My Dad: The Unsung Civil Rights Hero

Paul Spike had a ringside seat on one of the most tumultuous periods in American history - the civil rights movement. That's because his father, Reverend Robert Spike, was a prominent figure in the campaign during the 1960s, supporting figures like Martin Luther King in the fight for racial equality. Reverend Spike was a white Baptist pastor who forged a new way for churches in the US to confront prejudice, but he was murdered in mysterious circumstances 50 years ago. His killers have never been found.

Hannah Engelkamp is a travel writer who walked 1,000 miles around Wales - and took a donkey along for company. The idea seemed simple enough. The donkey could carry her bags and provide her with much-needed company on the six-month adventure. So what could possibly go wrong?

Writer Lidudumalingani was born in rural South Africa. He's just been thrust into the limelight because he's won a prestigious literary award called the Caine Prize for African Writing and the £10,000 that comes with it. His winning short story 'Memories We Lost' is about two sisters brought closer together by the struggle one of them has with mental illness.

Durge Kami is a Nepalese high school student - possibly the only one in the country with eight grandchildren! He's 68 and decided to go back to school seven years ago to learn to read and write as poverty prevented him from going to school when he was a child. He says his learning is already changing his life.

Image: Paul Spike
Credit: Sarah Porter