Japan, United Nations Development Program
Japan donates over US$92 million to the United Nations Development Program to assist 21 African nations enhance their capabilities to cope with climate change.

Italy, European Commission, and the United States
Italy and the European Commission are contributing €58 million and €750,000, respectively, to Gaza in the Palestine, while the United States has pledged an additional US$20 million in aid.

European Union
The European Union donates US$58 million for Morrocco's disadvantaged to receive health care, and €40 million for aid to Burmese cyclone survivors and refugees.

Queen Sofia of Spain
Queen Sofia of Spain presented a €23 million donation from her country to support sustainable development projects in the Dominican Republic and delivered humanitarian aid collected in Spain to Haiti.

European Commission
The European Commission donates €20 million to the North West Frontier Province Education Sector Reforms Program in Pakistan to improve the quality and provide better access of the educational system.

The Aqsa and Quds Fund of Saudi Arabia
The Aqsa and Quds Fund of Saudi Arabia donates US$25 million in aid to Gaza, Palestine.

Japan, United Nations Children’s Fund, and the United Nations Mine Action Program for Afghanistan
Japan donates US$24 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund for the construction of classrooms in Kabul, Afghanistan, and to the United Nations Mine Action Program to help remove and dispose of thousands of explosives.

The Netherlands
The Netherlands donated US$20 million to Indonesia, distributed through the World Bank, to promote the country’s efforts to provide free education for pupils up to 9th grade.

Jens Holm
Jens Holm, Swedish Member of the European Parliemant actively promotes the banning of meat in the European Union to protect the environment and the animal co-inhabitants.

European Union
The European Union signed an agreement with Jamaica’s Rural Agricultural Development Authority to implement the final phase of a US$4.8 million donation that provides assistance to hurricanes-displaced banana farmers.

Japan
Japan donates over US$13,000 to build 2 classroom blocks at Kammengo Primary School in Mpigi, Uganda as part of its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects.

Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a news source for people involving in philanthropy, reports the highest amount of US charitable contributions ever in 2008, with 16 of the wealthiest individuals each donating US$100 million or more.

US President Barack Obama
US President Barack Obama ordered the closure of the detainment center in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to be closed within 1 year, and he has also closed secret overseas jails and barred the future operation of similar holding centers, asserting that the treatment of detainees will uphold standards of international law.

Irish Minister for Food and Horticulture Trevor Sargent
Trevor Sargent, Irish Minister for Food and Horticulture,sent a letter to all farmers in Ireland to inform them of the benefits of growing organic crops and encourage the farmers to switch to organic farming.

Earthlife Africa (ELA)
Earthlife Africa, first established in Johannesburg in South Africa in 1988, supports sustainable energy, actively promotes organic farming, encourages the transition to a “zero waste” policy, and seeks to involve local and national governments in making compassionate decisions about protecting people, animals, and the planet, which includes the advocacy of a plant-based diet.

Ms. Chang Huang Yu
Ms. Chang Huang Yu, Director of the Nutrition Department at Keelung Hospital in Keelung, Formosa (Taiwan), promotes vegetarianism through a series of educational activities as a way to reduce carbon emissions.

Professor Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub
World renowned cardiac surgeon Professor Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub incorporated Chain of Hope as a registered charity in Britain in 1995, a non-profit organization that provides corrective surgery to children born with heart defects and set up training programs for local doctors and medical staff throughout the world, usually led by Sir Magdi.  

President Daniel Ortega
Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega’s food program that has assisted over 270,000 families over the past year,is achieving its goals to improve the food prosperity of low-income Nicaraguans.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo successfully implemented the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program in the Northern Luzon’s Cordillera region in which one kilogram of rice is distributed daily to disadvantaged families through the Food-for-School Program.
Sorsogon City, Philippines Sorsogon City in the Philippines has banned smoking in public places, including public transportation, malls, hospitals, health clinics, government offices, enclosed commercial or public establishments and restaurants.

Tống Phước Phúc
Mr. Tống Phước Phúc opened his modest home in Nha Trang, Âu Lạc (Vietnam), seven years ago as a nurturing facility to care for babies and expectant mothers, and often continues to care for the babies as his own until the mothers can earn enough to support them.

Brazil
The Brazilian government freed 4,634 people in 2008 from compulsory labor on remote ranches and plantations, providing them with financial compensation for their work.

Spain
Spain recently enacted the “Law of Grandchildren” in which citizenship is granted to include the descendants of citizens who left the country during certain periods of time in the past.

US Airways pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III
US Airway pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III saved the lives of all 155 passengers on board when he maneuvered the plane to land on the Hudson River in New York City,  New York, USA, after the plane’s twin engines failed.

Emily Cummins
Emily Cummins of the United Kingdom invented a simple solar-power refrigerator and, after showing Namibians how to use it, she is now working on a more advanced design to aid in the transport of medicines through developing countries.

Wellington Westpac Rescue Helicopter
The Wellington Westpac Rescue Helicopter, a service operated by the Life Flight Trust, rescued John Masters of New Zealand when he was injured in a boat accident.

