In November, I traveled to Arizona to meet with several grantees to appreciate better how Latino immigrant communities struggle with issues of economic opportunity and family security. Atlantic recognises immigration as a global issue which, if left unaddressed, has serious economic and human rights consequences. While in Arizona, I crossed the border into Nogales, Mexico, where I met Roberto.* In fluent English, Roberto explained how he spent 14 years in the United States as a fully productive, self-employed landscaper, married a U.S. citizen and had four daughters – all U.S. citizens. In a twist of fate, he was arrested in a case of mistaken identity. Though he was able to establish his innocence, the police discovered a false identification card in the course of their search and charged Roberto with two felonies. Without access to legal advice, he was deported – and separated from his family. Roberto’s crime, essentially, was to seek a better life, provide for his family and contribute to the U.S. economy. His story reflects a broken immigration system in the U.S. that inhibits economic development and fuels racial discrimination and fear. Roberto, his family and the United States all lose out from the failure of the country’s leaders to be both visionary and pragmatic with comprehensive immigration solutions. We are encouraged by the building national consensus for reform, and are hopeful that positive changes are on the horizon.

*Roberto's name has been changed to protect his identity.

In Oakland, California, I met several students whose opportunities for success are being improved as a result of their involvement with Elev8, an Atlantic-supported initiative to strengthen community schools by enhancing family engagement, school-based health services and after-school programmes. Luis, a senior at the Coliseum College Preparatory Academy who emigrated from El Salvador, lives in an Oakland neighbourhood where gang violence and recruitment are prevalent and where it can be difficult to extract oneself from gang affiliations. He is now a peer mentor in an Elev8 programme called the History of Street Gangs in the United States, which brings at-risk young people together to analyse the root causes of violence and poverty, gives them the tools to make good decisions and develop into empowered citizens.

Since becoming involved with Elev8 five years ago, Luis’s grade point average has improved from a failing 1.5 to a perfect 4.0, which he has maintained for the past two years. His success has inspired other students in the class to improve their grades as well. But the impact of Elev8 doesn’t end there. I also saw young people getting their first dental check-ups, observed families engaged and investing in their futures, and met an inspiring young woman named Anastasia, a South African immigrant student with special needs who is a member of Oakland’s All City Council, a small panel of students who are helping to make policy decisions. And the impact won’t be fleeting, thanks to a partnership with city and county school and health officials to strengthen and sustain these proven approaches beyond Atlantic’s life and support.

On 10 November, the people of Ireland spoke up on behalf of children. Citizens voted by referendum to amend the Constitution to allow for new laws to protect children, support families, reduce inequalities in adoption and recognise children in their own right. “It is a historic day for the children of Ireland,” said Prime Minister Enda Kenny.

A number of our grantees worked tirelessly to push for YES votes. For some, it was the culmination of nearly 20 years of campaigning. The passage of this milestone referendum strengthens their mandate to advocate for and on behalf of children to improve laws, policies and services for children and youth now, and in the future.

Many of our grantees are working with local communities throughout Ireland. youngballymun is an organisation dedicated to improving the lives of young children and families in the Ballymun section of Dublin. Watch this video to see how youngballymun uses the Storysacks® programme to help turn things around for children and their families.

For 15 years, Atlantic has supported efforts to cement the peace in Northern Ireland and overcome the region’s history of conflict by bringing Catholic and Protestant children together in schools. We have seen encouraging progress in the field of shared education in recent years. Atlantic also seeks to improve outcomes for young people, especially those who are disadvantaged, by providing access to high quality prevention and early intervention services for them and their families.

These two strategies have fused in the Aspire Programme at the Holy Family and Currie primary schools in North Belfast. Aspire offers Catholic and Protestant parents and students from both schools access to high quality services while also promoting communication and reconciliation among people from a community with a history of conflict. The programme offers a range of shared activities intended to help parents support their children’s learning and promote positive interaction and communication among children. Aspire is jointly funded by Atlantic and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and conducted in partnership with three service providers: Barnardos and Parenting NI, both Atlantic grantees, as well as Public Initiative for Prevention of Suicide and Self-Harm (PIPS) Project. The Aspire Programme has shown increases in parental engagement and participants’ confidence and self-esteem, improvements in educational outcomes and children's behaviour, and reduced anxiety about engaging with members of the other community.

