People Making a Difference

All People Making a Difference

'Mama Hawa' helps rape victims in Somalia, wins UN award

Hawa 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 says

Preserving 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 money

Supporters 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, electricity

An 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 treaty

A meeting in Oslo, Norway, seeks to strengthen an international agreement to ban cluster bombs. There’s '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 Maker Danielle Gletow lends a helping hand to children in foster care

She 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 projects

The 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 work

SWEETLab places sensors on latrines, cook stoves, and water filters in the developing world to better understand how they are being used.
Looking for new ideas? Get yourself to the developing world

From 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 entrepreneurs

In Haiti, an inexpensive insurance plan helps ensure that female entrepreneurs won't be wiped out by a tropical storm.
Preserving Mexico's folk art masks

Bill 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 poverty

Agriculture 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 river

On 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.
How the Web's business giants promote good works

All of corporate America can take a lesson from high-tech leaders such as LinkedIn, eBay, Salesforce.com, and Facebook, who encourage their employees and customers to work for social causes.
Difference Maker They give inner-city kids an educational camp experience

On northern California's spectacular coast a free camp for low-income children provides hands-on science education and team building – along with 'nonstop fun.'
Marrying cash and change: Social 'stock markets' spread worldwide

In social-investment exchanges, donors choose what projects to 'invest' in. But the return is in the form of social good, not cash.
Pitcher irrigation brings vegetables to Pakistani desert

Pitcher irrigation – in which buried clay pots release water into the soil – delivers water directly to plant roots rather than spreading it more widely across fields.
A cross-border park spurs water cooperation in southern Africa

The decade-old Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park was formed through the cooperation of three nations and has reduced conflicts over natural resources, especially water, while protecting wildlife.
SOIL turns human waste into compost in Haiti

Rural residents of Haiti most easily see the benefits of composting human waste, says Sasha Kramer, the co-founder of SOIL.