In a country that prizes physical perfection, Korean Pastor Lee Jong-rak, his eyes opened after caring for his own disabled son, has been taking in unwanted infants, who if not for the drop box in the front of his building would be left in the street. To Pastor Lee Jong-rak, babies with Down syndrome or cerebral palsy are all perfect and they have found a home here.
In the largely improvised scramble to set up an alternative to leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime, the Libyan rebels are leaning heavily on Ali Tarhouni, a University of Washington economics professor who abruptly left his family and students to join an uncertain revolution. As finance minister, he even jumped on a fishing boat recently to personally deliver salary money to the besieged city of Misrata in the Gadhafi-controlled west.
In one of Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods, one grandmother has opened her door and invited gang members to come inside. She hoped that by providing them with support and a place to go, she would ensure that her own daughter and other kids would be safe and able to focus on their future instead of gangs.
On the 17th anniversary marking the start of the Rwandan genocide, comes the story of Carl Wilkens -- the only American to stay in the country, remaining behind to protect Tutsi friends.
Hilton Kelley left a burgeoning career in Hollywood in 2000 and moved back to his Texas hometown, a refinery and chemical manufacturing region, to clean things up. Mr. Kelley has won a lot of victories in 11 years. Now, the Port Arthur native has received a $150,000 Goldman Environmental Prize for his efforts to fight pollution.
80 percent of the workers hired at the Tennessee factory that makes artificial grass are disabled, but owner David Morris doesn't see them that way. Every worker and manager with cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, or schizophrenia is considered able.
A Houston man killed last year protecting a woman from a gun-wielding purse snatcher has been named a finalist for an award created by U.S. servicemen who have been recognized for similar selfless acts during war.
Like white knights, dressed in their hazmat suits, a band of 180 men have volunteered to continue working in extreme conditions, to help keep strangers safe from nuclear radiation at the Fukushima plant.
Growing up in the Kenyan slums, Peninah was surrounded by drugs, prostitution and dire poverty. Peninah turned to education as her lifeline, walking nine miles to attend school every day, and learning basketball within one month to secure a scholarship to college. Now she created Safe Spaces to help other girls.
13,000 low-income workers in Pakistan are getting nearly-free health care thanks to Asher Hasan, a successful surgeon who left the US in 2007 to create his micro-insurance program, Naya Jeevan.
A young freshman college baseball player was facing a life of declining health until his coach stepped up to the plate and donated a kidney.
After his brother was murdered by Hamas, Yuval Roth turned his loss into a way to promote peace. He and his organization, On the Road to Recovery, transport sick Palestinians into Israel so they can receive quality medical care.
The purse-wielding "Super Granny" who bested six young thugs as they smashed in a jewelry store window in England, in broad daylight says she is no hero. She had no idea at first that she was breaking up a robbery. "I'm just a mum that went in thinking a kid was getting hit."
Last year Ryan Riddell was living in his 2,700-square foot home in Miamisburg, Ohio. But ever since January 1 he's been braving the Ohio winter, living in a cargo van to raise awareness about homelessness in America.
Dr. Roseanna Means is bringing quality medical care -- for free -- to women in Boston's homeless shelters. She and her nonprofit organization, Women of Means, have helped 2,500 women and children each year since 1999.
It took only a walk with Sargent Shriver to learn how deeply loved and loving he was. Countless people approached him: people whose lives were changed because of the anti-poverty programs that Shriver started in the Johnson administration, or because they joined the Peace Corps, under Shriver's leadership.
Tony Melendez plays the guitar with no arms. He taught himself to play the guitar with his feet when he was 16. He is now a touring musician, even playing for the Pope in 1987. Watch him in this video playing and singing Let It Be, written by The Beatles.
21 people were named Wednesday by the Carnegie Hero Fund to receive the Carnegie medal, given to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
To put a smile on hundreds of homeless children this time of year, one man in New Orleans organizes a Christmas party for those he calls the Forgotten Angels.
There is a treasured hero in Rushville, Illinois: a doctor who has kept his fees the same as they were back in 1955 -- five bucks a visit -- and who has never taken a day off. Dr. Russell Dohner has been looking after his neighbors, going anywhere, at any time, to help those in need, often arriving before emergency crews.
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