Check out this page for Inspiring Stories about Extraordinary People who are being the change you want to see in the world.  The legacy they are creating comes from their commitment, not the amount they can donate financially. Instead it's the small steps they take every day that makes a difference.

We can all take part in some way. Happy Reading.

* Cycling out of Poverty in Africa

* From Comics to Child Labour - One Boy's Journey to Champion Children's Rights

* Conservation Program in India - Saves Tigers and Educates Children

* Become Extraordinary - Perform Acts of Random Kindness

* 11-year-old Boy Aims to Change Law to Feed the Hungry

Cycling out of Poverty in Africa

Imagine traipsing long distances in the hot sun every day carrying many kilos of goods to distant locations.  All this so you can feed your family and create an income.  With many kilos of water in their arms and goods piled high on their heads, the transporting of products to market is a grueling daily routine for many women and children in Africa.

Making this process easier for everyone would be an extraordinary feat.

Cycling out of Poverty, a Dutch organisation eager to make a difference, came up with an idea to not only help these women and children transport their goods to market, but to also help them create more income at the same time.

We think that's Extraordinary and thought you might like to hear about it too..

Cycling out of Poverty purchase bicycles from local markets to help sustain the local industries. Then they make these bikes available to help the local saleswomen transport their wares to market. 

And that's not all, Cycle out of Poverty has a bigger goal - to create an effective long term strategy for these women.

When the locals receive a bike, they are taught how to use it to create a more effective and financially successful system.  The women are shown how transporting more produce to the market in less time and more often can create a greater income for them.

The women then create a plan to pay off the bike, with all the money going back to the local industry which provided the bicycle in the first place.  The aim of Cycling out of Poverty is that these projects will sustain themselves in the future.

Extraordinary, isn’t it?

Through making bicycles available to these women, not only are they provided with the ability to undertake their daily tasks more efficiently, but they learn skills of saving and how to maintain their bikes.

The gesture of assisting these women and children to gain access to the bicycle is extraordinary; they can earn extra money to pay off the bicycle and cycle their way out of poverty.

Luuk Eickmans and Marieke de Wild of Cycling out of Poverty are doing an Extraordinary thing for people less fortunate then themselves.

You too can be extraordinary.          Back to Top

From comics to child labour - how one young man began an organisation to champion children's rights around the world.

In 1995, the Extraordinary Vision of one 12-year old boy created Free The Children, an organisation set up to raise awareness about child labour and champion children's rights across the world.

Today this group has grown into the world's largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million young people involved in programs in over 45 countries.

We think that's Extraordinary and thought you might like to hear about it too…

Craig Kielburger was the young man with this vision, and the story goes like this. In April 1995, while searching for the comic section in his local newspaper, Craig read an article which changed his life forever.

It was the story of Iqbal Masih, a young boy from Pakistan, who was sold into slavery to work in a carpet factory.  Iqbal had been forced to work 12 hours a day, six days a week, tying tiny knots to make hand-made carpets for export. With luck on his side, and a lot of bravery, one day Iqbal managed to escape from his life of captivity.

He began speaking out about children's rights; educating people who previously knew nothing about child labour. Sadly, his courage led to his death.  After reuniting with his family, Iqbal was shot and killed by those who didn't want his story and that of other children like him, to be heard. 

Before he read Iqbal's story, Craig had never heard of child labour. He wasn't even certain where Pakistan was, but the differences between his life and that of Iqbal shocked him. The fact that Iqbal had lost his life for defending the rights of children had a huge impact on Craig, and he knew that he had to help. He gathered together 11 of his Grade 7 classmates and Free the Children was born.The following year, in an attempt to focus the world's attention on the epidemic of global child rights abuses, Craig embarked on an ambitious fact-finding mission to South Asia. In a press conference held in Delhi, India, Craig challenged the world to take notice of the stories and voices of child global debate. Craig's journey, sparked by Iqbal's heroic tale, proved that young people have the power to make a difference in the world.

Today, just 13 years later, Free The Children is a children's charity unlike any other in the world. It is an organisation funded and driven by the energy of young leaders and adult supports.

That certainly is Extraordinary, isn't it?

Are You Extraordinary? Like Craig Kielburger?

The vision of a 12-year old has created an amazing organisation that aims to free children from poverty and exploitation and free young people from the notion that they are powerless to affect positive change in the world.

To be the change you want to see in the world, you don't have to start your own children's charity. You just have to be committed.    Back to Top

Conservation program in India saves Tigers and educates children at the same time.

What would you say about a program set up to save tigers in India which is now providing children with an education and helping them out of poverty?

