kindness

Twice in recent time, I have watched an elderly individual, fade into the busy life in which we all live. One man just needed Panadol for his wife but the shop assistant simply said it’s in ‘6’. But he struggled to navigate the supermarket and as I watched him go in the wrong direction, I left all my groceries and took him where he needed to go. Again, I watched an elderly man struggle in the heat, who had obviously had a fall with a huge scrape and blood on his leg. He walked past people in the cafe, while he slowly made his way to his car. Not one person stopped. Or looked. Or acknowledged him. I took him to his car and checked he was ok. He told me he had a fall and wasn’t sure how the air con worked in his car so he just didn’t use it. I sat with him, until his air con kicked in and heard him talk about the old frail body that he is in, that fails him now, every single day. When you see an elderly person walking down the street, searching in the supermarket or struggling to their car, take a minute out of your busy schedule and ask them if they need a hand. Think about your grandparents and your parents and how pissed you would be if someone didn’t stop to help them. But more, think of them as you. Once upon a time they were you. They were busy, they had work, they had children, they were able… Today, they are just in an older body that is not going as fast as it used to and this busy life is confusing. They deserve our utmost respect and consideration. One day it will be you, it will be us. I wish more people showed more concern about them and acknowledged them for their admirable existence. And Dear Heavens, I hope someday, not that far away, someone does it for me.

A man with a huge tumor on his jaw finally got life-changing surgery, after it got very big, he almost couldn’t eat or speak. Alex first noticed a swelling on his jaw as a teenager. It turned out to be a non-cancerous tumor, but it kept getting larger and larger. By the time Alex was 23, the benign mass had grown to the size of a tennis ball and began to affect his ability to speak, eat, and swallow. He was warned that it may eventually make it impossible to breathe, but none of the local hospitals around Freetown, Sierra Leone, were able to help—neither did any medications nor herbal treatments. He suffered with infections and tooth loss and, perhaps worst of all, from social isolation as most people shunned him and he was unable to make friends. “I found it difficult to sit among people because they would laugh at me. I used to run away from them and sit alone in my room.” Two years ago, he was told that global health charity ‘Mercy Ships’ would be docking one of their hospital ships in Freetown—and it became his last hope. Once the Christian charity assessed his situation, they agreed to help and Alex had his first surgery aboard the ‘Global Mercy’ which removed his jaw in October 2023. The second surgery was in April 2024 to reconstruct the jaw using a bone from his head. The surgery changed Alex’s life—and he has since made new friends and got his confidence back. “After the surgery, I was very happy, especially when people were around me and when they were hugging me.” “People were afraid to be close to me, but now, everybody wants to be my friend.” One of his doctors was Manjit Dhillon, a consultant surgeon in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in Scotland. “In the UK, we see benign jaw tumors like Alex’s, but they are most likely picked up very early during a routine dental scan,” explained Dr. Dhillon. “The patient would have the tumor removed at an early stage and so it would never grow to the size we see in Alex’s case.” His mother, Zainab, greeted him when he emerged from the ship. “I shed tears of joy when I first saw him after his surgery. He had been so isolated and shunned from society. “The place was crowded with people who were surprised and happy for him. It was incredible to watch Alex come alive and be part of his community again.” Dr. Manjit said it was “amazing“ to be part of his journey and “to see him embracing a future of hope”.

A PhD student in the United States has expressed gratitude towards a kind woman who provided him with food on credit during his time as a corps member in Ibadan. The former corps member took to Facebook to seek a reconnection with the woman who helped him avoid the risk of developing an ulcer. Internet users assisted in reuniting him with this compassionate individual, leading the grateful international student to send her financial support. Ifeanyi Eze, a Nigerian student studying abroad, has captured hearts with his generous gift to Mama Kowope, who once sold him food on credit while he was serving in Ibadan for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). In his Facebook post, Ifeanyi shared how Mama Kowope’s kindness prevented him from going hungry and potentially suffering from ulcers. He noted that her shop was located next to his primary assignment at Holy Trinity Grammar School on Old Ife Road, and she lived with her young granddaughter. Mama Kowope’s generosity extended beyond Ifeanyi; she also offered chilled water to other corps members on their way home from Community Development Service (CDS) activities. In a subsequent post, Ifeanyi confirmed that he had been reconnected with Mama Kowope and shared a screenshot from their video call, expressing joy at seeing her looking strong and healthy.

