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"Creativity doesn’t wait for the perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." --Bruce Garrabrandt
Hello! Throughout the world, in their own ways and in ordinary times, ordinary people are doing extraordinary things. This week’s stories highlight what a creative and resourceful people we are and how one person’s kind act sends ripples of love out into our world. Hope you enjoy the stories and that you have a heartfelt week!
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Mwangiw | Wikimedia Commons
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Togo has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, joining Ghana and the Gambia as the third country in World Health Organization's African Region to do so. It is the only country to have won its fight against four neglected tropical diseases. Its trachoma control, which began in 1989, included specific control activities, community health agents who identified cases during door-to-door mass drug administration for three other endemic infections, awareness-raising about personal hygiene, and significant improvements in access to safe water and improved sanitation. While 13 countries have ended trachoma, it is still a public health problem for 43 countries with an estimated 136 million people living in endemic areas. The African Region has 85% of the global burden, but those needing treatment fell from 189 million in 2014 to 116 million as of June 2021. Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, is four times more common in women than men.
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Yahoo! News
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A Phoenix gas station owner is losing hundreds of dollars a day after shaving nearly 50 cents per gallon on its gas prices to help customers weather skyrocketing fuel prices. Jaswiendre Singh buys gas from a supplier for $5.66 per gallon but sells it for $5.19. He started offering discounts in March, decreasing the price by 10 cents. But with gas prices still rising, he wanted to do more. "[I do it] to give a break to the customer and my community. People don't have the money right now," he says. The station sells around 1,000 gallons a day so he loses about $500 per day. He and his wife also work longer hours, but he doesn't mind. "God gave me help. It doesn't matter. We are not here to make money right now. I'm very happy to help the other people." Twitter users lauded him. "Some heroes wear turbans," said one. After he bought the gas station in 2007, he lowered prices during the 2008 recession.
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Vic News
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Kathy Collins was running her own art supply store and art school in Calgary when she began forgetting to place orders. She became uncharacteristically weepy. After Kathy filed for bankruptcy, her older sister Jean travelled from Vancouver Island and, seeing that Kathy wasn't caring for herself, persuaded her to visit Vancouver Island for a week. She never left. After Kathy learned she had early-onset Alzheimer's, they moved in with their parents in a nearby farming village and Kathy created a routine for herself. But when the pandemic hit, they discovered TikTok and started to make their own. Their third video made them TikTok stars, with 1.6 million viewers; 138,000 follow the Kathy Project, which aims to spread comfort and love to people with Alzheimer's and their families. A community has grown among the TikTokers they chat with and follow, and people recognize Kathy when they shop, a TikTok celebrity in their midst.
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Lukas Blazek | Unsplash
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About 70 companies are taking part in what is thought to be the world's biggest pilot scheme into the working pattern over the next six months. The experiment has been organized by a group campaigning for a shorter working week, but with no loss in wages. During the trial, employees will get 100% pay for 80% of the hours they would usually work, with the aim of being more productive. Sam Smith, co-founder of Pressure Drop Brewery in Tottenham, North London, said it felt "like a good time" for the firm to be trying different working practices. "The pandemic's made us think a great deal about work and how people organize their lives," he added. "We're doing this to improve the lives of our staff and be part of a progressive change in the world that will improve people's mental health and wellbeing."
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Unsplash | Solé Bicycles
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As many Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion arrive in Lviv, near the Polish border, the challenges of getting around the city increase. Buses and trains become more crowded and expensive, and gas for cars becomes scarce and more costly. So Lviv reached out to Mikael Colville-Andersen, founder of the urban bike consultancy Copenhagenize. Knowing that Denmark has a bike surplus, he formed a nonprofit that raises funds and will begin delivering truckloads of donated bikes this summer. His initial goal is 2,000 bikes in good condition and ready to ride, but he would like to see that number grow to 100,000 or even a million. Lviv, which has been working on a better bike network for years, will install more than 12 miles of new bike lanes with protective barriers. Other people in Ukraine need bikes and after Lviv, Copenhagenizewants to expand their project to the whole country where more than 8 million people are internally displaced.
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