We think that's Extraordinary and thought you might like to hear about it too… One man's foresight has led to the re-education of an entire tribe of people to stop tiger poaching in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. This man is Mr Fateh Singh Rathore, who established a program called Tiger Watch in 1998.

Tiger Watch identified the local Moghiya tribe as one of the major threats to the survival of the local tiger population. For many years, these tribes have been living off the proceeds of poaching, as this was their only means of survival. The wildlife trade gave them money, and the tiger meat provided food.

But the Moghiyas were keen to give up poaching in favour of alternate means of livelihood, so new ways had to be found to teach them to support themselves. The Tiger Watch program is now teaching the Moghiya tribe more sustainable ways of making a living, and educating their children away from the life of a poacher at the same time. Through education, the children are being taught about grassroots conservation and how important the tiger is to survival.

You see, the end of the tiger population has much wider ramifications. In India many believe the tiger is the protector of the woods. If the tiger disappears, the woods will too. When there are no woods, there will be no water, and no water means no life. 

So ultimately, no tiger means no life.

A special hostel has now been set up for the Moghiya boys, where they receive uniforms, clothing, meals and study materials for their education. They also attend school.  The Moghiya girls families are paid a monthly sum for every girl child that the family sends to school. They also receive uniforms, and books, and their school fees are paid.

The children have become gatekeepers for the protection of the tigers, helping to secure the tiger's future for many generations.

The adults are taught handicrafts and local skills. They now sell their wares to make their living and no longer need to hunt tigers. They are proud of the hostel and the education their children receive and feel they no longer have to worry about their future.

While their hunger and need for survival drove the Moghiya to hunt the tigers, education is now helping them out of poverty and teaching them about conservation at the same time.

The Tiger Watch campaign provides what we like to call 'effective giving' and is just one program aimed at feeding and educating children that we like to support.

That certainly is Extraordinary, isn't it? Are you Extraordinary?

Like Mr Fateh Singh Rathore? The foresight of just one man is now saving tigers and educating children at the same time.    Back to Top

Become Extraordinary.Perform Acts of Random Kindness.

What is an Act of Random Kindness?  Basically it's a selfless act performed by someone who wishes to help someone or cheer them up.  Often there is no other reason behind it than to make someone smile or improve their day.

Acts of Random Kindness don't require a lot of time or effort, but they can significantly improve another person's day. To be blunt, these types of acts of kindness can shock people.

Giving back is an Extraordinary Act of Random Kindness.

So when self-confessed 'nutter' Cameron from Northern Ireland decided to set up ARK (Acts of Random Kindness), a non profit organisation that encourages kind actions to others, others were, well, shocked.

Cameron's ARK campaign has a difference. He has started a clothing line with a purpose other than profit.  Basically the idea is that any wearer of his ARK clothing is required to perform one ARK (Act of Random Kindness) each time they wear one of his shirts. This could be a simple as buying someone a coffee, giving up your seat on the bus, or helping a drunk get home.

Cameron's aim when setting up ARK a few years back was to inspire people to love others - and act on it.   He encourages this in two ways. Firstly, by small suggestions on the clothing tags, and by encouraging volunteers to join with him and then organise events in their local area - and create big ARK's (Acts of Random Kindness)

As far as Cameron's concerned, you can buy a shirt, or not buy a shirt, he just wants others to get involved, love other people, and see lives changed.

That certainly is Extraordinary, isn't it?

Are you Extraordinary? Like Cameron? To be the change you want to see in the world, you don't have to set up your own non-profit organisation, you just need to be committed.    Back to Top

11-year-old Boy Aims to Change Law to Feed the Hungry

Adults usually initiate laws, but there's no law that says kids can't too.

Did you hear the inspiring story of an 11-year-old Florida boy who is working to have a local law changed to enable restaurants to feed the homeless, rather than throw out all their left-over food.

Jack Davis may only be 11 but that didn’t stop him from having a pretty grown-up idea. When he saw something that he felt needed to be changed, he went about finding ways to change it.
 
Jack was disturbed to learn that Florida restaurants throw out food that could be given to the hungry and the homeless – because the restaurant owners could be sued if anyone who ate the food became ill or developed food poisoning.

“I thought it was such a waste to see all this food being thrown away every single day, and I realised I could make a difference by trying to change the law”, he said.

Jack’s idea was to pass a law that would give restaurant owners’ some protection from lawsuits. He got his dad to float the idea to some Florida legislators, and they loved it.

Now it looks like Jack’s idea will become a law.

That certainly is Extraordinary, isn't it? Are You Extraordinary?

At 11 years old, Jack Davis is being the change he wants to see in the world.

To be the change you want to see in the world, you don't have to be loud. You just have to be committed.    Back to Top