A silver lining of challenging times is the expansive capacity of ordinary individuals to unleash the human spirit. When faced with adversity, the impulse to close oneself off from others can arise; yet, there is also a deep-rooted inclination to show up in support of a fellow human being. Across the globe and across the pandemic, we have been witness to an array of everyday people who open their hearts to see strangers as family. This week -- across generations and religions, amid India's devastating covid spike and despite a baker's uncertainty of keeping his small business afloat -- we witness how the domino effect of caring is immeasurable, but palpably regenerative.
|
|
Nandhu Kumar | Unsplash
In the midst of India's devastating Covid crisis, citizen heroes are offering oxygen, food, life-saving medicine and dignified funeral rites to strangers as if they were their own family. From a 24/7 drive-in oxygen camp at a Sikh temple that has saved thousands to an auto rickshaw driver who sold his wife's jewelry to create a makeshift ambulance and a mother who donated breast milk to a premature baby whose mother died of Covid-19, stories of human kindness abound. One group uses crowd-sourced funds to distribute food every day in Delhi. Volunteers update public databases listing suppliers of critical drugs and oxygen, and students call government helplines for overwhelmed families.
Read Full Story.
|
|
Albert Gea | Reuters
During Covid-19, Barcelona's Muslims broke their Ramadan fast in the ancient open air cloisters of a Catholic church rather than indoors. Between 50 and 60 Muslims, many homeless, gathered each evening for a meal cooked and offered by volunteers. Organizer Faouzia Chati, who had to look for new space this year because of pandemic restrictions, says people are happy "because religions serve to unite us, not to separate us."
Read Full Story.
|
|
Ditto Bowo | Unsplash
Canadians Marike Finlay and her partner Karin Cope "adopted" their elder friend Elisabeth Bigras and brought her into their family. Finlay and Cope were professors at McGill University, where Finlay met Bigras through Bigras’ late husband, Julien. When he died, the women became closer friends, going on sailing trips that took them along Canada’s East Coast. Those trips prompted Finlay and Cope to move to the coast and invite Bigras along. She said yes, and 20 years later, she has never regretted the decision. As Bigras has gotten older, Finlay thinks their choice to "adopt" her has given her the support she needs and kept their friendship strong. “If Elisabeth weren’t with us now, she would have to be in assisted living,” Finlay said.
Read Full Story.
|
|
Karlin Chan | Bowery and Boogie
Patrick Mock owns a small bakery in New York's Chinatown. Since April 2020, he has delivered 70,000 free meals to those hardest hit by the pandemic. A poignant video captures Mock's reflections one year after he and his co-workers began feeding the hungry. He credits the groundswell of support from his community for making it possible.
Read Full Story.
|
|
KPIX CBS SF Bay Area
Seventy-eight-year-old Linda Owens has spent her last 34 years being a resource parent to more than 80 infants. Some of the infants she fostered had developmental issues or were exposed to drugs in the womb, but "she’s always been very optimistic, always determined to give these babies the best possible start in their lives,” pediatrician Dr. Mika Hiramatsu said. The oldest child she fostered is 37 now, and Owens still remembers and loves all of them.
Read Full Story.
|
|
|