Grateful News August 2016

This month’s Grateful News focuses on an Olympic winner coming from poverty, an innovative Malawian man, Cambodian snacks to save children, uplifting music in a refugee camp, and ancient Inca food that rivals space-age food…

How a Favela Kid Became Brazil’s Top Badminton Player

Ygor Coelho de Oliveira, whose father started a badminton program to help kids in a rough neighborhood, is Brazil’s first male Olympic badminton player – and an ambassador for the power of hope and hard work. » Full Story

When it Comes to Climate Change, We Should Start Small, Fail Fast, and Dream Big

William Kamkwanba, a Malawian innovator and engineer talks about how he built a windmill to bring a cleaner, more stable form of energy to his community, and has learned how climate crisis will be solved by everyday people working both on their own and together, and combining their best approaches to make the biggest incremental impact. » Full Story and Video

Cambodia: New Snack Aims to Prevent Child Malnutrition

Children in Cambodia are being given a new healthy snack aimed at curbing malnutrition and early signs appear promising. The novel approach is a new and inexpensive wafer snack, which is made from fish, rice, beans and other micronutrients developed specifically for the Cambodian palate. » Full Story

Musicians in a Refugee Camp in France Record “The Calais Sessions”

“The Calais Sessions,” is a benefit album released on July 29 that was recorded in the camp as a collaboration involving about 20 refugees and professional musicians. Some pieces are love songs. One mourns the death of a Syrian brother.
» Full Story and Video

A Space-Age Food Product Cultivated by the Incas

Chuño (pronounced CHOON-yoh) is essentially freeze-dried potatoes, developed by a culture that had none of today’s food-processing technology. Still making it the way the  Incas did, today’s villagers use the warm days and frosty nights of June to repeatedly freeze and thaw the potatoes, and then stomp them with their bare feet to remove the skins and liquids. » Full Story