TIME Magazine recently named Mustafa Hassan one of its 100 most influential people for his work providing aid to Syria’s children.

“When you start doing anything, at first it’s going to be frightening,” Bothina Matar reassures the refugee women she works with in Dallas. She encourages them to strive for a better future—their children’s future—without forgetting their past. “I am trying my best,” Bothina tells them, “and succeeding somehow.”

Tecle Gebremicheal and Ryan Peck ran for the same city council seat in Boise, Idaho last November. A campaign that could have been a competition turned into a collaboration—and a lasting friendship.