Luciano Torriani, a Year 10 student at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, invented a cost-effective electricity supply and water purification system that is enhancing the quality of life for rural communities living in the coastal province of Kwale County, Kenya.

One year ago, on 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.  Matt Reed of the Aga Khan Foundation takes stock of the past year and writes that whilst the pandemic has brought with it a host of challenges, it has also shown humanity's extraordinary capacity for resilience and cooperation, as well as underscored the vital role of civil society.