At various times in their lives some people revisit that longing to have a calling more than a job. And during the proverbial mid-life crisis, it makes itself uncomfortably felt, when we ask ourselves yet again, 'What is life really all about?'

A change of job gives you an opportunity to reflect on life—as does a New Year.

Fifty years after a schoolgirl’s bid for equal education launched the Civil Rights struggle in the US, Hannibal B Johnson takes stock.

William Commanda, an aboriginal North American chief, survived cancer and alcoholism to pioneer the idea of a ‘Circle of Nations’, reports Henry F Heald.

A white liberal baby-boomer rose to protest the trend: ‘We are proud of our diversity in this school, but we don’t want to have too much diversity!’

Tolerance is not enough to bridge the world’s differences, writes Mike Lowe. We need to engage.

A friendly child gives Tom Duncan the courage to climb China’s contemporary Great Wall.

The Micro Loan Foundation is working for long-term sustainable development in Malawi as opposed to providing temporary solutions. As celebrity patron Bob Geldof says, ‘To treat someone as an adult human being with a stake in his or her future is the essence of sound empirical business sense.’

In 1999, a local NGO in Andhra Pradesh (AP), India, suggested that the farmers try out ecological methods, based on the pests’ life-cycle. Five selfhelp groups run by village women provided the determination and support to help make this shift possible.

Phyllis Cameron-Johnson tells Paul Williams how paying a train fare, meeting Navajo visitors to her school and a canoeing accident shaped her life.

A child’s perspective is often unexpected, occasionally amusing, sometimes challenging.

When racial segregration came under attack in the 1950s, Bob Webb defended it in his columns and editorials. But he came to see things differently.

Ian Robertson and his colleagues have found a way to free staple crops from viruses, with dramatic results for their growers. Michael Smith reports.

‘A few extremists are highjacking the agenda but the majority (whether Muslim, Christian, or Jewish) are desperate to talk to each other. The trouble is, they haven’t had the venues to allow them to do so. We are trying to change that.’

An ancient book about war gives Dalia Braverman practical hints on living today.

The distance from Mexico City could be measured in centimetres.

Can loss turn to gain? Three people's experiences.