People Fixing the World BBC World Service

As athletes from around the world strive for glory at the Paris Olympics, we look at how sport has a unique ability to change people’s lives for the better. In a refugee camp in Lebanon we meet those who are being inspired by that most traditional of sports, cricket. In Kenya we meet women from the toughest backgrounds who are taking on the world at football - and learning important life lessons as they go. Plus we hear the remarkable story of a cyclist from Afghanistan who is part of the Refugee Olympic Team.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer: Richard Kenny
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: Vijana Amani Pamoja football team, Richard Kenny/BBC)

From the way we catch food, to how we generate energy, human activity inevitably impacts on wildlife and the environment in unintended ways. So this week we’re looking at ways to reduce this collateral damage. We visit a windfarm in Finland that's using AI to predict bird flight paths and stop individual turbines before they cause damage. And we join some fishermen in Cyprus, who are using special green lights to warn turtles away from their nets.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer/Cyprus reporter: Claire Bates
Finland reporter: Erika Benke
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound mix: Hal Haines

In the US, police officers spend about a fifth of their time responding to mental health crises. This is something they are often not trained for, and figures also show that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter.
We go to Arizona where some 911 calls are now being responded to by mental health professionals who are trained to de-escalate a situation and help someone experiencing a crisis to get the support they need. This is part of a trend across the United States where a new nationwide mental health helpline called 988 has also recently been launched.
We also visit Denmark, where people going to their doctor with mental health issues are being prescribed ‘culture vitamins’ in an effort to tackle anxiety, stress and depression.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer/US reporter: Craig Langran
Denmark reporter: Adrienne Murray
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound Mix: Andrew Mills
(People in Aalborg, Denmark on street art tour, Adrienne Murray)

In a special programme, Myra Anubi is in Nairobi, Kenya at the final of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation which rewards the best new innovators on the continent. Their exciting solutions deal with access to healthcare, plastic recycling, waste disposal and pest detection. She meets the finalists and finds out which one of them has walked away with the £50,000 prize.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer: Richard Kenny
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: Finalists in the 2024 Africa Prize, Royal Academy of Engineering)

Tourism brings money and opportunities to communities around the world, but it brings risks too. Sometimes an influx of tourists changes a place, damages the environment or leads to the exploitation of local people.
But the social enterprise Local Alike has a different model. They have worked with dozens of villages in Thailand to get them ready before “opening up” to tourists. During this process, which can take months or even years, they help locals identify the meals, activities and sights that will interest visitors, and they bring in outside investment to improve the village. Then they help establish a fair stream of revenue for the community.
We travel with Somsak Boonkam, the founder of Local Alike, as he faces his toughest challenge yet: to work with his own home town as it prepares for tourists.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer/reporter: William Kremer
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Sound mix: Andrew Mills

Just over a quarter of people on the planet live in water stressed countries. And our increasing demands for water as well as climate change is putting even more pressure on this finite resource.
We take a look at how Indian farmers are growing crops with a device that stores rain underground. Plus how a test farm in the US uses a special clay liquid to grow vegetables in the desert. Finally we visit a project in Cyprus that could help coastal cities clean and reuse their wastewater in a more eco-friendly way.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer/reporter: Claire Bates
US reporter: Anthony Wallace
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Sound Mix: Andrew Mills
(Image: Biplab Paul demonstrating his bhungroo device in Gujarat, India, Biplab Paul)