ResQZone

The “one cow per poor family” initiative in Rwanda seeks to increase household income and fight malnutrition by giving families a cow to raise. Once the cow gives birth, the calf is given to another family to raise, keeping the process going. Since the program started in 2006, a total of 341,065 cows have been distributed and residents say it has improved their livelihoods.

To make internet connectivity accessible and affordable across Africa, Dr. Harold Omondi developed “internet from the moon,” a technology that uses satellite dishes to communicate with transponders placed in the moon several years ago by NASA. The transponders can send and receive information and, since the moon keeps the same side of its surface pointed towards earth, the connection cannot be lost. Still in the piloting phase, the system currently offers free internet at Jomo Kenyatta University, where over 1,200 people login every day, and has another station in South Sudan serving 300-500 people daily.

After lithium-ion batteries from iPhones, laptops, or electric cars are used up, the Ontario-based company LiCycle recycles parts of them to be reused in new batteries or in other products. While the recycling process isn’t completely environmentally friendly, the company is able to recover 95 percent of the raw materials and says their operations produces no carbon emissions, wastewater, or solid waste.

A phone line is helping Cuyahoga County residents schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments. By dialing 2-1-1 on a phone, residents will be connected to a trained navigator to help them register for a vaccination or answer other questions. Despite limited hours the vaccine registration is open, since it launched in late January 2021, the phone line has connected more than 52,000 calls to appointments.

In an era when success in school and the workplace is so heavily reliant on internet access, almost 20 percent of New York City households still lack internet access at home. Fortunately, the New York City Housing Authority is taking steps to address the issue by providing solutions such as installing free hotspots, distributing complimentary Wi-Fi equipment, and even parking digital vans outside of public housing complexes so that residents can easily and freely access computers, printers, and the Internet.

Homes for All Veterans, a program within the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Human Services, recently began training volunteers to walk the city's streets in search of homeless veterans, with the goal of effectively eliminate veteran homelessness by the end of the year. If successful, advocates say the push to end veteran homelessness could be the first step in addressing the city's larger, chronically homeless population.

The Inclusive Friends Association, in partnership with SIMBED Learners School and Nigeria's National Information Technology Development Agency, implemented a targeted digital literacy program that trained 20 women and girls with disabilities across Abuja. The two-day workshop taught participants essential digital skills including content creation, social media management, Google tools, online safety, and advocacy techniques to show them how to create content and potentially generate an income online.

Creative reuse centers like Smart Art and Craft Supplies tackle waste reduction by redistributing donated art materials, simultaneously providing meaningful employment and inclusion opportunities for adults with disabilities.

Floare de Cires addresses the employment barriers people with disabilities face by training them in culinary and hospitality skills that help them integrate into the workforce and build a sense of independence.

Pre-employment transition services are designed to support high school students with documented disabilities by helping them explore potential careers, gain valuable work experience, and develop crucial life skills they’ll need to succeed in the workplace. For one student in Utah, participating in the program helped him secure a job on the path to becoming a mechanic after graduation.