All People Making a Difference
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.
Mobile tech helps farmers save time, water, electricityAn innovation from an India-based company may transform the way farmers manage their irrigation systems by giving them the ability to turn pumps on and off remotely with their cell phones.
Activists urge nations to strengthen global cluster bomb treatyA meeting in Oslo, Norway, seeks to strengthen an international agreement to ban cluster bombs. There鈥檚 'no good reason' for any country 'not to come on board and to sign up to the convention,' says the Cluster Munition Coalition, a disarmament group.
Difference MakerDanielle Gletow lends a helping hand to children in foster careShe started One Simple Wish in her home to help people grant 'wishes' to kids in foster care.
Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala seeks reform without the 'godfathers'Western nations and international agencies admire the reform efforts of Nigeria's new finance minister. But Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala faces daunting challenges in cleaning up embedded corruption.
Cash rewards spur poor communities to pay for sanitation projectsThe East Meets West Foundation tries cash awards to encourage families and communities in Vietnam and Cambodia to build latrines and hand-washing devices.
A lab uses remote sensors to measure how well aid projects workSWEETLab places sensors on latrines, cook stoves, and water filters in the developing world to better understand how they are being used..jpg?alias=standard_600x400)
Looking for new ideas? Get yourself to the developing worldFrom jeans to medical devices, products from India and China are disrupting markets in the West.
Tropical Storm Isaac triggers microinsurance payment to Haiti's budding entrepreneursIn Haiti, an inexpensive insurance plan helps ensure that female entrepreneurs won't be wiped out by a tropical storm.
Preserving Mexico's folk art masksBill LeVasseur has collected hundreds of Mexican masks from remote villages that now hang on the walls of his museum in San Miguel de Allende. He's singlehandedly preserving a piece of Mexican culture that few realize is still thriving today.
Six solutions to lifting the world's farm workers out of povertyAgriculture will not be viable while the vast majority of its workforce lives in poverty. Innovative changes can break the cycle of poverty.
A 'Source to Sea Cleanup' for New England's longest riverOn Sept. 29 thousands of volunteers will spread out along the banks of the Connecticut River collecting tons of plastic bottles, cans, food containers, and other trash.
Difference MakerLaura and Shawn Sears give inner-city kids an educational camp experienceOn northern California's spectacular coast a free camp for low-income children provides hands-on science education and team building 鈥� along with 'nonstop fun.'
Marrying cash and change: Social 'stock markets' spread worldwideIn social-investment exchanges, donors choose what projects to 'invest' in. But the return is in the form of social good, not cash.