A woman in Portland narrowly escaped a fiery death due to the swift actions of police, fire, and medical first responders during a dramatic rescue in late December. Sgt. Sarah Kerwin of the Portland Police Bureau reported that the 911 call came directly from the driver, who was trapped inside her burning vehicle. “This was the first time I’ve ever… had anyone call in saying ‘I am trapped,’” Kerwin stated. “All of a sudden the person in the car is calling in saying they’re on fire and they can’t get out.” When Kerwin and her partner arrived at the scene, they found the vehicle overturned and engulfed in flames, making it impossible for them to attempt a rescue on their own. With assistance from Portland Fire and Rescue, they managed to extricate the woman from the car. Firefighters first contained the blaze using hoses, then donned protective gear to approach the vehicle. They broke the windscreen with a battering ram to reach her. Once freed, the woman was not breathing when she was laid on the grass at a safe distance. Kerwin immediately began CPR, and oxygen was administered shortly afterward. “I felt this was the epitome of the call that you train for, and that Portland Fire was critical in getting her out of the vehicle because I just don’t think we could have safely done it,” Kerwin remarked. This incident carries a clear picture of the courage and dedication humans exhibit in perilous situations, showcasing an extraordinary level of kindness and bravery among humans.

In a video shared by the Cleveland Clinic, a woman reunites with a boy whose life she saved through organ donation. Sandy Flash became a living donor, providing a portion of her liver to one-year-old Sonny, who was battling biliary atresia—a condition characterized by bile duct scarring that hinders bile flow to the intestines, leading to severe liver damage. Biliary atresia can be treated with the Kasai procedure, which has advanced significantly, allowing 80-90% of infants diagnosed with the condition to survive into adulthood. This surgery requires a liver donation, which is where Flash stepped in. After her husband received a liver donation in 2022, she felt inspired to help others and registered as a donor, ultimately being matched with Sonny. Katie White, Sonny’s mother, expressed her gratitude to Flash, stating, “Sandy gave a piece of herself to save my baby’s life. Organ donation is truly an unconditional gift,” as reported by Good Morning America. Flash remarked that after experiencing motherhood, donating her liver was the most fulfilling act she has ever accomplished. The Cleveland Clinic confirmed that Sonny has now reached all typical developmental milestones for his age.

For years, Bill Moczulewski braved rain and cold, walking six miles to his nightshift janitor job at Walmart. His routine changed dramatically when a woman offered him a ride. Christy Conrad discovered that despite being legally blind, Bill was determined to make the trek in any weather. “I picked him up in nine-degree weather the other morning,” Christy recounted, noting that Bill had previously cycled to work until he was struck by a car. However, with her own family commitments, Christy couldn’t always provide him a lift. To address this, she created a Facebook group to find other volunteers willing to help. The group, named Mr. Bill’s Village, quickly grew to over a thousand members who wanted to assist the man known for his camouflage jacket seen walking at dawn or dusk. One member remarked that it had turned into a friendly competition: “Who can give Bill a ride today?” “There are many good people in this world,” Bill shared with CBS News during their visit to Cabot, Arkansas, where they highlighted this uplifting story. After the segment aired globally, Christy was moved to tears—“happy tears,” she emphasized. On the Mr. Bill’s Village Facebook page, she expressed her hope that others would embrace the Golden Rule: “Treat others the way you would want to be treated.” She encouraged people to help whenever they see a need. Local business owner Chris Puckett also wanted to contribute. He planned to gift Bill a vehicle; however, since Bill cannot drive, the car was donated to Christy—a perfect illustration of the saying, “It takes a village.”

