Making A Difference

Audiences around the world don’t just share the desires to feel entertained or informed. They also, from time to time, want to feel inspired. And what better way to inspire audiences than to tell the stories of individuals who are engaged in activities that are truly inspirational.

So VOA is today launching a new multimedia series profiling people around the world who are, as the series is called, Making A Difference.

“We hope to inspire those who see, hear and read about these people, who are making a difference against some terrific odds,” says Steve Redisch, VOA's Executive Editor. “Our audience will see that others are enduring problems and situations similar to their own, and yet finding solutions.”

The series premier is about Cynthia Maung, a Burmese doctor and refugee who established a health clinic in Thailand along the border between the two countries. Her work taking care of refugees has led the Burmese government to brand her a terrorist.

Future profiles include those of an Ethiopian man who travels by donkey to remote villages throughout the country distributing books to children; a day in the life of Dr. Robert Gallo, including reflections on his groundbreaking discovery of and research into HIV; and a close-up look at a retired Liberian priest who teaches people how to type in order to make a living on the streets of the country's capital city, Monrovia.

Series producer Erin Brummett Klein says their stories “go beyond the news we see and hear everyday and explore the human spirit behind individual actions that help people.”

We hope you’ll enjoy these profiles. And if you are inspired by them, we want to hear your stories of what you decided to do. Write us here at the VOA News Blog.