Built By Hand: 4 Times Communities Around The World Created Their Own Good News by Rebuilding and Remembering

This morning, I woke up to news that the Pride event which I attended yesterday was the victim of a terror attack only a few hours after I left (luckily, all my friends and I had left by this point). One person lost her life. I’m sorry to start this article off with less-than-good news, but that event shook me, and it made me more convinced than ever that the mission of Rally News, to spread good news, is critical. Spending today surrounded by positive news has been more than just work for me. Because the news in the world today isn’t just about the worst in humanity, it’s also full of uplifting stories and the best in humanity. My community is not the first to go through a tragedy, nor, sadly, will it be the last. So that’s why I thought it was the perfect day to look at other communities around the world who have experienced setbacks and show how they have rebuilt and rejuvenated their communities. It’s just the sort of positive news that helped me today, and I hope it helps you.

1.) Good News Stories Come From Unlikely Places: A War-Scarred Salvadoran Housing Block Becomes an Open-Air Museum

Outside San Salvador, in a housing complex called Zacamil, gang violence has been the norm since the civil war in the 1980s. Its 4,000 residents walk past bullet holes still embedded in their walls every day on the way to work and school. But here’s some positive news: Zacamil’s residents didn’t want to leave their community scarred like this, so they started painting in 2023. Today, nearly every one of the complex’s forty buildings bears murals. Óscar Olivares, a local artist, built a 43-foot mural from over 100,000 recycled bottle caps, which today ranks among the tallest recycled-material art pieces on the planet. But the good news stories don’t end here.

2.) Locals Are Turning Johannesburg’s Forgotten Suburbs Into a Creative Powerhouse. Now That is Some Good News!

South Africa has been wracked with negative headlines for years, from power outages to increasing political instability. But the people of Africa’s largest economy aren’t giving up on their homeland. In central Johannesburg, a grassroots nonprofit called Makers Valley Partnership is linking up independent creators of important goods across the region to create one strong makers community. From urban farmers to carpenters, shoemakers to clothing designers, the nonprofit is aiming to give these creators a shared identity and a real voice in the community.

3.) How Are These For Uplifting Stories? This Perth Bakery Mills Its Own Flour — and Its Own Community

If you frequent your local bakery, chances are you know how serious bakers are about making their own bread. But Perth-based Miller + Baker is taking this a step further: they’re milling their own flour. The Northbridge-based bakery is one of only a handful of Aussie bakeries to take on this practice, and it offers more than just better-tasting bread. Choosing where to source its own wheat allows Miller + Baker to support local farmers and further environmental causes (Di Haggerty, the Western Australian farmer from whom the bakery is sourcing its grain, was awarded the state’s Australian of the Year thanks to her regenerative farming practices). And considering the bakery is becoming a bit of a local meeting spot in Perth, other bakeries around the world should definitely be taking notes.

4.) From Palava Huts to TikTok: Young Liberians Are Making Good News Stories Left and Right by Becoming Their Own Historians

I’ve been fascinated by Liberia since I first learned about its origins. It’s a nation which has been through so much, including a bloody civil war and authoritarianism. But it’s also developed a rich culture thanks to its unique blend of tribal culture and modern status as a post-slavery American-backed republic. And young Liberians want to preserve this heritage in the globalized world. Somewhat ironically, they’re using the very tools that have led to overwhelming globalization: social media. Bilphena Decontee Yahwon, a young Liberian woman, founded Archive Liberia in 2020, a digital database of Liberian history which, until now, was only carried from generation to generation by tribal elders. She’s had so much success that The Liberia Tourism Authority is reportedly partnering with her digital archive to widen access to accurate historical resources. Because after all, uplifting stories about your people’s history deserve to be shared.

Okay, time for a deep breath. After that, I, for one, feel reinvigorated and positive about humanity’s outlook. I hope you do too. The stories we discussed today show that, while the bad news sticks out like a sore thumb, the quiet work being done by communities all over the world will win out in the long term. Don’t let the setbacks get you down, and remember to focus on the good stuff!