A Tale of Two Humanitarian Educators

Interestingly, one of these stories takes place in India, and the other in Pakistan, each being reported on within months of each other. Regardless of their location, selfless and innovative ideas like these help give me hope in humanity. I’m short on time, so I’ll let the pictures and their captions speak for themselves. Click the images to link to their original sources (Washington Post and NPR, respectively).

A makeshift school set up under a bridge in New Delhi, India. Run by shop owner Rajesh Kumar, the over 50 students, ages 4 to 14, study everything from basic reading and writing to mathematical concepts like the Pythagorean Theorem. The students sit on foam mats just yards away from an excrement pit, and are taught for over 2 hours.

After decades abroad Saeed Malik (left) returned to his native Pakistan to rectify the poor education system. He remembered talking to a group of boys, 9 to 16 years old, and finding that the majority wanted to be freedom fighters and die as martyrs, because they had nothing else to live for. “And I felt, in what way can we bring these kids back to the beauty of life, to the beauty of future, to be of value to fellow mankind and to themselves and to the country,” he says. “And I started thinking in what way can we help the children.” Malik felt books were the way to broaden children’s minds, to introduce them to a whole world of subjects, and to help build tolerance for others. But he discovered that virtually none of the public schools in and around Islamabad had libraries. Through donations from the UN and private individuals, he founded the Bright Star Mobile Library, which now serves about 2,500 children, providing a range of books in Urdu and English.

We need more stories like this to be known, especially to balance out all the cynicism and negativity that typically captures our attention (and subsequently make up the bulk of our news). Even a flicker of light in the darkness is something to be cherished.

Homeless Man Donates Handouts to Fellow Homeless

This exemplary human being has given away over $9,000 he’s collected through panhandling to a fellow homeless mother and child. When many better off people can’t be bothered with giving the less fortunate the time of day, a man who is scarcely getting by still find the means and the love to give to others. This is a very inspiring story. I especially like the news anchors statement towards the end.

Hat tip to my friend Ray for sharing this with me.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese diplomat who, during WWII, defied his own government and issued Portuguese visas free of charge to over 30,000 refugees seeking to escape the Nazis (Portugal was officially neutral at the time). For this he was fired, denied a pension, and denounced by his government, friends, and colleagues. He died in disgrace and poverty in 1954, but never regretted his decision.

Skateistan

Fazila Shirindil is a former student of Skateistan, a nonprofit organization that employs Afghan youth from the street, teaches them a new sport, and provides a place for boys and girls to play together. It serves as a necessary respite from the horrors of war and poverty. She has since become a skateboard instructor, and is seen here playing on a mini-ramp outside a guest house in Kabul in 2010, at the age of 12.

You can learn more about this amazing project in this beautiful slideshow from Foreign Policy.

The Man Who Gave the World His Number

It’s stories like this that rekindle my faith in humanity, and validate my love of meeting people and assuming the best in them. Plus, it’s a remarkable social experiment. I’d like to see more of this done. Heck, I’ve always wanted to try it myself…

Reaffirming My Faith in Humanity

There was food left over from a luncheon at my job. I decided to take about a dozen bagels to give to some homeless people I often see while walking back to the metro. I came across a woman who was clearly malnourished. I offered to give her the whole supply, but she politely (and strangely) refused, and only with my insistence did she bother to take at least one. She did not want any more than that.

When I asked her why, she replied that there are other homeless folks that could you that food. That sort of altruism even in the face of desperation is Earth shattering. Would I have done the same in her position?

My Father

My dad can be a very gruff and serious man, but he shows a tender side that can sometimes surprise even me. The other day, he went on a rant about how awful it is that people get judged for their appearance, since everyone was created equal. He recounted how, growing up in Lebanon, he used to get into fist-fights on behalf of people with mental and physical disabilities that would get savagely abused by other children. He put himself in harm’s way on behalf of others he didn’t know. I couldn’t have asked for a better role model.

Friar Maximilian Kolbe

Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan friar who was sent to Auschwitz for protecting 2,000 Jews in his monastery. While there, the camp administrators picked 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker in order to deter escape attempts. One of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, was a Polish resistance fighter. When he cried out, “My wife! My children!” Kolbe, who didn’t know him, volunteered to take his place, remarking that he had no such family to worry about. He literally gave his life for another human being.

In the starvation cell, he celebrated Mass each day and sung hyms with the prisoners, who he reassured by telling them they would soon be with Mary in Heaven. Supposedly, each time the guards checked on him, he was standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell, appearing calm. After two weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe remained alive. The guards eventually opted to give Kolbe a lethal injection to empty the cell once and for all; witnesses claim that he raised his left arm and calmly waited for the injection.

In the 1980s he was canonized as a saint and recognized as a martyr of charity.

Iran-Israel Relations

As pretty much everyone knows by now, relations between Israel and Iran are at an all time low, even by their usually grim standards. Though the entire issues has been greatly sensationalism - by media, politicians, and even the general public – a confrontation of some sort can’t be ruled out.

Indeed, it’s arguably already begun, albeit covertly – several Iranian scientists connected to the nuclear program have been assassinated, while Israeli some embassies were subject to bombings a few weeks ago. Neither side has taken responsibility, of course, but we can be reasonably sure they’re involved in taking deadly jabs at one another.

In any case, I won’t be focusing too much on the somber political dynamics of this issue (at least not yet). Instead, I want to raise attention to the better side of human nature in all this: efforts by average people in both nations to express peace and solidarity with one another, in spite of the militant rhetoric of their leaders.

Start with this campaign, created and led by an Israeli graphic designer who’s trying to reach out to Iranians and assure them that not everyone is on board with all this talk of war. He wants the entire world to get wind of this, too, in an effort to dispel the fear and hatred that precipitate every conflict. You can see the introductory video below, and visit the Facebook page (as well as the reciprocating Iranian page here).

People are naturally raising questions about whether this warmness and good will extends to Palestine. It’s a good question, but at this point I’m happy to see any sign on amiability towards any group. If anything, perhaps this will catch on and start a trend for other conflicts? (it’s already spawned more than a few parodies).

Either way, it’s reassuring to see people take matters into their own hand, and not allow their governments to speak for everyone when they purport to represent the national interest. Politicians, elected or not, don’t always reflect the will of their people, no matter how much they’ll insist it (as they should, given that even authoritarian regimes with contempt toward their people stake their legitimacy on reflecting popular will). Governments and citizens are two different entities, and it’s great that the latter can now make their own voices heard.

Finally, I’ll leave you a more heart-warming kind of Israeli-Iranian relationship:

Love is all you need.

Girl Regains Hearing in Both Ears

A few months ago, I shared a heart-warming video about a young deaf woman who was overcome with emotion as she heard herself for the first time. I also reflected on the miracles of both scientific innovation, and the simple things we take for granted, such as having our full senses.

A friend has informed me that the woman, 29-year-old Sarah Churman, has now had the implants activated in both ears, allowing her to hear in stereo sound. You can learn more details about this on her blog, but below is the video.

It’s always great to see how science can improve the condition of our species, one individual at a time. I wish stories like this could encourage more public investment in scientific research. I hope to see the day when conditions and disabilities like these are overcome, when these sorts of solutions like implants are widely-available so as to be unexceptional.