People Fixing the World

Exploring style and beauty for people with disabilities.
What we wear helps us express ourselves and communicate to others in the most immediate way. But the tools we frequently use to do that, such as clothing and haircare are not available to everyone equally.
One in six of us has a disability of some sort - according to the World Health Organisation - but most clothing and beauty brands don’t take account of that. From making shops accessible to catering for differences in design and size, few companies address these particular needs.
This week on People Fixing The World we’re talking to people trying to change that. Hair and Care is a London-based hairstyling workshop which helps people with visual impairments take better care of their hair.
Plus we bring together two entrepreneurs who’ve brought adaptive clothing to Africa and Asia allowing people with disabilities to fully express themselves in the way they dress. We also meet the UK-based adaptive clothing company that could affect the way we all dress – by working with technology companies to develop a scanner that will help in tailoring for all body shapes.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We release a new edition every Tuesday. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
This programme was first broadcast in June 2024.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporters: Emma Tracey, Claire Bowes
Producer: Claire Bowes
Series Producer: Jon Bithrey
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Sound mix: Hal Haines
(Image: Wearapy model photoshoot)

**This episode contains one instance of offensive language
How two projects in Kenya and Spain are helping LGBT communities.
Setting up a business can be tricky. There can be many hurdles including lack of access to capital and other unexpected costs. The challenges are particularly acute for LGBT entrepreneurs in Kenya who can be denied bank loans and face possible extortion. We meet a group of LGBT entrepreneurs who have created a dedicated fund for the community to help get businesses off the ground.

We also visit the site of a new retirement home for LGBT people funded by Madrid’s regional government. The hope is that the home located in the Spanish capital and being set up by the Fundacion 26 de Diciembre will give residents the chance to live their lives with a greater sense of freedom and also a chance to find community. And we hear about a similar project in Sweden.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We release a new edition every Tuesday. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer: Alex Collins
Reporters: Michael Kaloki and Esperanza Escribano
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound mix: Andrew Mills
(Image: Carolina outside a building in Madrid that's being converted into a care home, credit Isa Salcedo, Fundacion 26 de Diciembre)

How mums are helping transform early years education in Ghana.
Pre-school, or early years education, is seen by experts as providing an important foundation for children’s schooling and development. Ghana has long been a leader in this field, and has boasted a mandatory pre-school programme for almost twenty years. Yet the impact on children’s educational outcomes has been disappointing. Now the Ghanaian government is trying something new; a makeover of their Kindergarten provision to make it more fun and accessible to children. With the help of international NGO Lively Minds, they aim to wake the “sleeping giants” of education - the country’s mothers and fathers.
And we hear the poem 'Things I Love About People' - written by Hot Poet Liv Torc with your suggestions - following our recent episode 'The power of poetry'.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We release a new edition every Tuesday. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Reporter: Justice Baidoo
Producer: William Kremer
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound mix: Hal Haines
(Image: Parents and children at the Boffourkrom M/A KG school, near Sunyani, Ghana)

Cities are getting bigger - and louder. As urban noise increases, we look at how sound itself can be used to make things feel quieter. Myra Anubi visits an audio lab in London to experience immersive soundscapes for herself and then hears how a park in Montreal, Canada uses sounds from the ocean to sooth urban stress. And we hear about campaigners' hopes for making a difference in one of the noisiest countries of them all, India.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We release a new edition every Tuesday. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producer: Natasha Fernandes
India reporter: Chhavi Sachdev
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: traffic jam in Delhi, Getty Images)

Can poetry change how we think, feel and act? We’re looking at how poetry is being used in some innovative and unexpected ways. We’ll hear from the Hot Poets - a group who ‘live translate’ at conferences on everything from climate change to coding. They’ve taken part in several UN climate change meetings - listening to complex presentations on science and summarising the information in a poem. They say it helps bring little known - but positive - news about climate science to a wider audience, changing despair into hope.
In Singapore we meet the medical students learning about poetry to help them become more compassionate doctors at the medical school which says medicine - like life - is not black and white. And we find out which member of our BBC team is a spoken word poet and how she is among a growing number of people worldwide to find community and belonging through open mic nights.
Plus we set our listeners a poetry challenge!
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We release a new edition every Tuesday. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra Anubi
Producers: Claire Bowes
Researcher: Helena Warwick-Cross
Editor: Jon Bithrey
Sound mix: Hal Haines
With thanks to: Dr Helen Johnson of the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Brighton
(Image: BBC production co-ordinator Maria Ogundele at HOTEP Healing Through Words poetry open mic night)