All People Making a Difference
Games for change: How digital fun is becoming a way to better the worldUsing online games to benefit society, or 'games for change,' is a fast-growing movement. A favorite pastime of teens and young adults is being used for good causes.
Difference MakerRohini Nilekani pours her wealth into getting books to India's poorest childrenWhen she found herself suddenly wealthy, the Indian philanthropist founded Pratham Books, a nonprofit publisher that uses innovative ways to put low-cost books in the hands of millions of kids.
Gardening projects change lives of troubled veteransEncouraging recovering military veterans to work in community gardens helps lift them out of depression, increases their self-esteem 鈥� and even gets them eating better, says Vietnam War vet and gardening guru Howard Hinterthuer.
Inner-city grocery chain innovates by hiring ex-cons, providing fresh foodThe story of a Philadelphia grocery store chain suggests that collaboration with the community may be the key to success for businesses in struggling neighborhoods.
Alice Walker: 'Go to the places that scare you'The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Color Purple' says a life worth living must be fought for. 'You have to go wherever you need to go ... and place yourself there against the forces that would distort you and destroy you.'
Difference MakerBrenda Palms Barber offers ex-cons in Chicago a honey of a second chanceSweet Beginnings, a growing business on Chicago's West Side, provides just released prisoners with job experience making honey and other products.
Ex-NASA engineer designs an app to chart water qualityJohn Feighery created mWater 鈥� a cell phone app that instantly records and maps the results of water-quality tests, making monitoring of water quality in developing countries quicker and easier.
'Parent power' film stirs hopes among education reform activistsReviewers called it trite and dull, but education reformers on both the left and right have hailed 'Won't Back Down' as a potential game-changer for public education.
One solution to Palestine's economic problems? Export bits and bytesThe technology sector, which simply requires an Internet connection, is free of the border restraints that most other Palestinian industries experience.
Five cities and the groups that are making them greenAround the world cities are promoting urban agriculture to help feed their growing populations.
Difference MakerBruce Lasky trains young lawyers in Asia to defend the poor and powerlessThe New York City native quietly champions legal reforms in Southeast Asia, a region where the rule of law is often weak and governments are criticized for their human rights records.
Southeast Asian scientists look to reinvent the flush toiletThe 200-year-old flush toilet requires a substantial amount of infrastructure, which is expensive to build and run. Innovative toilets could be a source of energy while dramatically improving sanitation.
This '1 percent' helps nonprofits solve architectural problems'The 1聽percent' a program of public architecture based in San Francisco, connects nonprofit groups in need of design assistance with free help from architecture or design firms.
Battling back: US veterans help each otherIn Florida, Veterans Helping Veterans assigns former military service men and women to mentor other veterans who have ended up on the wrong side of the law.
How a mobile phone vendor became Zimbabwe's fastest-growing bankEcoCash, a mobile money-transfer service, now has a million subscribers. 'There is a lot of money to be made by investing in the poor,' says Zimbabwe's Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.
Beyond big dams: turning to grass-roots solutions on waterMega-dams and massive government-run irrigation projects are not the key to meeting world鈥檚 water needs, a growing number of experts say. For developing nations, the answer may lie in small-scale measures such as inexpensive water pumps.
Difference MakerLynn Zwerling's knitting group for male prisoners opens up their worldA retired salesperson saw how the act of knitting, and a supportive environment, could calm inmates and even help them give back to society.
'Mama Hawa' helps rape victims in Somalia, wins UN awardHawa Aden Mohamed, a former Somali refugee, returned from safety in Canada to her war-torn country to shelter and train Somalis who have fled war, famine, and violence.
Protecting mangroves is cheaper than building coastal protection, expert saysPreserving mangrove forests helps regulate rainfall, reduce the risk of disasters from extreme weather and sea-level rise, provide breeding grounds for fish, and capture carbon dioxide to slow climate change.
Another way to help your favorite charity: Lend it moneySupporters of the Nature Conservancy can invest funds for a term of one, three, or five years, earn up to 2 percent in interest, and get all their money back.