths at the ballparks of these 'farm teams' 鈥� it鈥檚 for growing food too.
Divine Chocolate is delicious 鈥� and a boon to its growersCocoa farmers in Ghana formed Kuapa Kokoo, the 'Good Cocoa' co-operative, which helps its farmer-members in many ways.
Difference MakerTanya Jisa paired her love of fresh food with a desire to help women ex-convictsBenevolence Farm, nestled in pastoral lands west of Durham, N.C., will serve as a transitional living program for just released female ex-convicts.
Cambodia uses 'life-saving' rats to sniff out deadly landminesTheir work could prove vital in a country where unexploded devices, including mines and unexploded shells, have killed nearly 20,000 Cambodians and wounded about 44,000 since 1979.
Greenhouses in Peru's high Andes provide roots for innovationHigh-elevation communities in Peru are using greenhouses to grow more nutritional crops than the climate ordinarily allows.聽