World Next Door

Poverty

(5 posts on this issue) - With a sixth of humanity living on less than a dollar a day, poverty is an issue that is so huge it's hard to wrap your head around. It's easy to just give up and tune out. But for some, the alleviation of poverty is more than an ideal. It's their life's mission. These people give us hope that the end of poverty is possible.

Education

(5 posts on this issue) - It's hard to image what life would be like without the ability to read, to do basic math, to understand simple history...but in many places around the world, education is a rare and valuable commodity. It is in those places where the educators are changing the world.

Disabilities

(5 posts on this issue) - In America, a land of wheelchair-accessible buildings and special-education programs, it's sometimes easy to forget that many disabled people around the world are treated as less than human. However, even in such tragic circumstances, some people are spreading love and compassion.

Orphans

(5 posts on this issue) - Parents play an integral role in the upbringing of a child. That is why it is so tragic to hear about the plight of orphans worldwide, especially those living in squalid conditions or with mental disabilities. But even in the midst of such darkness, there are a few gentle souls committed to spreading love into the lives of the fatherless.

Hunger

(5 posts on this issue) - What would life be like without enough food to eat? Sadly, billions of people around the world already know the answer to that question. And while massive international aid agencies are making a difference, it is the compassionate few who have dedicated their lives to combating hunger from the ground up.

Slums

(5 posts on this issue) - In many of the world's great cities, informal settlements (a.k.a. "slums") are home to millions of impoverished people. Abusive landlords, violence and disease are normal parts of life to them. But there are some that have decided to approach this injustice head on...to provide holistic care in a place that truly needs it.

Abortion

(2 posts on this issue) - Although in the U.S. it's a hot-button political issue, in many countries of the world, nobody is fighting for the rights of mothers or of unborn babies. Which is why, in these countries, it's exciting to meet people who deeply love them both.

Homelessness

(5 posts on this issue) - Most people have a mental image associated with the homeless. We often tend to think of them as nameless beggars and addicts, but the homeless are real people with real stories, and there are those who love them despite the stigmas...

Caste System

(1 posts on this issue) - In India, a country renowned for its beauty and deep spirituality, there is a 3000 year old system of oppression that looms like a shadow over the lives of the poor and marginalized. Those who fight against it are hated, ostracized and outcast, but that doesn't stop them from continuing to spread hope!

Westernization

(2 posts on this issue) - One of the saddest things about globalization is the loss of native cultures. As Western movies, music and clothing styles become the norm, local traditions, entertainment and rites of passage are being slowly extinguished. That is why some strive to re-engage with traditional cultures and to remind young people of their roots.