Solomon Madikane is a former prison warden who was so frustrated by the endless cycle of law-breaking and incarceration that he left his job and set up the Realistic prisoner reintegration programme in 2004.
The people in the Mid-Magdalena region live with the legacy of a time when they had the highest homicide rate in the world. Civil conflict everywhere retards the development of civil society, and the status of women. There are many cases of sexual violence, acts of sexual abuse, child abuse, and sexual offences in general in Bolivar, Colombia. Judge González is determined to confront what she describes as Colombia's "conspiracy of silence" that surrounds the issues of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and teenage pregnancy.
In Pakistan, two-thirds of women are illiterate, and more than nine million girls do not go to school. Pakistan is way off track from achieving the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the part of Pakistan which borders Afghanistan, the UK has already helped more than 590,000 girls stay in school over the last few years by giving them small cash stipends and a set of free textbooks each year. In return they must attend school for at least four out of five days. The UK government is committed to getting two million more girls in to school in Pakistan by 2015.
A women-friendly orchestra in Brazil provides hope and jobs as part of The World Bank's Think Equal campaign. The world is seeing a growing recognition of women's rights with more girls attending school and taking part in traditionally male arenas.
Introducing an innovative UNICEF program using mobile phones, balloons, and kites to allow young people to provide local officials critical information about environmental risks in their community.
