In an era where technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives, our nonprofit partners Hope for Haiti, Operation Smile, Water For People, and World Bicycle Relief are harnessing innovations to amplify their impact and reach those in need more effectively than ever before. Their groundbreaking work not only demonstrates the transformative power of technology in addressing global challenges but also sets new standards for how modern nonprofits can operate in an increasingly digital world.
Read about Hope for Haiti, Operation Smile, Water For People, and World Bicycle Relief’s cutting-edge programs below and make a donation to them through your workplace giving campaign to fund more breakthroughs in the humanitarian sector.
Innovative solutions for immediate aid: the power of digital cash assistance from Hope for Haiti
Through Hope for Haiti’s Economic Development Program, 100 small ti machann (small merchants) in southern Haiti received $100 USD via Digicel’s MonCash mobile cash transfer platform to support their livelihoods and businesses after the 2021 earthquake. Rachelle has six children, and she continues to work every day so she can provide for them, even when grown. She previously took care of livestock before opening her stall at the market, but unfortunately, all of her animals died from flooding during Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Rachelle has been trying to get back on her feet ever since. Her daughter, Sofia, comes to the market for a couple hours every day to help her mom and has dreams of becoming a nurse.
Meet the doctor mixing data and AI to help expand Operation Smile’s global impact
It’s not often that you find a person with a background in biostatistics who is also a skilled plastic surgeon, but that is exactly the exceptional mix of talents that Dr. Caroline Yao brings to her role as senior vice president of research and patient metrics at Operation Smile. Starting as a medical trainee 14 years ago, Yao was one of the first global surgery fellows who worked with the global nonprofit, traveling the world to implement educational and surgical projects. Since that time, she has leaned on her love of “numbers work” — previously Yao was also an analyst on Wall Street — to cast an analytic eye to the work Operation Smile is doing to expand access to safe and successful health care including cleft surgeries, essential surgeries, and comprehensive care to patients in 37 countries.
Now, through a partnership with Microsoft called AI For Good, Yao and the team at Operation Smile have been able to develop a customized pilot AI Tool that synthesizes the organization’s data and helps doctors around the world treat patients with cleft conditions more strategically than ever before. Operation Smile’s work with AI is the focus of an episode of “Beyond the Code,’ a mini-documentary produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions. See the full story on Operation Smile’s website.
Creating community awareness videos in India with Water for People
The Kesharpur Village is a windy, 15-minute drive on a rutted, unpaved path off the main highway in Chikhaldara Taluka of Amravati district in Maharashtra, India. During the rainy season, flooding can make reaching the village impossible. This past summer, community members worked together to build a pipeline through their village so each home could have its own water pump. In coordination with the local government, Water For People helped build a water tower and implement a chlorinated water filter system. Part of Water For People’s system-change approach also involves community collaboration around the structural work for water access.
In partnership with a local NGO that uses media to give a voice to marginalized groups, Water For People hosted a series of workshops for women and girls in Kesharpur to learn how to write a script to convey a story and use cameras, video, and editing software to create a short film. The goal: create connection and education around the social context of water in the village. Fourteen girls participated by interviewing their neighbors and community members, collecting footage, and weaving it all together into a film that helped promote the behavior change needed to incorporate healthy habits involving their new access points — conserving water, retaining water, growing kitchen gardens, and the role water plays in sanitation and hygiene. The group hosted a screening followed by a dialogue after. We celebrate these young women who become change agents in their communities, who take opportunities like this, and dream up ways to make their world — and ours — stronger.
World Bicycle Relief’s simple innovation that’s changing lives
In the communities that World Bicycle Relief serves, riders carry heavy loads, travel long distances, and navigate rough terrain to reach schools, health care, and markets. Their bikes need to be more than just sturdy — they need to be reliable.
Always innovating to meet the needs of the communities they serve, World Bicycle Relief’s product development team has worked for years on building a multi-speed drivetrain that would help riders travel farther with less effort. The challenge for additional gears wasn’t just technical. It was about creating a system that was durable, affordable, and — most importantly — repairable with basic tools.
One day, they reframed their thinking, realizing that there’s a lot of utility in even just one extra gear. Instead of a complex internal gear hub with three or more gears, they developed a mechanism that uses two independent single-speed chains and sprockets. These work together with a switching mechanism that controls which gear engages the rear wheel. The drivetrain functions just like a single-speed bike but switches between two gears automatically when the rider pedals backward — similar to the way a ballpoint pen clicks between two states.
By working closely with partners across the cycling industry, World Bicycle Relief managed to develop this technology at a price point that fits their mission. The S2 drivetrain is not just an upgrade; it’s a game changer for riders who depend on these bikes for their livelihoods. See the full story on World Bicycle Relief’s website.
Thank you Hope for Haiti, Operation Smile, Water For People, and World Bicycle Relief for providing content for this blog. Feeling inspired by this innovative work? Make a donation through your workplace giving campaign to champion further technological breakthroughs that address global challenges.
