All People Making a Difference
Ex-child soldiers in Colombia face their tormentorsRebels, paramilitaries, and criminal gangs have forcibly recruited thousands of children and teens. Now a reconciliation effort is laying the groundwork for peace through face-to-face apologies to the youths.
'Pop up' efforts send thousands of kids to see 鈥楽elma鈥� for freeIn New York and across the country, adults are forming spontaneous groups to make sure students see the movie 'Selma,' which chronicles the civil rights protests that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Difference MakerJonathan Rapping helps give poor and minority Americans a strong defense in courtHe cofounded Gideon鈥檚 Promise to assist idealistic public defenders, who fight long odds to make sure the scales of justice are fairly balanced.
In Afghanistan, teaching men that education is not a threatSakena Yacoobi started the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) to educate young girls. Then young boys started asking if she could teach them too.
Four projects that zero in on four big world problemsThe $42.3 billion Gates Foundation is looking to achieve four monumental goals by 2030. Here are four entrepreneurs already working on solutions.
In Haiti, a library with no books transforms the way kids learnA library of digital books could eventually bring thousands of titles to millions of students around the world.
Women in India fight sexual harassment with smartphonesInterest in phone apps with SOS buttons to alert contacts and websites to report sexual harassment has surged as more women challenge the view that they have a lower status than men.
Difference MakerBarb Stegemann produces elegant fragrances from the world's trouble spotsThe 'retail activist鈥� charged $2,000 on her Visa card and made 1,000 bottles of Afghanistan Orange Blossom, selling it out of her garage.
A passionate 25-year-old builds a charity for CambodiaKenny King created Global ADE, which has already built schools in several communities in Cambodia.
Private funds spark a 鈥楪olden Age鈥� for public parksIn roughly half of major US cities nonprofits raise money to fund public parks, led by New York's Central Park Conservancy, which has provided more than $700 million since 1980.
Solar 'generators' power up remote African homes, factoriesIn Tanzania more than 840 households and small factories have been connected to solar grid systems, bringing electricity to a remote region.
The road to more income in Uganda? Owning a motorcycle.In the capital of Kampala, Uganda, a local business called Tugende is doubling profits for taxi bike drivers through its lease-to-own program.
#ShovelItForward: Kindness crossing borders?In a show of winter warmth, young people as far as Connecticut and Canada are turning the hashtag into action by helping others clear their driveways of snow.
'Climate smart' farming tackles challenges of a warming worldWith temperatures rising and extreme weather becoming more frequent, 'climate-smart agriculture' is using a host of measures 鈥� from new planting practices to improved water management 鈥� to keep farmers ahead of climate change.
Difference MakerJohn Henneberger helps the poor solve problems from housing to voting rightsHenneberger, a behind-the-scenes force for social change, relishes improving lives through better housing and race relations, as well as economic opportunities.
These graduates are primed to reduce world hungerAfrican Plant Breeding Academy students aim to introduce overlooked crops to African communities in need.
South Sudan finds sweet success with honeyThe charity Honey Care Africa has invested $1 million in South Sudan, and local farmers have earned more than $75,000, benefiting more than 400 families.
Why this Detroit man doesn't have to walk 21 miles roundtrip to work anymoreA 19-year-old college student started a Go Fund Me page to raise money to buy a car for James Robertson, a Detroit local who walks 21 miles roundtrip on his commute to and from work every day.
How colorful carts are helping waste workers get noticedInformal waste workers in Brazil were being ignored, despite their vital work keeping Sao Paulo clean. Enter a street artist who made their carts into works of art.
For green, comfortable homes, Africans turn to mudIn Mali, domed mud-brick homes are cheaper, protect fast-vanishing local forests, and make homes cooler in worsening summer heat.