If you live in a country with no centralised blood bank, where do you go if you need a transfusion? For Lebanese pharmacy student, Yorgui Keyrouz, the answer was his mobile phone. Lebanon’s health sector was in tatter’s following the country’s 15 year civil war, so, Yorgui started an initiative to fill the gaping hole and he’s saved 15,000 lives already.

Listen to the Report
Blood Bank in Lebanon

Emma, 18, managed to flee North Korea with her mother. Now she’s networking with other young political activists with hopes of eventually developing democracy in her home country.

Listen to the report by Roberto Tofani, presented by André Leslie:

North Korean defector works toward democracy

Here are some organizations that promote democracy in North Korea:

Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights
Ydank (in Korean)
The National Democratic Institute

Photos by PlanetNext.net

Wood is the main source of energy in Cambodia, which has resulted in widespread deforestation. In response, French NGOs have developed an alternative – charbriquets made from coconut shells and dried organic waste. The fuel does not use chopped lumber – giving it a clear advantage. The briquets are inexpensive and burn longer than wood. Factory manager Carlo Figa Talamanca who took over the company from his former employers now wants to reach a wider market. He is working with a French aid group that turns students into a sales force. Talamanca is confident that his social enterprise SGFE (Sustainable Green Fuel Enterprise) will soon reach profitability.

Youth unemployment across the Arab world is at 33 per cent, and women are most likely to fit this category. However, some young leaders are trying to turn this around, by encouraging and educating those affected by unemployment and lack of opportunity in the Middle East and turning them into young entrepreneurs.

Watch this DW video to find out more about how young global leaders are creating opportunities for young Arabs in the Middle East.

Some experience music through their eyes, others use their ears, says Mischa Gohlke. He was born with a hearing impairment which borders on deafness, but that hasn’t stopped him from learning to play the guitar – and teaching music to others with hearing impairments.

Listen to the report by Julian Bohne:

Deaf guitar teacher shares joy of music

Read more about Mischa Gohlke.

As the global population continues to grow, issues around food production and consumption are becoming increasingly more important. In a country that imports a great deal of its food – the Netherlands – Samuel Levie is making it his mission to change the food system through the hearts and minds of young people.

Listen to the report by Charlotta Lomas:

Dutch food activist encourages ethical eating

Click on the links to find out more about the Food Film Festival and the Youth Food Movement.

Australia has been a forerunner in granting political rights to women. Today, a young woman is making big changes on the political scene, despite some enormous physical challenges – but, Kelly Vincent is not letting that stop her.

This to the report by Daniel Pizarro, presented by Charlotta Lomas:

Disabled politican making waves

Here’s the Dignity for Disability website.

Dedan Ireri in Nairobi, Kenya, is all about bicycles. They are his hobby and also his profession. Maybe one day, a bicycle ride will earn him international recognition in sports. But Dedan Ireri is also on a mission: he wants to help others to take up cycling.

Listen to the report by Peter Hille:

One legged cyclist inspires others to ride

DW’s Peter Hille met Dedan while completing a cycling trip of his own – from Cairo all the way to Cape Town. Follow along with Peter’s adventures on his blog.

A young woman in New Delhi opens up the world of music to at-risk kids. Many of them have been traumatized and abandoned, but Faith, 23, gives them self-confidence and new skills with her organization, Music Basti.

From reporter Aletta André:

The moment we walk into the Kushi Home, Faith Gonsalves is surrounded by girls who demand her attention. “Didi, didi,” they yell at her: “Big sister.”

More than 100 girls between the ages of six and 14 live in the Kushi Home, in an industrial area in the southern outskirts of India’s capital New Delhi. Some of them might be orphans, some have run away from their homes, while others have families incapable of taking care of them.

Faith, a 23-year-old from New Delhi, has earned her popularity. For the past four years, she has been devoting most of her time to children like the girls living here, by teaching them music.

“The far majority of the children that we work with have been sexually abused,” Faith told me just about an hour before reaching the home, when we first met in a café in one of Delhi’s wealthier areas. It is impossible not to remember this while looking at all those girls, running around the playground, posing for my pictures and demanding attention from their didi.

A singer and music-lover herself, Faith knew that music can help children immensely, not only to enjoy life and forget their problems, but also to develop communication skills and to boost their confidence. To teach music and music appreciation to so-called children-at-risk, she decided to start up the project Music Basti in 2008 when she was still a college student at Delhi University.

Music Basti now organizes several workshops in singing and playing instruments every week, the occasional music performance and even launched an album with songs by the children last year. The project works together with dozens of other organizations and has worked with a few hundred volunteer teachers and musicians. It reaches out to more than 400 girls and boys in places such as Kushi Home.

Listen to the report:

New Delhi Music Basti

Tiffany Tiberghien wanted a job that had meaning. For this 24-year-old Parisienne, that meant putting her Christian faith into practice. When she was 21, she spent a year working as a missionary in Vietnam, where she dedicated herself to children who had been abandoned because of their physical or mental disabilities. It was a life-changing experience. “When you give love, you get it back several times over,” Tiffany said.

When she returned to Paris, she decided to find similar work closer to home. She now organizes a chaplaincy for teenagers in the East of Paris – a place where often poor and isolated children can come and talk.

Listen to the report by John Laurenson:

Mission possible in Paris