Michael Campana has the remarkable story of Ron Rivera, who died earlier this month:
Rivera, a former Peace Corps volunteer (Panama) born in the Bronx of Puerto Rican parents, spent the last 25 years traveling to Asia, Latin America, and Africa, teaching locals how to throw ceramic pots that would transform dirty water into its potable counterpart.
There was a TV series on PBS, hosted by Robert Redford, that highlighted many such people around the world.