All People Making a Difference
Lava Mae provides mobile showers for homeless peopleFunded by Google and Indiegogo, a San Francisco nonprofit turns old buses into much-needed shower facilities for those living on the streets.
A decade after a devastating tsunami, new forests protect Indonesia's coastThe tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2004 obliterated vast areas of Aceh Province. But villagers there have used an innovative microcredit scheme to restore mangrove forests and other coastal ecosystems as a natural barrier against future killer waves and storms.
Difference MakerPeter Schumann's puppets speak out on big issuesAs a boy Peter Schumann carried his hand puppets with him when he fled the Russians. Now he's one of the foremost practitioners of experimental puppet theater in the world.
Inventor hopes to clean the air with giant purifiersIn Lima, Peru, now hosting UN climate talks, Jorge Gutierrez is showing off his air-purifying 'super tree' device that he says can convert as much carbon dioxide into oxygen as 1,200 trees.
Religious leaders vow to eradicate modern-day slaveryAn anti-slavery drive, led by Pope Francis, receives the backing of a wide array of the world's religious leaders.
Prospector Theater helps disabled people entertain new prospectsA restored theater in Ridgefield, Conn., provides customers with a great moviegoing experience while employing people with developmental disabilities.
California police chief connects cops to the communityIn Richmond, Calif., a police chief has employed several steps that have greatly reduced violent crime as well as the need for police to use deadly force.
Fort Drum goes wood powered in a push for renewable energyIt's the first green energy project to come online since the Pentagon's 2012 commitment to develop 3 gigawatts of renewable energy on military bases by 2025.
Difference MakerChen Hui-jie runs a political campaign 鈥� at age 16A teenaged girl in Taiwan serves as a campaign manager for a city council candidate, and provides a model of civic activism for cynical teens.
Helping schoolchildren find the Vision To LearnThrough Vision To Learn, Austin Beutner brings eye exams and glasses to low-income students, helping them see their way to a better education.
How to talk guns: First, get to know each otherA public dialogue on gun control, begun at a 2013 Monitor forum, continues in Montana.
Difference MakerChad Houser cooked up a caf茅 to give young offenders a second chanceAt Caf茅 Momentum in Dallas former juvenile offenders learn valuable life skills.
8 Main Street job creators rebooting the economyFrom the Deep South to the West Coast, these entrepreneurs are making sure jobs and dollars grow 鈥� and stay 鈥� in places hardest hit by hurricanes, poverty, and gentrification.
Rickshaw drivers take a 'respect women' message to New Delhi streetsSome 40,000 auto-rickshaw drivers in Delhi have attended classes on respecting women and are spreading the word across the city, known as India's' rape capital.'
Community radio teaches homebound students in LiberiaUsing radio the Advancing Youth Project provides reading and math instruction, and job training, to students stuck at home during the Ebola outbreak.
Ghana's success in fight against hunger holds lessons for othersIt started with a simple move to change the tax code so that farmers could keep more of the value of their cocoa crop.
Jessica O. Matthews has a ball generating energyHer company, Uncharted Play, produces the SOCCKET, a power-generating soccer ball that literally turns kids' play into usable electricity.
Difference MakerAndrew White, 鈥榯he Vicar of Baghdad,鈥� aids Iraqis of all faithsThe Baghdad church run by the Anglican priest provides food, education, and medical services to nearly 5,000 Iraqis in need.
Simple steps could cut world's food wasteEnough food to feed the world's 800 million hungry is wasted every year. A new interactive platform will try to reduce the losses.
Chris Marvin sees US veterans as assets, not victimsThe group Got Your 6 wants to refocus the story of post 9/11 US military veterans. Instead of being damaged and fragile, most of today's generation of vets are committed to lives of serving others.