THE RESPONSE FREE!
Weekly email with three solutions stories illustrating responses that work, pivoting off the latest news moments.
SolutionsU® connects you to solutions stories about responses to the world’s challenges.
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Against the grain: why millet is making a comeback in rural India
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/25/against-the-grain-why-millet-is-enjoying-an-indian-revival-nagaland
Anne Pinto-Rodrigues
The Guardian
25 February 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
By reviving millet farming, farming communities are adapting to climate change. In India, the Millet Farmers Group, organized by a women’s rights nonprofit, the North East Network (NEN), helps farmers cultivate millet, an ancient grain that is less water-intensive than white rice. NEN Nagaland helps farmers from around the Nagaland district share knowledge about growing millet and obtain the necessary machinery to dehusk the grain.
Teaching Children How to Reverse an Overdose
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/us/opioids-tennessee-narcan-training.html
Dan Levin
The New York Times
23 February 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Carter County, Tennessee, where an opioid crisis is underway, elementary-aged children and teenagers are being taught how to administer the overdose reversal nasal spray, Narcan. Although this strategy has faced opposition from some local residents, at least 100 students have administered the life-saving treatment.
A weekly meetup aims to keep black male teachers in the classroom
https://hechingerreport.org/a-weekly-meetup-aims-to-keep-black-male-teachers-in-the-classroom
Bracey Harris
The Hechinger Report
21 February 2020
Text / Under 800 Words
Male teachers of color are often called on to do extra disciplinary work and mentor students of color in other classes in addition to their own. A weekly virtual meetup for Mississpi's male teachers of color provides a forum for instructors to discuss their unique experiences and share strategies.
These Students Are Learning About Fake News and How to Spot It
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/education/learning/news-literacy-2016-election.html
Alina Tugend
The New York Times
20 February 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
Some schools are formally adding media literacy education to their curricula. Lessons train students to spot fake news and navigate the non-stop media cycle.
High School Health Workers? It Works
https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/world-we-want/2020/02/19/high-school-health-workers
Claire Jarvis
Yes! Magazine
19 February 2020
Text / 1500-3000 Words
In Georgia, where residents of underserved, largely minority neighborhoods lack adequate access to health care services, a program is training local high school students to serve as community health workers equipped to identify chronic illnesses and connect patients with appropriate resources.
Has one of the Valley's poorest districts figured out how to keep kids in school?
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article239683693.html
Manuela Tobias
Fresno Bee
19 February 2020
Text / 1500-3000 Words
A school attendance campaign in a rural California district relies on buy-in from a variety of community partners. For instance, administrators supported the construction of a new health clinic next to the school, concentrating multiple key resources on one block and making it easier for parents to access health care for their children.
How Farms Turn Food Waste Into Renewable Energy
https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/massachusetts-farms-food-waste-renewable-energy/2078887
Ally Donnelly
Jim Haddadin
NBC Boston
19 February 2020
Broadcast TV News / 3-5 Minutes
Food waste diverted from the landfill to anaerobic digesters can be used to create electricity. In Massachusetts, farmers and businesses participate in a waste-to-energy project in partnership with Vanguard Renewables. Discarded food waste is mixed with cow manure and fed into a digester. The gasses created are then used to power electric generators.
Finding patients where they live: Street medicine grows, along with homeless population
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-02-16/street-medicine-usc-homeless
Soumya Karlamangla
Los Angeles Times
16 February 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
Doctors from USC have formed a small street team that travels to homeless communities to treat medical concerns and help provide assistance. Part of a growing trend around the United States, these teams are playing a vital role for the homeless by eliminating barriers such as the need to "schedule an appointment, find transportation to the clinic, pick up prescriptions, or pay for their treatment"
Young Somalis Step In Where Government Fails
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/world/africa/somalia-.html
Abdi Latif Dahir
The New York Times
16 February 2020
Text / 1500-3000 Words
After three decades of war and famine, Somalia's capacity to respond to emergencies and rebuild its country has been significantly diminished. To pick up the slack, young Somalis, many of whom have returned home from abroad, are stepping in to volunteer their services, from rehabilitating child soldiers, sparking tourism, addressing humanitarian crises, and even organizing book fairs.
Solving crimes, acing tests, building bridges. What this Fresno school program does right
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article239696228.html
Monica Velez
Fresno Bee
13 February 2020
Multi-Media / 1500-3000 Words
A career technical education program in California exposes children to work in fields including biotechnology, business, marketing, and psychology, and has been shown to improve test scores. The twist? The program is run and funded jointly by two districts with widely varying socioeconomic demographics.
The world is full of people and institutions working to advance change. Yet, these emerging ideas can be difficult to find...until now.
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