Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Money trees: U.S. cities find new ways of valuing urban forests

    February 20, 2020 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

    Policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and corporate heads have recently undertaken efforts to increase urban forestry. Urban trees decrease energy use, protect storm drain infrastructure, decrease noise, and help boost wellbeing. City Forest Credits in Seattle assesses urban tree projects for carbon credits that companies can purchase, while Baltimore has recycled trees into park furniture, and Sacramento continues to uphold its reputation as the “City of Trees.”

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  • Door-knocking neighbors help avert home seizures in Detroit

    January 20, 2020 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

    In Detroit, volunteers go door to door to talk with their neighbors who have properties at risk of foreclosure. The initiative has contributed to a 90 percent decrease in foreclosures in the city since 2015.

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  • Kenyan scientist builds with bottles to beat plastic pollution

    December 13, 2019 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Kenya, Gilgil

    Repurposing plastic waste into construction materials reduces pollution and lessens the carbon footprint of construction. Eco Blocks and Tiles, an environmentally-savvy company based in Gigil, Kenya, manufactures roof tiles from discarded plastic and glass. The value-added product is more durable and lighter than clay. The company has received support through crowd funding and grants, and has also attracted the attention of Kenya’s National Construction Authority (NCA).

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  • 'Big Sisters' ride to rescue of Nepali child brides

    December 11, 2019 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Nepal, Surkhet

    Support and counseling from trusted volunteers empowers young women to stay in school and out of child marriage. In Nepal, the Sisters for Sisters program was the result of a governmental effort to reduce child marriages. Volunteers, many of whom were child brides themselves, help fight stigma and cultural pressures by leading discussions with young women on topics like sexual health and life choices.

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  • High-tech mapping, apps fight deadly dengue outbreak in Honduras

    November 14, 2019 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: Honduras

    Mobile phone apps allow NGOs to track public health threats. In Honduras, the medical charity, Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF) uses GIS technology and mobile phone apps to assist in their efforts against dengue fever outbreaks. Apps allow residents to report outbreaks, which helps the charity apply its efforts where they are most needed. MSF also uses apps to learn about conditions in the communities it serves.

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  • Armed with trumpets, S. African men fight crime against women

    September 30, 2019 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: South Africa, Johannesburg

    Volunteers patrol Soweto township streets, blowing vuvuzelas – the long, plastic trumpets of World Cup fame – to alert women that it is safe to commute to their train or bus stops. The male-led campaign is a response to high rates of street violence, much of it gender-based, and the failure of the police to respond effectively. Thousands of volunteers work in groups of up to 15 to provide the service, which police credit with lowering robberies and other street crime. The patrols often intervene when they witness violence.

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  • A prayer for trees: For Kenyan tribes, saving forests is a sacred duty

    May 29, 2019 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Kenya, Forole

    Communities around Kenya address national deforestation by relying on individuals to make changes in the way they use timber as well as to plant trees to repopulate suffering forests. Many towns set strict guidelines about timber sourcing, requiring residents to source from specific groves outside community boundaries; others teach children from a young age that trees are sacred and not to be cut down.

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  • The Indigenous Guardians of the Amazon Rainforest

    May 13, 2019 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Video |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: Brazil

    The Guardians of the Forest is an indigenous volunteer group who patrols protected areas of the Amazon rainforest being destroyed by illegal logging. Volunteers seek out and destroy logging camps, chase loggers off the land, educate locals about the harms, and advocate for government resources. The loggers use violence, but the Guardians use non-violent techniques to protect uncontacted tribes, stop deforestation and species extinction, and protect indigenous culture. Despite federal obstacles, some local officials express a desire to integrate the work of the Guardians into official conservation efforts.

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  • 'Shared equity' model for U.S. housing boosts home ownership for poorer families

    January 21, 2019 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

    A community land trust in North Carolina uses a "shared equity" model to help minority and low income people obtain access to affordable housing. The trust owns the land underneath the house, therefore holding onto the majority of the wealth of the property and allowing homes to be sold below market value.

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  • Unfinished business? Vancouver mayor departs with 'Greenest City' goal uncertain

    October 19, 2018 |

    Thomson Reuters Foundation |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

    In 2008, Vancouver’s mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson said he would transform the city to be the world’s greenest by 2020. One decade later, steps toward decreasing greenhouse gas emissions have been made, but the 2020 prospect seems much farther ahead. While the city has run into obstacles, the Canadian city is moving forward to achieve its next goal: for buildings to produce more energy than they use.

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