All People Making a Difference
Food trucks bring jobs, flavors, and a friendly urban vibeIn Portland, Ore., immigrants and other restaurant workers open food trucks to build businesses. And residents get the best fast food they've ever had.
Difference MakerDuarte Paiva helps the homeless by designing lockers to house their thingsThe young architect built shiny yellow lockers with shelves and a place to hang clothes. They also serve as a postal address: Letters can be inserted through an outer slot.
Art for Water helps people go deep in their thinking about waterArtist Christine Destrempes uses participatory art projects to raise awareness of a precious commodity 鈥� water.
A rice revolution?Rice demand is growing and climate change threatens this important food source. But a system of intensified cultivation may boost yields dramatically without the need for more expensive hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides.
Renee Farwell aids children in Ghana because the 'reason we are here [is] to love each other'Mawuvio's (God's Children) Outreach Programme in Ghana provides educational and developmental services to street children who can't afford the fees to attend government schools.
From human waste to fertilizer to fuel: rice yields green charcoal in SenegalGroups like AgriDjalo, a small company focused on growing rice, are looking to start projects in Senegal that use urban biomass (primarily human waste) to fertilize fields.
New land bank in Philadelphia could boost blighted areasPhiladelphia is home to more than 40,000 vacant properties. A new land bank could help get them back on the tax roles and improve neighborhoods.
Ziqitza ambulances make money while serving India's poorBuilt on a vision of providing high-quality ambulance services to the poor, Ziqitza operates more than 800 ambulances and is expanding rapidly, eying markets outside India.
Firewood donations stock the stoves of the needyIn northern New England nonprofit firewood banks rely on the generosity of volunteers to cut, split, and pile up wood that those in need use to warm their homes.
Maureen Forrest gives hope to 25,000 children in KolkataMaureen Forrest began The Hope Foundation to support the street children of Kolkata, India, sustaining more than 60 projects in health, education, and vocational training.
Ted and Joyce Kruse serve Neighbors Near & Far from their Baltimore row houseJoyce and Ted Kruse operate their nonprofit group Neighbors Near & Far from their Baltimore basement, aiding both a local food bank and orphanages in Haiti.
Difference MakerLeslie Hawke helps Roma children get an educationShe cofounded OvidiuRo, a nonprofit group dedicated to helping severely impoverished children in Romania succeed in school.
Buddhist charity aids storm-ravished PhilippinesDespite the Philippines' long 海角大神 tradition, the Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist charity, is winning many thank yous in devastated Tacloban.
'Pay for success' social-impact bonds help train ex-convictsSocial-impact bonds offer investors a more direct connection between the dollars they invest and the impact they have on a social problem.
M-Pesa helps world's poorest go to the bank using mobile phonesIn Kenya, 43 percent of the GDP flows through M-Pesa, which gives 'unbanked' poor people access to basic financial services via mobile phones, fundamentally improving their lives.
Biogas fuel for schools eases pressure on Kenya's forestsBiogas plants, in which bacteria convert animal dung into methane gas, produce fuel for cooking and lighting, saving trees from being cut for firewood.
Increase crop diversity to boost nutritionLesser-known plants such as enset and amaranth can play an important role in improving nutrition while providing an alternative to the annual grains that need artificial fertilizers and costly pesticides and herbicides.
Difference MakerHamdy al-Azazy helps victims of human trafficking in EgyptThousands of refugees and asylum seekers attempt the hazardous trip through Egypt's Sinai trying to reach Israel. About a third die in the attempt and many are held for ransom. Hamdy al-Azazy helps as many as he can.
Woodblock Chocolate puts farmers firstWorking with small-scale farmers who grow cacao on just a few acres makes sense for Woodblock. Both sides benefit from having a relationship that keeps quality high.
Andrew Cot茅 roams the world to teach the sweet science of beekeepingAndrew Cot茅 founded the nonprofit Beekeepers Without Borders to teach beekeeping as a way to fight poverty.