HUNTLEY – Kathleen Wiedenfield is doing whatever she can to reverse decades of hardships for a small township in Kankakee County – even if it’s by helping one neighbor at a time.

Motivated by Oprah Winfrey, Wiedenfield, a Huntley resident, set out two years ago to try and improve the living quality of the 2,140 people who live in Pembroke Township, an eastern Illinois community bordering Indiana that has been ravaged by extreme poverty.

Many Pembroke residents still live by third-world standards, often lacking clean running water and adequate indoor plumbing. Former governors and wealthy philanthropists have tried and failed to fix the plight of Pembroke.