Heather Fleming has been named one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders for 2010. Young Global Leaders are recognized by the World Economic Forum as "exceptional young leaders who share a commitment to shaping the global future."

Born on an Indian reservation in New Mexico, Fleming knows first hand the difficulties people face growing up without resources many take for granted, such as running water or electricity. Her experiences eventually led to the pursuit of a degree as a civil engineer and the start up of Catapult Design, a company she co-founded with Tyler Valiquette. Catapult Design "is a non-profit firm providing engineering and implementation support to the thousands of organizations in need of technologies or products capable of igniting social change."

Fleming has worked with other like-minded designers and engineers as a co-founder of Engineers Without Borders, D2M and as a co-leader for Appropriate Technology Design Team. These design and engineering companies provide low-impact solutions that benefit the world with inventions such as the "turbulent air" turbine, improvements to the Hippo Roller--a water barrel with handles that can be rolled and a fuel efficient cooking stove for Darfur refugees that uses less wood.

See Fleming talk about her passion for the work she does in this video.

Immigrants arriving in the U.S. in the middle of a recession are finding it very difficult to find a job. Photo: [ d i e g o ] (flickr)

I came across the story of Tul Bahadur Tiwari, a Bhutanese refugee from Nepal, on National Radio Project. Tul is looking for work after moving with his family to Oakland, California this year. But unemployment is at 11.7 percent in his county and the competition for decent jobs is tough.

Immigrants like Tul have an added disadvantage because often their years of schooling and even college diplomas aren't recognized in the U.S. Damanta Kharel, another Bhutanese immigrant interviewed by National Radio Project, was a graduate student in Nepal. In Oakland, she needs to take her high school exams all over again, before she can find a better position than her part-time job at a Mexican restaurant.

Despite such challenges, Bhutanese immigrants are considered very competitive because they're highly educated. Most of them, like Tul and Damanta, can already read and write in English when they arrive. And that's a great asset, according Don Clement, a staffer for the International Rescue Commission. He tells the National Radio Project that being literate is crucial for landing a decent job.

Photo: CARF Brazil (flickr)

War. Famine. Persecution. These are some of the ways thousands of families flee their countries each year and get separated in the process. So how do they reconnect?

Until now, their best bet was to seek help from the the Red Cross. Refugees submit an application to their local Red Cross office, which is disseminated to field workers from the charity's Geneva headquarters. Field workers attempt to find the missing family members using the information provided. A lot of people have been reunited this way, but the process can be lengthy.

Danish brothers Christopher and David Mikkelsen thought there had to be a better way, one that cut out the middleman. Inspired by social-networking sites like Myspace and Facebook, they came up with the idea for Refugees United. To get started, users just register and start searching in one of more than 20 languages.

One of the biggest hurdles Refugees United must overcome is the limited Internet access in rural areas and refugee camps. The Mikkelsens hope to solicit donations of computers for refugee camps and build a website that can be viewed on basic mobile phone platforms.

Hundreds of refugees have signed up so far, a number that would be hardly noticeable to social networking giants. But to the Mikkelsens, the number is encouraging. "If we can just unite that number of people," Christopher says, "we would be a great success."

Iraqi refugees living in Jordan. Photo: Jacob Colie/Mercy Corps

Life has been hard for many Iraqi refugees. They flee their homes in the thousands each day to reach unwelcoming neighboring countries that do not have enough room or resources for them.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is leading the effort to help these refugees with food, jobs, health care, and education. Accomplishing this mission, however, has become increasingly difficult for the UNHCR due to a lack of funds and the recent spike in food and energy prices. Many Iraqi refugees now face a very precarious future.

This dire situation, however, is not the case for all Iraqi refugees. Especially in Jordan, some Iraqis have found that their lives have actually improved away from the conflict-torn Iraq. A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor recounts the stories of Iraqi refugees who have been able to start over and even establish their own businesses in Jordan.

These Iraqi refugees have the training and resources to start over because many of the roughly half-million Iraqis in Jordan are from the well-educated middle class. A study by the Norwegian Research Institute Fafo of Iraqis in Jordan found that 46 percent of adult males and 42 percent of adult females have some type of university degree.

UNHCR is promoting awareness and raising concerns about the most vulnerable of the 4.7 million Iraqis who are either refugees or have been internally displaced. Equal concern should also be given to the most valuable — those who, by departing, drain Iraq of the brains needed to rebuild.