This is all tremendously encouraging, and is an example of the ways in which strands of our work in Northern Ireland are coming together for real impact at the community level.

Watch this video about a shared education approach that improved science and special education programmes for two schools.

Doron Issacs was in a meeting when he noticed the pulsing red light on his phone signalling a new email. The message was worth the interruption: Equal Education’s (EE) attorney at the Legal Resources Centre said the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga wanted to settle the case they had brought against her in March 2012.

Equal Education, where Issacs is the Deputy General Secretary, filed the suit after petitions, picketing, organised fasts and protests had failed to pressure the Minister to prescribe minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure throughout South Africa. The lawsuit asserted that her failure to do so was in breach of the constitutional right to a basic education, equality and dignity.

In five years, EE has grown from a small community-based organisation to be a nationally-known movement with a membership base of more than 1,000 students, parents, teachers and community members. It has led several successful campaigns to improve school infrastructure and access to textbooks and libraries in communities throughout South Africa.

As a result of this recent settlement, the Department of Basic Education agreed to publish standards for infrastructure in schools, requiring basic things like classrooms, water and sanitation. And Equal Education will continue to fight until equality in education is a reality for all students in South Africa.

Watch this video to learn more about Equal Education’s Minimum Norms and Standards campaign.

When Tran Mau Duc woke up on 2 March 2011, he had made history. Seven hours earlier, he’d been on an operating table undergoing heart transplant surgery – the first ever conducted by Vietnamese doctors without the assistance of foreign medical experts. The surgery was performed at the Cardiovascular Center in the Hue Central Hospital. Previously, the hospital was not equipped to perform heart surgery so patients had to travel to Ha Noi or Ho Chi Minh City. In 2003, Atlantic provided $12 million to construct a cardiovascular centre, equip it and train the personnel. The hospital now provides high quality cardiovascular care for the more than 20 million people it serves in central Viet Nam, a particularly poor section of the country.

The cardiovascular centre in Hue is one example of the ways in which Atlantic has worked, in close partnership with the government, to build a more equitable health care system. The work has touched every level of the system, from rebuilding over 800 provincial community health clinics and a dozen urban hospitals to training professionals and strengthening the country’s best hospitals. Thanks to the partnership with government, much of this work is now being brought to a national scale – having a transformative impact on the overall health care system in the country.

Watch this video to learn more about Atlantic’s efforts to improve the health care system in Viet Nam.

In December 2012, years of advocacy by Age Concern Bermuda were affirmed when the Government created a Ministry of Health and Seniors.

Atlantic-grantee Age Concern had pushed for such a step for a number of years, and during the 2012 election cycle organised several community advocacy forums to ensure that the candidates’ platforms addressed the needs of older adults. After the election, one of the first actions of the new Government was to create a Ministry with specific responsibility for ageing issues and a mandate to develop an ageing platform. Age Concern is already engaging with the Government to begin this work. These encouraging examples illustrate how Age Concern has become a strong voice for older adults on the island, and a recognised resource and partner for Government in addressing the needs of older adults.

“In a word, this project is going to be ‘transformative,’” said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in December 2011 when the city announced its partnership with Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build a high tech applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island.

Progress since then has been impressive. Plans for the campus were unveiled in October, first classes began in January 2013 in a temporary space provided by Google, and ground is scheduled to be broken for the first building in 2014.

Atlantic is pleased to be able to support Cornell in this initiative, and I believe Cornell NYC Tech’s mark on the City of New York – and the tech and education sectors more broadly – will prove to be an example of the transformative impact we seek. As our founder Chuck Feeney, says: “Good buildings for good minds can make a big difference in the lives of a lot of people.”

Check out the slideshow above to see the latest renderings of the Cornell NYC Tech campus.