In a remarkable tale of determination and compassion, a Canadian family dedicated themselves to finding a cure for their newborn son’s rare disease. Terry and Georgia Pirovolakis, residents of Toronto, embarked on a journey to save their son and also help other children suffering from the same condition. In 2017, they welcomed their third child, Michael, who initially appeared healthy. However, as time passed, the couple noticed concerning developmental delays. After an exhaustive 18-month search for answers, Michael was diagnosed with spastic paraplegia 50 (SPG50), a rare neurological disorder affecting fewer than 100 individuals globally. The prognosis was grim: doctors advised the Pirovolakis family that Michael would likely be wheelchair-bound by age 10 and quadriplegic by 20. Dr. Eve Elizabeth Penney, an epidemiologist, explained that children with SPG50 face serious challenges but can adapt and strive despite early developmental setbacks. With no effective treatments available through the FDA, Terry refused to accept this fate for his son. He traveled to Washington D.C. for a gene therapy conference and sought out researchers at the National Institutes of Health in the UK who were studying SPG50. Determined to change Michael’s future, Terry and Georgia liquidated their life savings, refinanced their home, and financed a team at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to develop a proof of concept for Michael’s gene therapy. Their efforts bore fruit when they discovered that the treatment halted disease progression in laboratory settings. Their journey continued as they collaborated with a pharmaceutical company in Spain to produce doses of the gene therapy drug. In March 2022, Michael became the first person in the world with SPG50 to receive this groundbreaking treatment through a lumbar puncture. The results were promising; as weeks passed, Michael showed improvements in movement, coordination, and speech. His doctors confirmed that the treatment was effective. However, instead of keeping the remaining doses for themselves, Terry and Georgia chose to share them with other children diagnosed with SPG50. Motivated by the plight of other families facing similar challenges, Terry initiated a phase 2 clinical trial that treated three additional children with SPG50. One of these children was six-month-old Jack Lockard, whose mother reported significant progress following treatment. Despite his success as an IT manager, Terry recognized the financial burden of developing treatments for rare diseases like SPG50—each dose costing around $1 million. After realizing that pharmaceutical companies were uninterested due to limited market potential, he left his job to establish Elpida Therapeutics (meaning “Hope” in Greek). His team is working towards a phase 3 trial set to begin at the NIH. Terry hopes that philanthropic support will emerge to finance this crucial trial. His relentless pursuit has already transformed lives and holds promise for many more children facing rare diseases like SPG50.

Curled from the book, HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time When Larry Stewart was growing up in his grandparents’ home in a small Mississippi town, he didn’t know they were impoverished. It wasn’t until he started school that he learned what he “lacked”—the bathrooms, telephones, hot water and gas stoves to be found in other kids’ homes. As a young adult, Larry confronted poverty again. Living paycheck to paycheck, he became homeless when his employer went out of business owing Larry more than one check. So Larry resorted to living in his car, covering himself in his laundry in an effort to stay warm and hoping to forget his hunger. By the time he’d gone two days without a regular meal, he was so desperate that he went to the Dixie Diner and ordered breakfast without knowing how he’d pay for it. When he finished eating, he started looking around on the floor, pretending he’d lost his wallet. The cook even came out from behind the counter and helped him look. Then, suddenly, the search was over. “You must have dropped this,” the cook said. He was holding a twenty-dollar bill. Larry was so grateful that he made a vow to himself: as soon as he was able, he’d do something for others like what the cook had done for him. Over time, he became financially stable, and he set out to keep his vow. Although he wasn’t well off by any means, he knew he couldn’t put off getting started. One evening, he stopped at a drive-in restaurant and noticed that the waitress was wearing a tattered coat that couldn’t have been keeping her warm. When he handed her money to pay for his food, he knew it was the moment. “Keep the change,” he said. Tears welled in the waitress’s eyes, and her hands shook as she held the money. “You have no idea what this means to me,” she said, her voice shaking, too. But Larry did have an idea what it meant to her. Afterward, he was so inspired by what had happened that he started driving around looking for people who needed help. They weren’t hard to find, and he gave away $200 in fives and tens. The more successful Larry became, the more money he gave away. By the time he’d earned considerable wealth in cable and phone services in Kansas City, Missouri, he was anonymously giving away substantial amounts as a “Secret Santa.” He consulted with local social workers, firefighters, and police officers to find needy and deserving recipients. He also found some of them on his own, at laundromats, social service agencies, government housing facilities, and businesses that paid minimum wage. At thrift stores, he often found people who were raising their grandchildren. When he would give them anywhere from $100 to $300, it would change the whole complexion of their Christmas as well as their outlook. For many of them, this money made it possible to buy presents and cover necessities like utility bills. Larry didn’t want people to have to beg, get in line or apply for money. “I was giving in a way that allowed them to keep their dignity,” he said in an interview with a local news station years later. Just like the cook at the Dixie Diner had done for him. All told, Larry gave away more than $1.4 million over the years. There are many stories from people whose homes he saved. People who told their families there wasn’t going to be a Christmas but wound up being able to buy gifts because of the money Secret Santa gave them. People who were able to pay their bills and get their gas turned back on, thanks to Larry. In 2006, after serving as an anonymous Santa for more than twenty years, Larry was diagnosed with terminal cancer. At that point, he decided to go public because a tabloid newspaper was about to reveal his identity. Larry thought he should be the one to tell his story, hoping it would recruit more Santas to take his place. He’d seen that every time a Secret Santa was written about in the media, the coverage was followed by a wave of new Secret Santa appearances. He hoped making his identity public would continue to add to the ranks. Larry got his wish. Thousands of people visited his website and signed up to become Secret Santas. And based on the number of people who emailed the site about their experiences that Christmas season, the new Secret Santas did more than sign up; they also turned out in force. When Larry died in 2007, his handpicked successor—an anonymous Kansas City businessman—took over for him and continues to lead the Society of Secret Santas today. Its members follow in Larry’s footsteps around the world. The postings on the society’s website tell of giving money to victims of fires, people who had been evicted from their homes, and veterans and military families in need. They tell of former NFL player Dick Butkus handing out hundred-dollar bills in San Diego and former Major League Baseball player Luis Gonzalez doing the same in Phoenix. A foundation was also formed in Larry’s honor to accept donations to be used by the Santas. The first donation was from former Kansas City parking attendant Sam Williams, who wanted to make a small gift in memory of the man who’d given him a hundred-dollar bill a few years before. “He gave me the biggest gift I ever got in my life,” Williams told KMBC News. Larry gave Secret Santas everywhere a gift, too. As the society’s website says, “The compassion shared from one spontaneous random act of kindness is elevating, priceless and not easily explained. It is an instant connection between souls that can change a life forever. Being a Secret Santa has blessings beyond words.” What’s more, it’s a gift anybody can give. “It’s not about the man, it’s not about the money—it’s

