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One Good Thing: Highlights of 9 months in tales of kindness

By Matthew Barakat, David Biller, Moises Castillo, Yesica Fisch, Luis Andres Henao, Leanne Italie, Hyung-Jin Kim, John Leicester, Bharatha Mallawarachi. Sam Olukoya And Jessie Wardarski
Associated Press
In mid-March, as the coronavirus was ravaging communities and economies around the world, The Associated Press launched its “ One Good Thing ” series to highlight individuals whose actions offer glimmers of light in dark times.

Nine months later we’ve hit every continent except Antarctica to publish more than 180 stories of kindness, good deeds and serendipity.

Here is a look back at 10 of our favorite stories of people finding ways to make a difference, no matter how small:

The tutu girls: Four young cancer survivors who met, became fast friends and supported each other while in treatment at a hospital in Florida four years ago didn’t let the pandemic keep them from their annual reunion. Known as the “tutu girls” for their matching outfits, the 6- and 7-year-olds held their meetup on Zoom. One of the moms got the idea for the dance costumes to raise awareness about childhood cancer, and a tradition was born.

“It’s become their tradition,” said Alyssa Luciano of the annual meetups. “They love it.”

A birthday parade: A fire truck blared its sirens, police flashed lights on cruisers and dozens of families in a car parade honked horns, raised signs and yelled: “Happy birthday, Jessiah!” None of them knew 6-year-old Jessiah Lee, but they all showed up for the surprise drive-by birthday party in Arlington, Virginia, organized on social media and inspired by similar celebrations that have brought joy to many children and adults during the quarantine.

“E-veryyyybody came!” Jessiah said.

Classroom on wheels: When Guatemala’s schools in closed mid-March, teacher Gerardo Ixcoy invested his savings in a secondhand tricycle that he and his brother converted into a mobile classroom. Each day the 27-year-old set out pedaling among the cornfields of Santa Cruz del Quiché to bring socially distanced lessons to his sixth-graders’ homes and yards.

The families he serves often struggle to stave off hunger.

“One day the mother of a student told me they didn’t have food,” Ixcoy said. “When class ended and I began to ride away on my tricycle she calls me and with a look of gratefulness says, ‘Teacher, they gave me some food, I want to share half with you.’”

“I arrived home crying,” he recalled.

Making sweet music: Members of the National Orchestra of France filmed themselves playing Ravel’s “Bolero” alone at home during lockdown. Then, like building a musical jigsaw puzzle, a sound engineer stitched together their individual clips into a seamless and rousing whole. Posted online, the performance helped the musicians keep in touch with each other and with the audiences they sorely missed.

“For us, the public is essential. Without the public, we don’t really exist,” said Didier Benetti, the kettle drum player.

Newlyweds giving back: Darshana Kumara Wijenarayana and Pawani Rasanga spent months planning a grand wedding only to see it derailed by the pandemic. Family and friends urged the Sri Lankan couple to postpone the party, but instead they chose to celebrate their love by marrying simply and then spending the day feeding the poor.

“By doing this, we got a great satisfaction,” Darshana said. “When you see the happiness on the face of these people, especially the kids … you see …. I don’t have words to explain that happiness.”

Cheers for heroes: In hard-hit European cities, residents took a moment each night to express gratitude to doctors, nurses and other health care workers. From Athens and Amsterdam to Rome and Madrid, people stood at windows or on balconies singing, cheering and applauding those on the front lines.

“In this period of crisis, we are going to see the most beautiful things humanity has to offer, but also perhaps the darkest,” French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said.

Teenage supply pilot: TJ Kim doesn’t even have his driver’s license yet, but he’s already flying across Virginia delivering medical supplies to small, rural hospitals in need. The 16-year-old turned his weekly flight lessons into relief missions carrying precious pandemic cargo like gloves, masks, gowns and other equipment.

Thomas Kim said he was glad to see his son channel his initial disappointment at losing his sports season into something positive — “something that combines serving the community and his love of flying.”

“The stars really aligned here,” the father said.

Trumpeting on high: Rio de Janeiro firefighter Elielson Silva devised a novel approach to curing the coronavirus blues. Riding a fire truck’s retractable ladder as high as 200 feet, he played Brazilian tunes from that lofty perch as residents in isolation watch from their windows and applaud, flush with a restored sense of community.

“Hearing all that music restores our will to be in Rio, our sense of collectiveness,” Renata Versiani said from her windowsill, where she watched Silva play with her husband and young daughter. “Initiatives like this remind us of who we are as a community. It’s happiness to have a surprise like this.”

Take my land: The acreage that Kim Byung-rok bought on a quiet mountain in South Korea a few years ago was meant for farming and fresh air. But after the pandemic hit, he offered a big chunk of it to the local government, figuring it could be put to good use helping others.

Kim said that “what aches my heart the most” is the reaction of some friends and neighbors to his plan.

“They tell me things like, ’Hey, what the heck are you doing. … Take care of your children first,” Kim said. “But I’ve never had my kids go hungry and I’ve been living happily. … I’m satisfied with my life and can’t just ignore the poor and needy.”

Tutoring the world: A teacher at a public school in Lagos, Nigeria, helped students across the country and abroad learn math remotely during coronavirus lockdowns. Basirat Olamide Ajayi’s free online classes became a lifeline for many children who were kept away from classrooms for months.

Although she misses being in the classroom, Ahayi said she is gratified to be helping so many students: “The more I give, the more society will benefit from me and people can say ‘Mrs. Ajayi has done this to the whole world.’”

“One Good Thing” is a series that highlights individuals whose actions provide glimmers of joy in hard times — stories of people who find a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the collection of stories at https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing

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