NEWS | WORLD | HOPE

Stories of Grace and Goodness in The World

‘Seek, and thou shalt find…’

Photo by Alfred Schrock on Unsplash

“Ask yourself, “Who can I make smile this morning?” This is the art of creating happiness.” Thich Nhat Hanh, ‘How to Love’

Some dark and dismal days, the news from around the world is overwhelming. I don’t watch the news, or pay attention to it in any way, but I can’t help knowing and hearing stray bits of information. They fill me with dejection.

So I seek out the good things, the good news, the stories full of grace, humanity and compassion that no one seems to be interested in. If you, like me, thrive on this kind of information, please join me here, to read and revel.

I believe that the world is a good place, that life is beautiful, and that people are, by default, good human beings.

Helping birds nest safely

I have never heard of a ‘swift brick’ before. Have you?

It’s a brick that is built into a house, with a rectangular aperture, for swifts to nest in. The pair of birds in the following photo, are swifts.

Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash

Every new house that’s built in Scotland mandates what’s known as a ‘Swift-Brick’. It is a space built into house, the size of one or more regular bricks. It allows a swift to build its nest within it, safely, and securely. Since it is high up on the wall, it decreases the risk of predators.

This was necessary because in the last 25 years, swift populations have decreased by 25%!

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A human library to connect with people

In Denmark, Copenhagen, there exists a library where you can borrow…people! Called a human library, it lets you connect with a person, and ask them anything you want, for 30 minutes. The goal is to buld understanding across communities, get to know the culture and customs of people that you don’t know about. It was begun as an experiment in 2020, and has done so well that it’s a popular, regular feature of the city space.

Said to be a powerful lesson in understanding humanity, people who have availed of the experience call it a moving and powerful exercise.

[embed]Unjudge someone - The Human Library Organization The Human Library® is, a library of people. We host events where readers can borrow human beings serving as open books…humanlibrary.org

603 dams removed to help rivers breathe and run free again

A whopping 603 dams have been removed from across rivers in many parts of Europe. 2300 miles of rivers that have been blocked for decades have been set free. Sweden, Finland and Spain lead the effort. Fish can migrate again. Ecosystems are recovering again.

Rivers can breathe again!

[embed]Europe sets dam removal record... again! - Wetlands International OVER 600 BARRIERS DISMANTLED FOR FIRST TIME The dam removal movement has once again broken records in Europe with at…www.wetlands.org

Discovery of living coral, the size of half a football pitch

Near the Great Barrier Reef, off Australia’s Northeast coast is the world’s largest coral reef system. Something exciting has been reported in the vicinity. A live coral colony the size of half a football pitch has been discovered . The colony has survived bleaching events that destroyed everything around it. But this colony is not only alive, but thriving!

This magnificent discovery has been made by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope and her mum Jan Pope, who are citizen scientists. They discovered the 111-metre-long Pavona clavus colony offshore fromCairns, in Far North Queensland.

[embed]Mother and daughter discover contender for world's largest known coral colony Mother and daughter citizen scientists find what is believed to be the largest coral colony on the Great Barrier Reef…www.abc.net.au

The medical miracle of regrowing knee cartilage

Scientists have found a way to regrow knee cartilage. It has been found that blocking one particular protein can reverge cartilage loss, and regrow functional tissue. Even those patients who are already needing, or waiting for, knee replacements can avail of this.

[embed]Stanford scientists regrow lost cartilage and reverse arthritis in major breakthrough A new treatment that blocks an aging-related protein restored lost cartilage in old mice and helped prevent arthritis…www.sciencedaily.com

The bicycle vaccination warriors helping young girls be free of cervical cancer

In Zimbabwe, Kariba is one of the hottest, and most arid states. Zimbabwe recorded around 3520 new cases of cervical cancer in 2023.

It is difficult for people in far flung areas to access any kind of health care. Doctors and nurses cannot reach these areas very often.

So village health care workers cycle for miles to vaccinate the young girls who could fall prey to this dreaded disease. 22,000 girls have been vaccinated so far, by these angels on bicycles. These health care professionals not only have to bear the extreme and relentless heat. They also have to brave sharp thorns from shrubs and the attacks of wild elephants.

“We cycle for HPV because no angel from Japan or Europe will do it for our community,” says Aubrey Sachikonye, 45, a fellow VHW in Kariba.

[embed]In rural Zimbabwe, 'vaccine cyclists' brave heat, dust and elephants to get girls protected from… Amid shortages of doctors and nurses, village health workers are the keystone of care in rural Zimbabwe. To get…www.gavi.org

So there you have it.

And this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Dig deeper, and we can find more such stories. These are the healing stories in the world, that fill me with hope. That tell me, all is not lost. That whisper in my ear, gentle as the wind in the willows, that humanity is alive. That the world is a good place.

That life is beautiful.

ⓒ 2026 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.