Howdunnit

In Uganda, which has high youth unemployment rates, schools are starting to incorporate entrepreneurship lessons into traditional curricula to prepare students for life and an unstable job market after school.

A podcast designed and hosted by a Silicon Valley teenager has provided a place for local youth to share their struggles and combat loneliness. Although the podcast doesn't replace the work of actual counselors, it has helped some teenagers break through communication barriers with their parents.

Zero Mass Water partnered with the Navajo Nation to bring water into the homes of rural residents who may not have easy access to a water source. Hydropanels that connect to a tap inside the home use sunlight to absorb enough water vapor to make at least 10 liters of water per day. While people at first were skeptical about the idea during a pilot test, the company and Navajo officials are hoping to scale the solution.

An anti-violence program served as the spark for a “diaper drive” that delivered more than 163,000 donated diapers to 1,100 families as the coronavirus shutdown took hold, a charity drive enabled by a gang truce – and run by gang members themselves. Members of the Latin Kings, Crips, and Bloods, working through the Zero Youth Violence program of the organization Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, benefited from years of work to strengthen community relationships as a means of conducting “violence interruption” work.

Working to train therapy dogs helps kids with issues learn how to cope. Rising Ground, an organization in New York City, provides animal therapy as part of a residential placement program for juveniles facing problems with the law. The youth receive training in life skills, counseling, and peer support through their court-ordered program. In addition, Rising Ground engages them in an eight-week program to train therapy dogs, which helps the youth learn how to deal with their emotions, as well.

In Uganda, an initiative known as StrongMinds is helping low- and middle-income women deal with depression. To address the shortage of psychiatrists in the region, StrongMinds trains former patients who have completed 12 weeks of group therapy to be facilitators who make home visits.

For environmental organization GrowNYC, their one-acre teaching farm on Governor’s Island became a victory garden for New Yorkers who aren’t having their basic needs met during the COVID-19 pandemic. While future land development on the island could impact their work, the farm is on track to produce about 20,000 pounds of food that is distributed by other groups like the Black Feminist Project as free or low-cost coronavirus relief food boxes.

Schools in Teton County are successfully addressing the achievement gap between English language learners, kids who don't have a strong grasp on English, and white students by taking a holistic approach. In order to improve graduation rates among ELL students, teachers, and administrators are focused on early interventions like additional lessons, and a funding model that offers more flexibility for the school's resource allocation. “If all of our students don’t feel connected to school culturally, it doesn’t matter what you do, they won’t do well.”

As Covid-19 spread throughout regions of South Africa, public health clinics began reporting seeing fewer patients for HIV viral load testing due to shelter-in-place orders. In trying to mitigate the longterm implications of people missing their appointments, a few HIV specialists have joined the frontlines in local communities to act as both coronavirus testers and information conduits for HIV programs.

PowerCorps is a program that provides job training for young adults in Camden, New Jersey. It matches participants with opportunities to improve the green infrastructure in the community and is supported by the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority. The ultimate goal is to connect PowerCorps graduates to full-time employment.