Justine Adhiambo Obura with one of the "No Sex for Fish" boats at Nduru beach. She is the chairperson of the cooperative that came up with a radical idea in a community where fishermen often demanded transactional sex before giving a supply of fish to a woman to sell: What if women had their own boats and hired men to fish for them? Viola Kosome for NPR hide caption
Sam Nugraha, who himself was once addicted to heroin, started a rehab center in Indonesia with a different philosophy than abstinence-based programs. Funding from the government dried up — but then a new opportunity opened up. Julia Simon for NPR hide caption
Newborn baby Amina is treated for the gun wound in her right leg incurred during the May 12, 2020 attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul. After being rescued, she was brought to the French Medical Institute for Children for surgery. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Ibrahim Songne, an immigrant from Burkina Faso, opened a pizza spot called IBRIS in the Italian town of Trento. He overcame local prejudices — and now has been named to a list of the world's top 50 pizzerias. Marilena Umuhoza Delli for NPR hide caption
Sikhulile Moyo, the laboratory director at the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute and a research associate with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, headed the team that identified the omicron variant. Leabaneng Natasha Moyo hide caption
The Corbevax vaccine was invented at the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital and intended for countries that couldn't get access to more expensive COVID vaccines. India has inoculated millions of teens with Corbevax (above, a vaccination drive for children ages 12-14 at a school in Bangalore) and on August 10 authorized the vaccine as a booster for adults. Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Urban farmer Victor Edalia (right) with three beneficiaries of his free veggies in 2020 (left to right): Sheila Musimbi, a single mom; Celine Oinga, who comes from a family of 9 siblings; and Jackline Oyamo, jobless due to the pandemic. He's expanded his garden — and giveaways — since then. Thomas Bwire hide caption
Gloria Majiga-Kamoto, an activist from Malawi, was one of six recipients of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize. Majiga-Kamoto has been campaigning to convince Malawi to implement a ban on thin plastics. Goldman Environmental Prize hide caption
Fiona ten Have and Patrick Phiri pose for a wedding portrait in front of the same hedge where NPR photographed them during his first visit to the Netherlands (see photo, below). Julia Gunther hide caption
Dr. Aleksandra Shchebet is a Ukrainian neurologist whose professional and personal life were upended when the war with Russia began. After fleeing Kyiv, Dr. Shchebet found another way to help; sorting, packing and loading food and medical supplies onto trucks for delivery elsewhere into the country. She's now returned to Kyiv and sees patients affected by the war. Eugenia Zabuga/Aleksandra Shchebet hide caption
Narcisa Claveria shares a pastry with her great granddaughter, Atarah Mizsha Cancino, at the family's home in Antipolo, Metro Manila. Cheryl Diaz Meyer for NPR hide caption
A meeting of the table banking group at the home of a member. The photo is from 2019, when No Sex for Fish (and the village) were thriving. Julia Gunther for NPR hide caption
A road blockade set up during the Nipah virus outbreak in the southern Indian state of Kerala this month. C.K. Thanseer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images hide caption
Patrick returned to Malawi in November 2020. He and Fiona aren't certain when they can see each other again but are looking forward to their reunion and wedding. Julia Gunther for NPR hide caption
Angeline Murimirwa, executive director of the girls' education group CAMFED in Africa, at a pub in Oxford, England, in 2018. In August, CAMFED was awarded the $2.5 million 2021 Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Marc Silver/NPR hide caption
M. dances at a go-go bar. She was working as a topless dancer — and also as a sex worker — in the tourist city of Pattaya, Thailand, until the bar closed down in January. She decided to return to her hometown to look for work in a different sector. Allison Joyce for NPR hide caption
In this screen grab from video posted by BBC News Hindi, Jyoti Kumari, then 15, rides with her father during their 700-mile journey to their family's village of Sirhulli in eastern India. BBC News Hindi hide caption
Leather sandals, made by Saley, on display along with other items. Pearl Mak/NPR hide caption
Left: Xi Lu traveled to Wuhan from London in January to spend Lunar New Year with his parents, having not shared the holiday with them in over 7 years. Lin Yang, an epidemiologist at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, traveled to Wuhan to visit her parents for the Lunar New Year. And then ... they couldn't get back home because of the quarantine. Xi Lu/ Lin Yang hide caption
Farmers Anil Geela, left, and Pilli Tirupati do their version of the Kiki Challenge, dancing to Drake's song "In My Feelings." In the mud. With oxen. My Village Show Vlogs via YouTube/screenshot by NPR hide caption
A paramedic takes a blood sample from a baby for an HIV test in Larkana, Pakistan, on May 9. The government has been offering screenings in response to an HIV outbreak. Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images hide caption