Making churches more welcoming for members with dementia: ‘We don't want them to think they're forgotten'

Religion and technology are two important elements in Nairobi, however, they have remained distant until the corrupt government brought them together. Christian hackathons are now opportunities for technology and religion to meet to spur innovation that can help fight against corruption

For millennials looking to gain a stronger sense of commitment to social justice and service work, religious traditions can provide a helpful framework. The Nuns and Nones program in Burlingame, California, places young participants into convents. In exchange for low-income housing, the young people help provide care and company for the aging sisters, while also drawing lessons from their participation in—and devotion to—service work.

Crowdsourcing data allows developers to help those with limited mobility find accessible routes. The AccessMap Seattle project, in collaboration with the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington and OpenStreetMap, has tested and is improving a map where users can find and edit information about the elevation of rotes, sidewalks, and crosswalks to serve those who are challenged with their mobility.

Dementia units and long-term care homes for the elderly are often desolate and lonely places, with harried workers attempting to meet the needs of their patients while also meeting government-set metrics of success. For families and individuals, it can be difficult to imagine a better way. However, a pilot program in Canada called the Butterfly room is showing that dedicated efforts to making long-term care homes a vibrant and loving place for someone's last days has positive impacts for everyone - and is worth a government investment do right across the country.

Portland-based NGO, Micah Challenge USA, uses scripture to reach Evangelicals about climate change. The organization partners with legislation-making initiatives, travels to Christian colleges, and contacts national and local leaders urging them to join the Climate Solutions Caucus. Underpinning every initiative is a core strategy: climate change is causing people to suffer, especially those that are experiencing poverty, and as Christians, they are called to help the poor and end their suffering.

On World Toilet Day in 2014, the Kenyan government promised to build 180 public toilets in an ambitious move to combat the issue of public sanitation. The program went well once the keys were handed off to the National Youth Service of Kenya as a means of income, but issues quickly arose that could not be resolved because of a lack of further funds. The youth has since transformed their toilets into a rental space for local churches, such as Christ Miracle Church for All Nations in Laini Saba.

En Belgique, des mamans sans titre de séjour légal ont mis en place une sécu solidaire pour combler certaines lacunes de l’aide médicale urgente (AMU), la seule aide sociale de l’Etat accordée à toutes les personnes indigentes et sans titre de séjour. Alimentée par des citoyens solidaires et les femmes elles-mêmes, elle permet de payer différents frais (juridiques, de déplacement, alimentaires, de santé...)

L’association Basiliade a eu l’idée de reconvertir des hôtels vides en centres d’hébergement social. Elle a nommé l'un d'entre eux la "Maison des Fées". 36 femmes exilées sont hébergées avec leurs bébés. Elles bénéficient d'une solution de garde pour leurs enfants, d'un soutien du personnel de l'hôtel et de travailleurs sociaux.

En Suisse, l’association Appartenances fait appel à 140 interprètes communautaires pour favoriser l'autonomie des personnes migrantes. Leur mission : traduire, certes, mais surtout de dissiper les méprises potentielles dues aux différences culturelles entre une personne migrante et un professionnel de santé ou du social. Ces interprètes ont tous eux-mêmes un parcours migratoire derrière eux qui permet de saisir les nuances entre le pays d’origine de la personne migrante et le pays d’accueil.

Trace the Face, un site de la Croix-Rouge, aide les migrants à localiser leurs proches perdus sur la route de l’exil. Depuis 2013, 5 731 photos de personnes recherchant quelqu’un ont été publiées sur Trace the Face et 161 personnes ont pu retrouver un proche.