Swandeh Terhide

Chelsea Timmons decided to end her delivery shift early due to worsening road conditions in Austin, Texas. However, her last delivery took an unexpected turn when her car became stuck in the customer’s driveway, leading to a fortunate turn of events. Attempting to avoid a walk up the steep driveway, Timmons, an H-E-B grocery employee, tried to drive up but ended up sliding into the garden. Despite the couple’s efforts to help her move the car, they were unsuccessful, and with AAA overwhelmed by calls, they invited her to stay in their home as the weather deteriorated. Nina Richardson expressed, “It’s just what you do when stuff shows up,” while her partner Doug Condon added that they hoped someone would help their daughters in a similar situation. Over dinner, Timmons shared her dream of opening a bakery, and in gratitude, she promised to bake them a gluten-free coconut cake. Timmons spent five days in their spare room, bonding with their dog and feeling truly grateful for the warm reception and hospitable nature of her new found family. She discovered that her own apartment had lost water and power, making her stay with the couple a fortunate escape “I certainly enjoyed much better meals here,” she remarked, grateful for the way they welcomed her and made her feel like a member of their family.

A popular restaurant in Huntly, New Zealand, was bustling with customers when an unexpected family emergency left the chef as the only staff member available to serve customers. When Emily Puhi arrived at Thai Food Huntly, she noticed the restaurant was full, with people waiting to either pay for their meals or pick up take-out orders. Realizing the chef was overwhelmed and unable to take orders or handle payments, she witnessed a remarkable act of community spirit. A woman waiting to pay took the initiative to grab some paper and began waiting tables for the chef. Another customer stepped in to wash dishes, and a nearby shop employee offered assistance as well. With the chef’s approval, this worker managed the cash register to ensure everyone could settle their bills. “It was such a beautiful feeling,” Emily shared with the New Zealand Herald. This incident painted the concept of ‘customer service’ in living colours, giving it a whole new meaning. Emily expressed on Facebook, “We could easily feel the sense of community all around the place.” Also noting how frowns turned to smiles and grumpy waiting turned to patiently waiting. When we let our humanity shine through, there is no dark moment that love and kindness cannot illuminate.

Business owners seeking to maximize their advertising budgets usually allocate funds to media buys. However, one Wisconsin restaurateur found that his best return on investment came from an unexpected source: promoting his competitors. Adolfo Melendez, the owner of the Tex-Mex restaurant El Mezcal, did experience firsthand, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the restaurant industry, particularly on family-run establishments like his own. He recognizes that small businesses represent more than just revenue; they embody the heart, soul, vision, and hard work of their owners. Melendez, who identifies with his fellow small business owners as friends and neighbours, took action to support his community. He purchased over $2,000 in gift cards from other local restaurants and has been raffling them off to his customers through Facebook. Pete Ananiadis, the owner of Olympia Family Restaurant, expressed gratitude for Melendez’s altruistic efforts, stating that during the COVID-19 crisis, it was crucial to support local, small businesses, and acknowledging that Melendez understood that so well. In a highly competitive industry, Melendez believes that diversity enhances a community’s character. He values the success of his peers, viewing it as a reflection of his own, and he encourages others to embrace efforts that help others to not only survive but thrive. May we continue to embrace the Ubuntu Philosophy; for truly it shouldn’t be about you, nor should it be about me. It should be about us, through kindness, love and respect, making life better for us all.

