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“No beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart.” --Shanina Shaik
Hello everyone! This week our stories shine a light on the oh-so-many good hearts around us and how they are contributing to creative problem solving, generosity, and well-being. In Greece, a moveable track system, from beach to ocean, allows accessibility for those in wheelchairs. In Europe, the ‘Green Road’ has helped provide housing and a relocation to eco-villages for 3,000 Ukrainian refugees. And in the U.S., a geometry teacher, seeing a great need, donated a kidney to one of his high school math students. These acts of kindness nourish us and remind us of our inherent goodness. May we remember this goodness and allow the beauty of our hearts to shine in our homes, communities, and nations. Wishing you well!
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Tobea
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Known for its brilliant blue waters, sandy beaches, and picturesque islands, the country of Greece is a popular vacation destination. For people in wheelchairs, though, a trip to the beach is typically dependent on the support of others, not as relaxing or straightforward. Thanks to an accessibility project, this is changing, and more people will be able to soak in the country's beautiful beach ambiance. A moveable track system is being installed in 287 beaches across the country, 147 of which are already completed, according the Greek Reporter. This Seatrac system is a free, solar-powered, remote-operated moving walkway equipped with a chair that extends from the beach to the ocean, so those in wheelchairs can independently access the waters. The wheelchair accessibility effort is part of a 15 million euro project, "Creation of Integrated Accessible Tourist Marine Destinations", that, according to its website, seeks to "ensure accessibility to the sea for people with disabilities and people with limited mobility, such as elderly people, pregnant women, people with temporary injuries, as well as to promote Greece as an accessible sea tourism destination"
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Øyvind Holmstad | Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0
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The Green Road is an initiative connecting Ukrainian refugees with safe places to stay in ecovillages across Ukraine and Europe. Ecovillages are intentional communities promoting sustainable living. The Green Road has helped relocate at least 3,000 displaced Ukrainians in 40 ecovillages in Ukraine and over 300 in Europe. The project was born out of the war in Ukraine, with calls pouring in from members of the Global Ecovillage Network ready to assist. Ukrainian ecovillages, originally focused on self-sufficiency, have evolved due to the influx of refugees. The Green Road now focuses on advocacy, capacity-building, and networking, with initiatives like a bicycle project to generate income for displaced Ukrainians living in ecovillages. The project aims to restore communities and mediate conflicts while striving for a peaceful and sustainable future.
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Neom | Unsplash
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On his 8th grade graduation day, 14-year-old Xavier Jones discovered that his grandfather's car was not working. He was determined to receive his eighth grade diploma so he decided to walk the six-mile route to the historically Black school, Harris-Stowe State University. He walked under a fiery sun for over two hours through difficult neighborhoods and traffic. He became so thirsty at some point that he asked strangers to buy something to drink for a dollar, and times when he thought of going back. Despite all that, he pressed on. "It basically comes from who I am and the kind of person I want to be," Jones said. When he arrived at the university, Collins Smith, the university's president, was so inspired by Jones' determination and effort that she decided to award Jones a full four-year scholarship that would cover all his tuition at the university. "You know, oftentimes in colleges we spend a lot of time on standardized test scores because that's who you are. It's not true," she said. Jones has proven himself to be more than that. Although Jones still has four more years before college, he plans on maintaining his wonderful grades and keep pressing on in high school.
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Egypt Today
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Egypt's 100 Million Healthy Lives campaign has eliminated hepatitis C from its entire population. The program, one of the world's largest screening campaigns, was designed to screen and treat Egypt's entire population over the age of 12, including those in prison and in the army, for hepatitis C. As well as establishing over 5,000 testing centers, the government created over 1,000 mobile testing vehicles and trained over 60,000 staff, including people from local communities with no medical background. That enabled them to reach all its targeted 50 million citizens, including the 57% that lived in rural areas. The program followed a simple, yet highly effective cascade of 6 steps which included providing those with active infections with three months of free treatment. At the end of the campaign, an estimated 1.23 million Egyptian citizens with active hepatitis C infections were cured.
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Washington Local Schools
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Teacher Eddie McCarthy was watching the local TV news when he suddenly saw a familiar face on the screen: one of his high school math students. The teen's parents were desperately looking for a live kidney donor for their son, Roman McCormick, who had stage 4 kidney disease. No relatives were a match. McCarthy didn't know much about the teen, other than that he was quiet and the only freshman in his geometry class in Toldeo, Ohio, US. McCarthy, a father of two young children, said after seeing the plea from Roman's mother he decided he would go get a blood test to see if he might be a potential match. All the testing, conducted without the McCarthy family's knowledge, concluded that McCarthy was a viable donor. Then, when medical staff let them know there was a match, the parents wept; they wept again when McCarthy called to tell them he was the donor. The operation took place recently and both patients are recovering well. "Everyone in our family will forever be grateful for what Eddie did. We hope that his gift will give hope to others who are going through what we did, and that they'll also find donors," said one of Roman's parents.
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