Making A World of Difference by Miles Roston

Reviews and Media:

Listen to  Paul Pholeros's interview with Kathryn Ryan on improving the health of Australia's indigenous people through improving their living conditions (Chapter 3) on Radio New Zealand's Nine to Noon

'Making A World Of Difference is filled with inspiring stories of heroic individuals from around the world who solve problems and save lives. Within each of their communities, the people featured in this book saw a problem and set about solving it.
This is a book about ordinary people whose selfless acts of giving make the world a better place for those less fortunate than themselves. It shows how one person can make a difference in the lives of sometimes thousands of people, not with millions of dollars but with a little kindness and thinking outside the square.
The things that unite all the people featured in Making A World Of Difference are their passion, compassion and integrity. They are problem solvers, revolutionaries and creatives but they are also just people like the rest of us. This is a truly inspirational book showing how ordinary people can make a difference and make the world a better place through their actions. Some of the stories will have you laughing, others will have you crying, but all are thought provoking.' The Staffroom magazine, Tommorrow's Schools Today

'Of the many books I have read this one certainly has had the greatest impact. The subtitle, "inspiring stories of the world's unsung heroes", gives the keyword – inspiring. It is inspiring to read true reports about incredible people.
Miles Roston has filmed extensively in Africa, Asia and Europe and has worked in the areas where he finds his subjects. They tell their own stories of children in crisis in Cambodia and Sudan as well as the poorer parts of Pittsburgh and Amsterdam. Why does a university graduate decide to help street children in Thailand or an Australian architect spend years helping the Aboriginals? And Mustafa's story should be read by all dealing with youth/gang problems. We are reminded that people need hope and encouragement to realise their dreams. Highly recommended.' Hawke's Bay Today

'Writer and film-maker Miles Roston tells true and inspiring stories of ordinary people from around the world who become extraordinary – they demonstrate that one person can make a difference and by so doing live a life of joy.
Roston tells of a Catholic priest from New York caring for the dying in a Buddhist hospice in Thailand, and a marketing executive with a glamorous job at L'Oreal in Paris opening a beauty salon and restaurant in Cambodia staffed by former street kids.
There's the investment banker from Hong Kong who helped thousands of children orphaned when the blood supply was contaminated with Aids, the Australian who champions the rights of sex workers worldwide, and the couple in Amsterdam who built an animal farm for children in an overcrowded slum.
A rebel leader from Darfur fights for his people from afar, while a 39-year-old Thai man dedicates his life to rescuing children from prostitution in Pattaya and collecting evidence to prosecute the adults who exploit boys and girls as young as six.
As the book cover says: "What unites the people in this book is their passion and compassion, and what the book reveals is their secret – that in doing good for others, you transform your own life and gain what one person calls the contentment of giving.' Gisborne Herald

'There are few finer qualities than selflessness and these stories prove generosity and self-sacrifice can have massive consequences. Whether saving lives, solving problems, offering compassion or just refusing to surrender, the act of giving reveals human nature at its best.' Gold Coast Bulletin

'An inspirational read for anyone who suspects travelling the world should be about more than ritzy resorts and mustsee lists, but is yet to pinpoint their purpose. Read the stories of unsung heroes worldwide, from a Catholic priest from New York who cares for the dying in Thailand to a Sydney architect who builds bathrooms in squalid outback homes to fight illness.' Sunday News Ltd

'This book tells the inspiring stories of heroic individuals the world over who are saving lives and solving problems. Within each of their communities, these people saw a problem and with their own unique skills and perspectives, set about solving it. Their remarkable stories suggest that the act of giving takes many forms and emphasise that the simplest ideas, executed with commitment and compassion, can be life-changing for the giver as well as for the recipient.' Spasifik

'Chapters and an epilogue, chock-full of the inspiring stories of individuals around the world who decided to take action.
You will know none of their names, but every one of them, whether in China, Sudan, Australia, Kenya, the Netherlands or Thailand, seems to live by the spirit of the Christian "Love thy neighbour as thyself” and the Buddhist belief that "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle".
From the founding of the Homeless World Cup, to working with Aids patients, to building an animal farm for slum children, to teaching in Cambodia, to housebuilding in Aboriginal communities, every story tells us what started the passion and why these people do what they do.
If you ever despair about human nature, it is probably worth reading about some of the best of it. These people would describe themselves as ordinary, but they are to a person extraordinary, passionate, compassionate and full of integrity. None had charmed lives themselves, but all saw problems they could help solve; communities they could help improve; ways they could use their own skills; ways they could save others. And all of them were prepared to give as much of their time and commitment as any financial contribution.
For the author a musician, writer, director and film-maker this was probably a therapeutic book to write. For the reader, it might just make you feel joyful, uplifted, and a bit more ready to do something simple like share a smile or follow a dream. Recommended for reading slowly and thoughtfully.' Lesley Soper, Southland Times

'Depressed by seemingly endless stories of poverty and injustic around the world? Miles Roston is not. He travelled the globe to interview individuals who are making a difference right now; who they are, and how they go about it.
"Individuals" is the key word, followed closely by education. Seventeen projects are covered, most of which have just one or two people as the driving force.
They range from a "street kids" restaurant in Cambodia to a rebel leader in Darfur.
The poor in developed countries get many pages, too, from Amsterdam to Pittsburgh to New Orleans. (Did you know that African villages took up collections to help Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina?)
More than poverty is addressed. There is an Australian sex worker who loves her job and has a mission to inform others that hers was once a revered profession and should again be accepted.
A very successful events manager gives her leftovers to the homeless and hungry, so they too can experience caviar. (Not all appreciate this, though; plain food is usually preferred.)
These quiet heroes are not NGO employees or with a government; hence, they face far less paperwork and no chain of command. They all use local people to work on local problems, and they all acknowledge the personal buzz it gives them. And then they just get on with it.' Nelson Mail

Read Miles Roston's interview with Beth Wilson in Trespass Magazine