Stories of Ordinary People Who’ve Accomplished Extraordinary Things
- Ben Durskin: When he was battling cancer, the Make A Wish Foundation offered to make one of his wishes come true. Instead of asking for a free trip to Disneyland, he asked for help to developing a video game which would help children deal with the stress and pain of cancer."Ben's Game" was launched on the Make-A-Wish Web site in May 2004. .As of January, 2006, this free game has been downloaded an amazing 181,920 times.
- Greg Mortenson; American ski bum/mountain climber who went from living in his car to establishing an organisation which has built over 100 schools for girls in remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Central Asia Institute)
- Jodi Williams: former American ESL teacher who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work with the International Campaign To Ban Landmines. She continues to work to encourage countries around the world to remove land mines and also get funding to help those injured by land mines.
- Nader Khalili (1936-2008), a Persian architect, developed a way to build ceramic houses that are a) dirt-cheap; b) environmentally friendly; c) earthquake resistant; d) flood- resistant; e) fireproof; and f) hurricane resistant. Used dirt and wire to create create a building material called SuperAdobe. Houses can be built without expensive equipment by unskilled laborers. First used to house refugees of the Persian Gulf War. Help establish an American based organization called CalEarth which continues to work on providing emergency housing around the world.
- Mohammad Yumos: businessman who decided that poverty could be eliminated by making loans to poor women who want to start small businesses. Won Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Originally limited to Bangladesh, his ideas have inspired use of these MicroBanks around the world, including the United States.
- Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation: rich people who give back! Have committed over $$$$ in funding programs all over the world. Their foundation is dedicated to supporting projects developed by local organizations rather than just contributing money to large organizations. They decided that rather than giving their fortune to their children, their estate would be used to fund the foundation after their deaths.
Anybody want to add some ot? Actually, I wish someone would write a book about these (and other people like them). It's not like I don't like reading about the more famous "heroes"; on the other hand, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Mother Teresa have enough press already I think. Also, I think these people are cool because most (well, not Gates) fell into their charities/causes and then went with it. You never know what is going to be around the next corner.,campaign to ban landmines,
