In even the most difficult, heartbreaking situations, there are people who work to make the world a better place.
Here are five stories we loved reading this week that highlight goodness and offer inspiration.
A nightmare ends for the people of Syria | Deseret News
After 13 years of civil war, Syrian rebels entered Damascus earlier this month and ended Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule.
Although the country’s future remains unclear and healing will take years, Syrians are already celebrating the end of Assad’s brutal regime.
In this article, Jacob Hess details the joy and hope Syrians have expressed.
Excerpt: “The joy in videos and interviews has been palpable. ‘Thank God, we’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,’ a younger man, Mohammad Sabahi, told CNN, ‘and we’re all coming out on the street. This is the happiest day for us. We were afraid to go out at night. We’ve been waiting for this.’
“‘Feelings that can’t be described. It’s been 50 years since we suffered injustice, crime and oppression,’ shared an older man, Ahmad Shrabi. ‘This is a priceless moment, an historic moment.’”
Who was Martha Hughes Cannon? | Deseret News
Deseret News reporter Holly Richardson traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to report on the unveiling of Martha Hughes Cannon’s statue in the U.S. Capitol.
Cannon’s story is incredible: She crossed the plains as a pioneer, earned four degrees by age 25, became the resident physician at Deseret Hospital, joined the suffragist movement and ran against her own husband for state Senate and won, becoming the nation’s first female state senator.
Excerpt: “In 1898, she testified in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and gave a similar speech at the Seneca Falls 50th celebration. She told the listeners that ‘The story of the struggle for women’s suffrage in Utah is the story of all efforts for the advancement and betterment of humanity,’ and that ‘the practical working of the law demonstrates its wisdom and verifies the claims which were advanced by its ardent advocates. It has proved to the world that woman is not only a help meet by the fireside, but she can, when allowed to do so, become a most powerful and most potent factor in the affairs of the government.’”
Photo gallery: A Christmas shopping spree for students | Deseret News
The Jordan Education Foundation treated more than 700 students from the Jordan School District to an early Christmas shopping spree last week, and Deseret News photojournalist Isaac Hale documented their fun.
If you want to do something similar to help your community, the Deseret News recently reported that more than 900 families still hope to be sponsored through United Way’s Sub For Santa program. You can either donate to the organization or sponsor a specific family and purchase gifts for their children.
If you happen to pass the Salt Lake County Government Center, you can also stop by and help with their Giving Tree. The tree is decorated with names of elderly Utahns who likely won’t receive presents this year; you take a name, purchase their wished-for item and return it to the center by Dec. 16.
The woman helping amputees rebuild their lives in war-torn Ukraine | BBC
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry, around 50,000 Ukrainians — both soldiers and civilians — have lost limbs in nearly three years of war with Russia. Olga Rudnieva decided to help by founding the Superhumans Center, a private clinic for people with war injuries.
The BBC reports her patients call her “Mum.”
“They learned to walk with their mothers, and I was the second person they learned how to walk with,” she told reporters Zhanna Bezpiatchuk and Anastasiya Gribanova.
Excerpt: “With more than one million people on the front line, Rudnieva says, Ukraine will become ‘the country of people with disabilities.’
“‘We want to normalise disability. OK, that’s how the country is going to look,’ she says, describing the thinking behind her centre. ‘Most of the people here at the centre shouldn’t be alive. The fact that they are is a miracle in itself.’”
120 Miles of Russian Forest Couldn’t Keep These Two Tigers Apart | The New York Times
A little over a decade ago, scientists rescued two orphaned Amur tiger cubs from Russia’s remote Sikhote-Alin mountains. The cubs, named Boris and Svetlaya, were raised in captivity in preparation to return to the wild. At 18 months, the scientists dropped them off 100 miles apart, hoping to increase the species’ range.
Instead, Boris walked toward Svetlaya, over 120 miles away. They reunited, and six months later, they became the happy parents to a litter of cubs.
There are two inspirational stories here. First is the love story of Boris and Svetlaya, which overcame miles of Russian wilderness and mountain passes. The second is that of the Russian scientists working to save endangered species and restore wild tigers to their historical home.
Excerpt: “Just as Boris and Svetlaya’s unlikely partnership has proved critical to the project’s success, the Russian and American scientists hope their efforts may be a model for international conservation cooperation.
“‘It’s a testimony to how really good things can happen when you start working collaboratively irrespective of nationality and politics,’ Dr. Miquelle said.”
Although this article is behind a paywall, Smithsonian Magazine also reported on the story.