New Mortgage Program Helps Cambodia's Poor Find Better Homes

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/04/176121367/new-mortgage-program-helps-cambodias-poor-find-better-homes

Daniel Zwerdling

NPR

4 April 2013

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

An innovative program by an unusual bank allows low-income people in Cambodia to take out a 15-year fixed mortgage with little or no documentation - contradicting traditional loan assumptions and creating means for some of the country's poorest people to completely change their lives. The bank and its investors are now making a profit, and more than 700 mortgages and building loans have been provided.

New Orleans ends veteran homelessness

http://nationswell.com/new-orleans-ends-veteran-homelessness

Chris Peak

NationSwell

20 January 2015

Text / 800-1500 Words

New Orleans implemented an extraordinary 10-year plan that engaged unprecedented cross-sector collaboration between government, non-profit, and private entities to provide housing and housing services to the city's homeless veterans. The city's success in providing homes for every single veteran formerly on their streets motivated cities across the nation to tackle the crises using similar means, leading to a 1/3 decline veteran homelessness since 2010.

On the Road, and Out of the Red

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/on-the-road-and-out-of-the-red

Lisa Margonelli

The New York Times

11 August 2011

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More Than Wheels, a New Hampshire-based non-profit offers an economically stable solution to the high cost of owning a car. The program offers low-cost car loans that go toward the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles.

Out of India's Trash Heaps, More Than a Shred of Dignity

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/out-of-indias-trash-heaps-more-than-a-shred-of-dignity

Sarika Bansal

The New York Times

12 June 2013

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Throughout India, wastepickers – people who scour landfills for garbage they can sell to recyclers – live at the bottom of society. But the city of Pune did something radical: with the help of a collective, they did away with expensive garbage trucks, and now all household garbage is collected by wastepickers with pushcarts. Pune saves millions of dollars each year and recycles more – and the wastepickers have decent wages and social standing. The concept is now spreading globally.

Out of Prison, Into a Vicious Circle of Debt

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/out-of-prison-into-a-vicious-circle-of-debt

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

9 June 2011

Text / 800-1500 Words

Many offenders get out of jail owing hundreds or thousands of dollars in court and parole fees but face barriers to financing and job acquisition, sticking them in a punitive, vicious cycle of debt and arrest. A program called the Clapham Set, perhaps paired with conditional cash transfers - may be a solution, as it erases fees for felons who complete rehab and job training upon release.

Outsourcing Is Not (Always) Evil

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/outsourcing-is-not-always-evil

David Bornstein

The New York Times

8 December 2011

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The United States can outsource certain kinds of "microwork," such as accurately digitizing large swaths of information, to developing countries without taking jobs from Americans ― if it’s done carefully, and ethically, as some organizations are working to do. As the author Robert Wright has argued, we no longer live in a zero-sum world, where one person’s, or one country’s gain, must be another’s loss.

In Aleppo, cell phones are helping some desperate Syrians find clean water

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-26/aleppo-cell-phones-are-helping-some-desperate-syrians-find-clean-water

Joyce Hackel

Public Radio International (PRI)

26 August 2015

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

In war zones, people have a difficult time finding clean water and safe areas to inhabit. Social media, smart phones, and technology applications are aiding in people’s survival. In Aleppo, Syria, the International Committee of the Red Cross posted a map on Facebook to show alternative sources of clean drinking water that reached approximately 140,000 people.

Publishers as Partners in Literacy

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/publishers-as-partners-in-literacy

David Bornstein

The New York Times

19 May 2011

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First Book Marketplace, which makes quality, new books affordable for children in low-income families, is providing not only improved access to engaging educational materials, but a sense of dignity and self worth that a hodgepodge of used, donated books cannot. Additionally, the books are often used by nonprofits to further create opportunities for family bonding and to stimulate children's development.

Helping the World's Poorest, for a Change

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/helping-the-worlds-poorest-for-a-change

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

7 January 2011

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This is a column on an important new development program in use in at least 40 developing countries: give the poor cash payments, contingent on their use of health clinics and their children’s school attendance, to help break the cycle of poverty.

Leading the Way Out of Debt

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/leading-the-way-out-of-debt

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

30 January 2013

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Neighborhood Trust is a New York-based nonprofit offering financial advice to individuals experiencing economic hardships. Providing hands-on coaching, counselors are able to inform their clients about financial options they may have otherwise not known about like college financial aid or child care tax credits.