All People Making a Difference
Well-designed $20,000 houses for the poor? Rural Studio makes them20K Houses, a visionary project of the architects at Rural Studio in Alabama, designs and builds innovative $20,000 houses.
US artist, Syrian children beautify a refugee campA mural painting project at the Zaatari refugee camp gives a moment of color and self-expression to kids who have had their lives shattered by Syria's war.
Pivot TV wants its audience to 'do something'The new cable channel will offer entertainment that aims to amuse and to inspire social change. "TakePart Live," for example, is devoted to "decoding" the news, including online involvement by viewers.
An 'explosion of human talent' will feed a growing world populationCNN host and bestselling author Fareed Zakaria says the world faces 'enormous challenges, but they are not going to be challenges of decay, but of growth and abundance.'
In Uganda, better nutrition through school gardensThe Forum for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa found that some 59 percent of primary school students in Uganda went without food during the day. School gardens both feed students and prepare them for careers in agriculture.
Difference MakerDallas Jessup made 'Just Yell Fire' to teach young women to defend themselvesDallas Jessup was just a teenager when she made the video 'Just Yell Fire.' Today she's continuing that mission to help girls and young women stay safe.
Indian villagers reap the rewards of restoring common landThe Foundation for Ecological Security works with 1.7 million rural Indians to manage their commons sustainably through democratic community institutions, boosting incomes from farming, herding, and forest activities.
How (and why) Africa should solve its own problemsAfrica cannot rely on outside people to come and feed our poor or treat our sick, says African businessman and philanthropist Mo Ibrahim. The key is good governance, in both the public and private sectors.
Bringing home the blues, connecting kids to a proud heritageThe Alabama Blues Project takes blues music to schoolchildren who may not know that it鈥檚 part of their own history.
Afghan women write powerful poetry 鈥� even amid warThe Afghan Women鈥檚 Writing Project collects oral stories from illiterate Afghan women and promotes political writing by women in digital, print, and radio forms.
Difference MakerJean Paul Samputu practices forgiveness 鈥� even for his father's killerAward-winning musician Jean Paul Samputu lost his family during the genocide in Rwanda. But he overcame rage and resentment by learning to forgive.
Online course lets students give money awayThe Giving With Purpose online course lets people give away money from the sister of billionaire Warren Buffett while learning strategies from him and others that they can use to make sure their own donations are effective.
Obama, George H.W. Bush celebrate the 5,000th 'point of light'Mr. Obama will ask federal agencies how they can make better use of volunteers. 'We are a people that serve,' he says while paying 'tribute to the extraordinary example set by President Bush.'
In a Mexican border town, a friend in the fight against AIDSRosember L贸pez Samayoa helps those in Chiapas, Mexico, who bear a double stigma: migrants who also are LGBT.
Operation Jersey Shore Vacation offers an oceanside respite to US military familiesA tiny New Jersey charity provides a place for military families to vacation along with gift cards for groceries, free meals, and island outings.
Reduce, reuse, recycle 鈥� and repair: New York's Pop-Up Repair shopNew York City鈥檚 Pop-Up Repair shop was an experiment aimed at learning how break the cycle of use-and-discard goods.
Difference MakerColin Flahive opened a restaurant in China that's a beacon of enlightened managementCaring for his employees led him to undertake an ever-wider range of nonprofit and humanitarian efforts across the province.
Planting mangrove trees pays off for coastal communities in KenyaMembers of the Dabaso Creek Conservation Group have planted an estimated 10 million mangrove trees. The forests, in turn, have provided for the community, bringing in birders and other tourists and becoming a habitat for crabs and fish to harvest.
Cleaning up the global aquarium tradeAbout 30 million fish and other creatures are caught annually to supply the home aquarium market, taking a toll on some reef ecosystems. But conservationists are working to improve the industry by ending destructive practices and encouraging aquaculture.
New generation activists build bridgesA traditional organizing approach makes opponents into 'enemies,' but a new crop of union and other activists is using love and empathy to create alliances and new possibilities.