A house is where people live but a home is where people are loved. Sometimes, the bonds of family have no relation to biology. That’s why when a group of fraternity brothers learned their “second mom” needed help to retire, she didn’t even need to ask. Jessie Hamilton worked as a cook at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house (affectionately known as Fiji) on the campus of Louisiana State University from 1982 to 1996. Though the single mom had three kids of her own, she treated the young men in her care like surrogate sons—listening to their worries, offering counsel, and even driving them to doctor’s appointments or ferrying them to the grocery store on occasion. “I enjoyed doing it. They loved my cooking,” Hamilton told The Washington Post. “I was always there to talk things through with them. They’d come in the kitchen and sit on top of the counter and tell me their problems.” Andrew Fusaiotti, who’s now 52 years old, was a Fiji brother in the late 1980s. “She was truly like a mother to us,” he told the Post. “She treated us like we were her own kids. She was always looking out for us.” After leaving LSU, Hamilton found herself balancing multiple jobs to maintain her financial stability, a challenge she had faced since the age of 14. In 2006, at the age of 60, she took out a 30-year mortgage for a house she hoped to retire in, yearning for a place to call home. Over the years, she kept in touch with several fraternity brothers, including Fusaiotti, who now owns a car dealership in Mobile, Alabama. At the onset of the pandemic, Fusaiotti reached out to check on Hamilton and was disheartened to learn that she was still working multiple jobs, with retirement not in sight for her foreseeable future.Not doing something to rectify the situation wasn’t an option for him. Fusaiotti reached out to Hamilton’s family to determine a suitable monetary goal and began rallying his fraternity brothers for financial contributions to pay off her mortgage and provide her with a financial cushion. With donations averaging between $600 and $1,000 from approximately 91 alumni, Fusaiotti’s efforts culminated in a total of $51,765 raised. Just days before Hamilton’s 74th birthday, the fraternity officially declared April 3 as “Jessie Hamilton Day,” celebrating the occasion with a catered party where they presented her with two large checks: one for $45,000 to pay off her mortgage and another for $6,675 for her personal use, along with commemorative T-shirts and koozies, all infused with love and cherished memories. As Fusaiotti and the other young men whose lives Hamilton touched can tell you, sometimes guardian angels turn up in unlikely places—including the fraternity kitchen—where you’ll find them doling out generous helpings of fried chicken, red beans, and comfort that goes way beyond comfort food. “She is the type of person that inspires me, people that don’t have a lot but give a lot,” Fusaiotti told The Advocate. “She’s the most giving person you’ve ever met.”

Caught sight of a truly exhilarating scenario and I feel everyone should learn a thing or two from it. A man, Fernando and his wife were waiting in the ticketing line, he overheard a man at the counter trying to get a ticket to Las Vegas. He was having trouble. He only had $150 and that wasn’t enough. The ticketing agent was pretty unhelpful and told him he needed to go online and look for other options. The man kept trying to explain his situation to her but wasn’t getting anywhere. His English language abilities were limited, so it was difficult for him to communicate. He was becoming increasingly frustrated—and she was becoming increasingly indifferent. After he finally, despondently, turned away from the counter, Fernando, went up to the man and asked what was up. He speaks Spanish so was able to understand his story. The man had lost his job here in the San Francisco area, had no place to live, and only $150 in his pocket. He had family who were living in Las Vegas and was trying to get there. He was told he could get a ticket for $150, but told Fernando that he couldn’t read, didn’t have a computer, and didn’t know how to access the internet from the airport—let alone navigate how to purchase a low fare ticket. Fernando believed him and wanted to help him. They walked back to the counter and Fernando purchased a $330 ticket to Las Vegas for the man. Fernando didn’t ask for anything and trusted that this guy’s story was true. He followed his heart, because he wanted to help him. And most importantly, he did. While we hope that this incredibly kind gesture from a stranger, who paid attention and cared enough to listen to this man’s story and take some action, be a turning point for him to get back on track, we hope most fervently, that this will inspire us all to learn to treat people with more compassion than ever before. It was a Good Samaritan helping another who was down on their luck—most likely an immigrant, most definitely a human being—so he might have some safety, better his life, and be with his family. Not only that, a month later when Fernando’s wife was going through the credit card statement, she saw the charge and asked her husband, “Wasn’t that ticket $240? Why is the bill $330?” Fernando sheepishly replied, “I upgraded him.” On this note, I sincerely hope that we too will learn to, within our capacity, upgrade those we come in contact with.

A generous couple has been secretly stuffing money into diaper boxes and under formula canister lids at local Targets in order to help out struggling families. Krystal Duhaney is a registered nurse and the founder of Milky Mama. A soon-to-be mother of three, when she and her husband Patrick had their first child, they realized just how expensive raising a family can be. Now they’re in a better place financially, they can afford to give back to others—so they’ve stuffed about $1,000 in cash into various baby supplies around Los Angeles Target stores, and they’re not stopping any time soon. “We recalled how hard it was for us as new parents to afford some of the basics and we could imagine how difficult it must be now,” Krystal explained to TODAY.  “We hope that the parents that purchase these items have a brighter day when they find our gifts” Krystal added. May the difficulties we experience cause us to be more understanding of the situation of others, inspiring us to be kinder and more compassionate.