Anushavan Sarukhanyan
Anushavan Sarukhanyan, a vegetarian from Switzerland, is the organizer of the World Day for the Abolition of Meat movement that questions the legitimacy of killing animals for meat and calls for the abolishment of the practice.

Unnamed married couple
A married couple was given the Vegetarians of the Year Award during the fifth annual Vegetarian Day in Prague, Czech Republic, for their work in preventing the construction of a factory pig farm.

Two cattle farmers
Two cattle farmers in Ireland accepted the advice to switch to the cultivation of crops to reduce global warming.

Jimmy Yu, Sr.
Jimmy Yu, Sr., sacrificed his life when he repeatedly went back to his burning home to rescue all of his wife and children, except for one son who did not make it out with him on his last trip.

Michael Aquino
Michael Aquino of Maryland, USA sacrificed his life in a brave and compassionate attempt to rescue his family’s three canine companions from a house fire.

Marudhupandian
Thirteen-year-old Marudhupandian from the Tamil Nadu state in southeastern India achieved recognition for his help in preventing a series of train accidents by using his sister’s red dress to stop a train before it reached the broken tracks.

Gagan J. Murthy and Bhoomika J. Murthy
Six-year-old twins Gagan J. Murthy and Bhoomika J. Murthy ran to save a baby in the middle of the path of two charging bulls in Bangalore, India, and now, at the age of seven, they received the Bravery Award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

12-year-old New Zealand girl
A 12-year-old girl in Manukau, New Zealand, rescued her five younger siblings by helping them toescape through a window from their burning home.

Chantal McGowan
When 15-year-old Chantal McGowan discovered that their family home is on fire, she ran through billowing smoke to rescue her sleeping 3-year-old sister, Savanha.

The Preciado family
The Preciado family ran to the rescue of their neighbors, saving Josephine Vega and her one-year-old son when their house caught on fire.

Patrick Elliott
Seventeen-year-old Patrick Elliott of Massachusetts, USA, came to the aid of a dog named Max in a canoe and held him afloat in the icy water of the lake until firefighters arrived.

Colin Carlson
12-year-old Colin Carlson has been actively promoting conservation and sustainability in his hometown in Connecticut, USA, for two years to help halt the effects of climate change.

Steve Williams, Jeff, unnamed man
Former Royal Navy serviceman Steve Williams rescued a pair of spaniels, Jasper and Chino, when they fell through thin ice in Portsmouth, the United Kingdom, while Jeff and an unnamed gentleman jumped into a frozen lake to the rescue of Louis the spaniel in London.

Dog caregiver and jogger
A human caregiver jumped into the icy water of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois,USA, to save his dog,and 3 days later, a jogger swam to the rescue of Bebe, the canine, who fell into the same lake.

Jonathan Rosenberg and his wife
Jonathan Rosenberg and his wife built Tabby’s Place, a feline haven for cats, in New Jersey, USA, where they provide medical care and therapy for cats.

Prince the dog
Prince the dog, a three-legged Border collie, surrendered his life protecting human companions John, Lucy, and Aaron Lawer in Cornwall, England when he tried to chase away the strangers who went into the family’s garden to invade their home.

Rambo the Pomeranian
Eight-year-old Rambo, a Pomeranian, saved the life of Sam Bourdon when he barked to alert Mrs. Bourdon of his collapse due to a heart condition; Rambo became ill and died a day after Mr. Bourdon’s return from the hospital.

Boston terrier
A little Boston terrier in Florida, USA, leaped to the rescue and prevented further injury to its human companion when she mistakenly allowed a stranger into her home who was masquerading as a repairman.

Chewbacca
10-week old Pug Chewbacca’s unusual behavior after he detected the smoke from a fire in Claudine Burak’s basement alerted the family who discovered the fire early and allowed everyone to get out safely.

Jack the mix terrier
Jack the mix terrier in Pennsylvania, USA, has been presented with the US Humane Society’s “People’s Choice” award for saving the life of 8-year-old Maya Pieters when he alerted her parents of her first seizure in bed, and for his acts of love when he cushioned her falls and helped her to recover from seizures.

Lou the mule
Lou, a mule from the US city of McMinnville, Tennessee, USA, saved the life of his human companion, Jolene Solomon, when his braying and strange behavior caused her to notice that her house was on fire.

Heidi the dog
Heidi the dog saved the lives of Jack and Karan Hornbuckle in Michigan, USA, when she woke Mr. Hornbuckle up to a carbon monoxide-filled house that led to a 911 call and a rescue of all three by the fire department.

Family dog and Biff
A family dog’s barking saved the lives of his human caretakers when he alerted them of the fire in their home in Tallahassee, Florida, while Biff, a small canine friend in Lodi, California, has also awakened the four adults inside a mobile home that was on fire and, thus,saved their lives.

Klinker the Labrador
Klinker, a one-and-a-half year old black Labrador and a member of the Department of Agriculture’s Apiary Inspectors team in Maryland, USA, has the ability to detect a certain bacteria that is fatal to bees, and with early detection, the hive can be treated with antibiotics.