'I'll put those monsters behind bars': India's law school for rape survivors

Despite its small student body population, Xavier University, a historically black college in Louisiana, graduates more African American students who eventually become doctors than any other college in the United States. Xavier’s leaders cite its culture of “competitive collaboration,” community of shared experiences and challenges based on race, and free upperclass tutoring services as some of the characteristics that make its students stand out.

Since 1995, Pragnachaksu has paved a path to empowerment for blind women in India, offering academic and vocational classes in addition to braille instruction. The school provides free housing and tuition for girls looking for primary and secondary education, a service that is usually unavailable to the country's eight million blind citizens, and to visually impaired women in particular.

Paul Sinton-Hewitt, founder of the charity Parkrun, never set out to create a revolution. All he wanted was a low-pressure space to run. Now, his organization supports over 1,600 community running events around the globe, with an expected one million participants by 2023. This is part of a trend of “people’s innovation,” or the idea that innovation can come from users rather than just executives. Parkrun exemplifies the inclusive spirit of people’s innovation and the positive impacts it can spread all around the world.

Health providers are well-positioned to identify and help those who have experienced domestic violence. Nepal is one of several countries training medical workers to identify abused patients and refer them to in-hospital crisis support services.

Virtual reality is being used as part of medical education providing a way for nurses and other medical workers to better understand how a patient may experiencing their surroundings. Virtual reality modules have been created for blind, colorblind, dementia, and dying patients.

The Kansas City school district and a group of local nonprofits are implementing a new software management system that will allow partners to access student data from a range of sources. The data-sharing agreement will paint a more holistic picture of students and, in the future, allow teachers and others to make informed interventions when appropriate.

Rural areas of Maine were being underserved when it came to dental hygiene, so the state opened a dental college and a loan repayment program in order to increase the amount of industry professionals. Since opening, the amount of dentists serving these areas has increased and now the university is looking to scale even further by increasing the amount offered in the loan repayment program.

Activists in Berkeley, California, are filling in what they say is a gap in homeless services during the coronavirus outbreak. Volunteers are safely delivering food and other supplies to those without shelter.

In 2004, the Media Initiative set out to develop a trauma-informed curriculum for preschoolers in Northern Ireland. Using puppets, cartoons, and professional development, the social-emotional lessons have empowered students to better address conflict and communicate more effectively with each other. A Boston-based teacher education program is one of many who travel to Ireland to observe the program in action each year.

The Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) works to positively impact the quality of life for medically underserved communities — particularly people of color within the LGBTQ+ community. APAIT’s primary focus is helping those with behavioral health challenges, housing insecurity, and who are at risk for HIV/AIDS, but has recently expanded its services to include helping those who are victims of sex trafficking.