"All humans are members of the same body Created from one essence"

"Human beings are members of a whole in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, other members uneasy will remain."

Thursday 6 August 2020

How to help

More than 100 people are dead and 5000 wounded following an explosion in Lebanon's capital city of Beirut. While it is still unclear what caused the explosion, the city is decimated with thousands of residents left homeless. 

How can we help? The Red Cross, CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere), Humanity & Inclusion, International Medical Corps, Save The Children Federation, United States Fund For UNICEF

What happened in Lebanon is devastating. This country was already spiralling, in the midst of a political and currency crisis with accelerating COVID-19 cases. People were going hungry and now the city's largest grain elevator is destroyed in the blast. 

Losing the port of Beirut at this particular moment is terrible! The country is going through the worst economic crisis since the Civil War. There are massive food and fuel shortages. Indeed losing the port in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis is utter devastation. 

The huge explosion in Lebanon's capital of Beirut destroyed tonnes of food stocks, stoking fears of shortages in a nation that imports nearly all its food and is already reeling from economic crisis. 

Life in Lebanon has become unbearable for millions grappling with hyperinflation, unemployment, hunger and electricity blackouts. 

They are ongoing anti-government protests, the economy set to shrink by 12%, hyperinflation, the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, electricity supply crisis, and NOW an explosion at Beirut port that kills over hundred people, and leaves 300,000 people homeless!

Lebanon is suffering. Yemen is still suffering! A quarter of the world's children live in countries by crisis. Crisis in Syria! Crisis in Afghanistan! Crisis in Zimbabwe! Crisis in Libya! Crisis in ...the list is very long! And Climate Crisis! 

There is so much pain, sorrow, and tragedy in the world right now. 

Nearly 7 years of being ravaged by war, the situation in Yemen remains the world's biggest humanitarian and food crisis with 80% of people needing urgent assistance. Cholera and COVID both threaten thousands of lives, including countless children. 

New crisis watch highlights deteriorations in Africa for: Mali, DR Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Mozambique, Nigeria, Zimbabwe,...the list is long!

In Middle East and North Africa: Egypt, Iran, Iraq,Liby, Saudi Arabia, Yemen...the list is long!

Indeed our world is a dangerous place. Wars and other crises are causing immense human suffering. In such an unpredictable world, and one with multiplying threats to stability, all signs point to the need for more goodness in our world. 

Goodness will prevail! Genuine kindness is no ordinary act, but a gift of rare beauty...Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person's life. Perhaps you may be sleeping whilst the doors of Heaven are knocking with tens of supplications for you, by a poor person you aided or a sad person you made happy or a distressed person you brought relief to. Therefore, do not underestimate doing good at all! 

Kindness if free! Sprinkle kindness everywhere!

Every good and kind deed makes a difference, even if you don't see it at first. You cannot do all the good the world needs, but the world needs all the good you can do.

Blowing out someone else's candle will not make yours shine brighter. Remember that! Be good to people for no reason.

Continue to be the kind person you are! Let your light shine! Maya Angelou wrote, "My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart."

Never stop doing the little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts. 

Mother Nature has a trick to get us look after each other. When we are kind or generous or when others are kind or generous to us or even when we witness an act of kindness or generosity, those warm we feel are due to the oxytocin flowing through our bodies. Oxytocin is a powerful hormone and it is known as the hormone that promotes feelings of love, bonding and well-being. 

We may not see the results of our kindness right away, but we need to be kind anyway! Every bit of positive energy we contribute to our world makes it a better place for all of us. The next evolutionary step for humankind is to move from human to kind. If speaking kindly to plants help them grow, imagine what speaking kindly to humans can do!

Small acts of kindness, when multiply by millions of people, can transform our world. When someone is in need and you are in a position to help, it does not have to be a massive gesture. Sometimes you could lend a hearing ear or say a few simple words, just let people know you care.

Return your shopping cart, pick up a piece of trash, hold the door open for the person behind you, let someone in your lane, smile at a stranger...small acts have a ripple effect. That's how we save the world.

I work with some truly fantastic colleagues in school who are equally committed to try and make the world a kinder, better place. Beauty is about having a pretty heart and a beautiful soul. 

Be so positive that negative people don't want to be around you :) 

Kindness is a gift everyone can afford to give. Be the reason someone feels welcome, seen, heard, valued, loved, and supported. Something we endeavor to deliver every day. 

Aesop said, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." 

The words or acts of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey. Being kind does not make you weak. It means you have the strength and power to do what is right. 

While we keep our physical distancing, we still have the power to show love and positivity. One kind act can spread so many more because kindness is contagious. 

Roald Dahl wrote, "Kindness-that simple word. To be kind-it covers everything, to my mind. If you are kind that's it." 

People who love themselves don't hurt other people.

What can you do today to make the world a better place? 

The world is changed by our example not our opinion. 

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