All People Making a Difference
In a slum in Kenya, help is just a click awayIn a Nairobi, Kenya, slum, residents used technology to map the area, a key first step in solving problems from waste removal to street lighting. Those with phones can now report problems more accurately.
Difference MakerMichel Serfaty asks questions others dare not pose about Jews and MuslimsRabbi Michel Serfaty takes his 鈥榝riendship bus鈥� around France to spread a message of tolerance and understanding
A New York City man left his waitress a $3,000 tip. Here's why.An anonymous man inspired by a 'pay-it-forward' movement launched by his eighth-grade science teacher left the tip to a Times Square waitress who said she was facing eviction.聽
Kenyan women make a healthy profit selling aloe to cosmetics firmThe aloe plants reduced erosion and improved the soil, enabling grass to grow in a dry climate. The leaves are exported to Britain as an ingredient in cosmetics.
Some Adidas products to be made of plastic debris from oceansThe sportswear company wants to help save the oceans by recycling marine plastic trash into products.
Engaged couples ask for charitable donations rather than giftsA small but growing number of Americans are integrating donations to charity into weddings or other milestone celebrations.
Tweets could create flood maps that help save livesMessages on social media during a recent flood in Jakarta, Indonesia, gave information about locals conditions such as water depth, enough to create useful flood maps, researchers found.
Superyachts sail to the aid of cyclone-hit VanuatuCyclone Pam left behind devastation all along the string of some 80 islands that make up Vanuatu. Luxury yachts pitched in to help, bringing aid to remote locations.
An app pushes factories in China to cut pollutionEnvironmentalist Ma Jun built a mobile phone app that lets users see whether a Chinese factory or power plant is violating pollution standards. His efforts won him a $1.25 million prize from the Skoll World Forum on Entrepreneurship.
Using comedy to poke fun at anti-Muslim prejudice'Daily Show' comedian Aasif Mandvi co-wrote the Web series 'Halal in the Family,' which is based on an 'ordinary' Muslim American family.
Difference MakerRobert Anderson sees homeless people as individuals, not problemsBecause of the efforts of the former police officer, many people he came to know on the streets now have stable housing 鈥撀� in a place and in a program he helped create.
How shoes that grow could help change the lives of children in povertyInspired by a trip to an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, Kenton Lee was inspired to create a pair of shoes that would fit kids for as many as five years.
India builds its first 'smart' cityWith many of its biggest cities are already bursting at the seams, India is working on its first 'smart' city, with gleaming towers, drinking water on tap, automated waste collection, and a dedicated power supply 鈥� luxuries to many Indians.
Why one Iraqi youth turned away from violenceAl-Nasir Bellah Al-Nasiry was attacked and shot as a teenager. But instead of seeking revenge today he is a medical doctor and an advocate for a peaceful future in Iraq.
Gwyneth Paltrow's $29 food stamp budget: Do celebrity challenges work?Gwyneth Paltrow faces a social media backlash for participating in a food bank challenge to live on a $29 grocery budget for a week. Critics accuse her of mocking the experience of hunger. But such celebrity challenges can raise awareness and funds.
Earthquake warning on your smartphone? There may be an app for thatThe GPS in smartphones could detect earthquakes and trigger warnings seconds before the strongest waves from the quake begin, researchers say.
A StoryCorps app lets anyone capture someone's storyFounder Dave Isay was awarded the 2015 TED Prize to promote his nonprofit work recording, sharing, and preserving the stories of people's lives.
Pakistan's women-only motorized rickshaw avoids male pestsZar Aslam, president of Pakistan's nonprofit Environment Protection Fund, wants to put at least 25 of the three-wheeled motorcycles in service, driven by women.
Difference MakerShizuyo Yoshitomi started a radio station to help immigrantsEthnic minorities in Japan didn't have a reliable source of news in their own languages 鈥� such as what to do if an earthquake strikes.
How SEWA brings access to energy across IndiaIn India, a lack of electricity can mean sundown equals shutdown 鈥� lost productivity and vital income. Now a grass-roots trade group, SEWA, is helping with solar LED lanterns and clean cooking stoves.