People Fixing the World

Across the African continent, people with disabilities are often stigmatised. The discrimination they face can impact their ability to go to school, find a job and even to feel safe.We look at the projects trying to change people’s attitudes and help people with disabilities flourish.We speak to Lilian Dibo Eyong, who is trying to change attitudes to people with disabilities in Cameroon.In Uganda, we visit the “silent café” - which is run by deaf people and you order in sign language.And we test out a virtual reality game designed in Nigeria that’s helping people understand what it’s like being a child with an autism spectrum disorder.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Eric Mugaju and Craig Langran Producer: Ann Hepburn Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Lilian Dibo Eyong

More than 100 million people have been forcibly displaced from their home around the world – fleeing conflict, natural disasters or persecution. Millions end up in refugee camps, living in tents.Around the world, designers and architects are trying to improve the lives of these displaced people, by improving the temporary homes they’re living in.From prefabricated shelters made using Swedish flat-pack design methods, to the homes made from scratch using local knowledge and materials, we meet the people trying to replace tents with homes that have a little more dignity.This is an updated repeat from August 2022.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Farhana Haider Producer: William Kremer Syria Producer: Ali Haj Suleiman Production Co-ordinator: Ibtisam Zein Sound mix: Hal Haines Executive producer: Tom Colls Editor: Penny MurphyPhoto credit: Ali Haj Suleiman Description: Kafirjalas IDP camp Idlib, Syria

Meet the oceans’ unsung hero.Human activity is having a huge impact on the world’s oceans - global warming, pollution from fish farms and damage from the fishing industry are all threatening some of the oceans most important ecosystems.But one creature might be able to help. The humble sea cucumber – an animal in the same family as starfish that looks like a lumpy sausage and lives on the ocean floor.We meet the Australian researchers using drones to count the cucumbers to understand how their poo is helping coral reefs. And in Madagascar, we speak to the local communities which are learning to sustainably farm the creature, protecting the seas and increasing their income along the way.Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Sea cucumbers (Getty Images)

Thousands of women are infected with HIV every week in Africa. Many can't persuade their partners to wear a condom, so it was hoped that a new form of protection could be a real game-changer.It's a small silicon ring which encircles the cervix and releases antiretroviral drugs, lowering the women’s risk of contracting HIV. Their partners aren't supposed to feel it, and so shouldn't even need to know it’s there.People Fixing the World first reported on the HIV ring five years ago. We find out what’s happened since.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Ruth Evans and Rosie Blunt Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Agnes holds up a dapivirine ring

Food waste from hotels and the heat from computers are being used to provide new sources of energy.In the fight against climate change, it is of vital importance to find new ways of making our energy go further.We visit Goa in India, to hear how food waste digesters - that turn waste into gas for cooking – are springing up everywhere.And in server centres around the world, we explore how the heat generated by running the internet is being re-used by local neighbourhoods.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporters: Chhavi Sachdev and Craig Langran Producer: Claire Bates Series Producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Richard Dias from Flycatcher Technologies

Gary Evans, founder of the Forest Bathing Institute, discusses the healing power of forests and the practice of forest bathing. They explore the origins and benefits of forest therapy, its potential in addiction recovery and mental health, and techniques like enhancing hearing in a forest setting. Lawrence Thai shares a personal story of emotional healing through forest bathing in Hong Kong. The podcast also offers tips on experiencing forest bathing and disconnecting from technology.

Clearing up pollution can be a messy and expensive task, but around the world people are harnessing the power of plants to do the job for them.We hear how water hyacinths are going from hated weed to providing communities with a greener water filtration solution; how plants in the Niger Delta are helping rejuvenate land drenched in oil and devastated by fire and ask whether plants could be the future to more environmentally friendly mining.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Georgina Rannard Reporter/producer: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Zoe Gelber Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.ukImage: A water hyacinth (Getty Images)

Australia used to be one of the most linguistically diverse places, with over 200 languages. Today, many of Australia’s indigenous languages are considered “highly endangered”. Inspired by his native language, Hebrew, Ghil’ad Zuckermann is a linguistics professor who is on a mission to revive Australia’s dead and endangered languages, painstakingly piecing them back together from historical documents. We speak to Ghil’ad and Shania Richards from the Barngarla community, whose language is being brought back from the brink. Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: Josephine Casserly Producers: Claire Bates & Craig Langran Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Annie Gardiner Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk Image: Shania Richards from the Barngarla community

Chile is in the midst of a “megadrought” – year after year of low rainfall which has turned farmland to desert and left communities struggling to survive.But in the midst of the crisis, people in Chile have found ingenious ways of collecting, saving and cleaning water.We visit the hillside fog nets, AI powered irrigation system and a high-tech desalination plant that are helping people survive and thrive when the rains don’t come.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/Producer: Jane Chambers Series producer: Tom Colls Sound Mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny MurphyEmail: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.ukImage: Daniel Rojas and his fog nets

A charity in the UK is building micro-homes to help homeless people transition into housing. The podcast also discusses the success and challenges of micro homes in Cambridge and explores modular microhomes as a stepping stone to independence. Additionally, it highlights a program in Belgium that encourages sobriety at parties with the use of sober coins.