Being in the right place at the right time can be a matter of life and death. During a 100-kilometer cross-country race in Gansu province, China, an unexpected ice storm struck, endangering the lives of many runners. Zhu Keming, a local shepherd, faced the harsh conditions to rescue six participants, three men and three women. On the day of the race, temperatures were mild as Zhu tended to his sheep. However, the weather quickly deteriorated, plunging into freezing temperatures accompanied by sleet and hail. Seeking shelter, Zhu took refuge in a cave where he had stored emergency supplies. From this vantage point, he spotted a runner in distress, appearing immobilized and disoriented. Zhu brought the distressed runner to the cave, where he lit a fire to warm him up. After ensuring the man was safe, Zhu returned to help five more runners find shelter. His actions were undoubtedly lifesaving, as many participants were inadequately dressed for the sudden cold, with lightweight clothing that left them vulnerable to hypothermia. Tragically, 21 out of the 172 athletes succumbed to the storm. One of the rescued runners, Zhang Xiaotao, expressed his gratitude on Weibo, stating, “Without him, I would have been left out there.” Despite the acclaim, Zhu remains humble, insisting he is “just an ordinary person who did a very ordinary thing.” However, the athletes he saved, their families, and many others recognize the extraordinary nature of his courage and timely actions in a life-threatening situation. If there’s ever anything right you could do to help a fellow, just do it.

The Gusah Family made a significant contribution by donating their ancestral land in Mbabagu Village for the establishment of a clinic years ago. They conducted a land survey to delineate their grandfather’s boundaries among his brothers, the sons of Gedege: Lan, Gusa, and Namtsav in Vandeikya LGA of Benue State, Nigeria. The clinic has been functioning lowkey with a small team of three Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs). This year, the family has taken a more proactive approach, committing over N20 million to renovate the clinic, construct a three-bedroom boys’ quarters, and hire a qualified Nurse-Midwife, Sister Terver Saa-Aondo. Their objective is to transform the clinic into a state-of-the-art primary healthcare facility, adhering to the current guidelines set by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). Following this event, Sister Terver will initiate a comprehensive assessment of the community’s healthcare needs, with plans to raise funds to address these issues through a two-year action plan. This initiative represents a public-private partnership aimed at promoting local social development. Attention is particularly drawn to the deep sense of empathy demonstrated by the Gusah Family, when we emulate this magnitude of selflessness and concern for the needs of others, we would be painting the true nature of kindness in living colours.

A 27-year-old pregnant mother, Alyssa DeWitt, is being celebrated as a hero after she rescued four children from drowning at Lake Michigan’s First Street Beach Pier. On a windy Tuesday afternoon, Alyssa hesitated before taking her children to the beach, concerned about the strong winds. However, she ultimately decided to go. While at the beach, Alyssa noticed a group of girls, all under 15, struggling in the water. Alarmed, she saw one girl waving her arms for help, which prompted her to act. “I got up, pulled my kids out of the water, and ran out onto the pier,” she recounted. Alyssa attempted to call 911, but the noise from the waves made it difficult for the dispatcher to hear her. Realizing she couldn’t wait for help, she laid on her stomach on the slippery pier to reach the girls. Despite being five months pregnant, she fought against the waves to pull them to safety. “Every time I’d get one of them halfway up, a big wave would come smashing into us,” she explained. “My turning point was when one of the little girls looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to die.’ That was it for me and I was like ‘I’m not going to let you die, I’m going to get you out of this water, I promise.’” She managed to pull all three girls out of the water and over the pier before the group set off back towards the shore to rescue a fourth girl who had managed to get closer to shore but couldn’t stand because her leg was injured. “I honestly do not know how I did it, it was pure adrenaline at that point,” Alyssa said. Once all the children were safe on the beach, emergency services arrived. Alyssa sustained a swollen wrist but both she and her unborn child were unharmed after a check-up at the hospital. While there are numerous lessons and inspirations to draw from this incident, I want to beam our TORCH on Alyssa’s determination and predisposition to kindness. Despite being five months pregnant, she was driven by compassion and chose to risk her own safety to save the lives of four young girls. If we all embraced a mindset of thoughtfulness and selflessness in our actions, the world would be a much more peaceful and beautiful place.