In northern Saskatchewan, Canada, a woman is being celebrated as a hero after bravely risking her life to rescue a child from an icy river. The incident occurred when a young boy fell through the ice while playing, prompting his friend to rush to the Sucker River Community Store where Elaine Ratt was beginning her shift. Ratt, a member of the Lac La Ronge Band of Indians, anticipated a typical workday until she saw the fear etched on the boy’s face. “The fear in [his] eyes scared me,” she recalled as she sprinted toward the river. Upon reaching the water’s edge, she called out to him to keep his head above water. However, as she edged closer, she heard the ice cracking beneath her feet. Just as Ratt reached the boy, the ice gave way, plunging both of them into the frigid water. Despite the shock, Ratt managed to guide him to a solid patch of ice. Remembering safety advice, the boy rolled onto the bank without trying to stand up, but Ratt struggled due to her heavier weight; each attempt to pull herself out caused more ice to break away. Eventually, in a state of shock, she too escaped. “I carried him, with all my soaking clothes and his soaking clothes. It was more of a reflex,” Ratt explained. “I’d rather risk my life than see something worse happen to him.” First responders at the community store quickly transported the boy to the hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia and eventually stabilized. After changing clothes at home, Ratt returned to find emergency crews still on-site; her heroic actions were met with applause from those present, moving her to tears.

When a Michelin-starred chef in England had over 2,000 Christmas pies stolen on their way to a Christmas fair, an unlikely baker stepped in to help. The story comes from the country’s northeast, where an award-winning Christmas market called the St. Nicolas Fair in the city of York, was set to feature 2,500 pies baked by Chef Tommy Banks, whose restaurant received the coveted star in 2013 during his first year as head chef. However, the van transporting the pies to the event was stolen, driven off, and abandoned, with all the pies inside perishing. Autistic 11-year-old Joshie Harris was reading the news with his father, and although he is non-verbal, he understood what was happening—that a man was sad, and that pies needed to be baked. When they had finished reading the news report, Joshie held up an iPad which he uses to communicate. On it, he wrote, “I see sad man, pies finished.” “Joshie doesn’t speak but cooking and baking is his way of showing creativity,” Dan Harris, Joshie’s father, told the BBC. “He wanted to show especially at Christmas that these kinds of things shouldn’t be happening.” Since then Joshie has been busy baking dozens of pies of all different flavors, but especially his personal favorite, apple pie. Mr. Harris has been in touch with Chef Banks, and the family hopes to be able to hand off all the pies on Saturday. Any which he can’t use will be donated, the family told the BBC, to a food bank. This story is so inspiring in the sense that, despite his age and condition Joshie still sees the need to step in and lend a hand to someone out there. When the mind is doused in empathy, truly every situation presents an opportunity to exercise our humaneness…kindness.