Category Archives: #WATWB

#WATWB Plans for a New School — Out of Pain comes Hope

On the last Friday of each month We Are the World Blogfest invites bloggers to join together in promoting positive news. This month, I’m delighted to be able to join in and share these plans for an innovative future school that will help Indigenous Australians to have the same level of wellbeing and life opportunities as non-Indigenous Australians.

The Garma Festival, organised by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, is usually held at the end of July. This year, for the first time in its 22-year history, like so many other things, the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

However, the Garma Festival is not the only project of the Yothu Yindi Foundation. While they have not be so focussed on the Garma Festival, they have been able to give more consideration to the establishment of a secondary school on the site on which the Garma Festival is held.

The intention is for the school to be bilingual, teaching children in English as well as their first language. Achievement of the goal won’t be easy and faces many challenges but, I’m sure, you will join with me in wishing them success.

#WATWB Age is no barrier

26 Replies

On the last Friday of each month We Are the World Blogfest invites bloggers to join together in promoting positive news. I haven’t been able to join in for a while, but I’m pleased to share this good news story with you today. There are certainly a lot of good news stories coming out of the pandemic, stories of neighbours helping neighbours, but this one particularly appealed to me as it shows what a difference everyone, including a child, can make.

In the Uk, Nahla, an 8-year-old girl, has been using her pocket money and a 3D printer to make masks for health care workers. I think that shows great compassion and initiative. Read the story and view the video here.

The cohosts this month are Susan Scott, Lizbeth Hartz, Shilpa Garg, Mary Giese and Damyanti Biswas.

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB Trio recognised for reducing poverty for 60 million people

49 Replies

It’s the end of the month again, so time to share good news and spread some joy throughout the world with the We Are the World Blogfest (#WATWB).

This month I am sharing the news of three US economists who were awarded the 2019 Nobel Economics prize for their work in fighting poverty. The three economists are Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer. In the 50-year history of the Economics prize, Esther Duflo is the youngest, and only the second female, to be awarded the prize.

The focus of the work for which the prize was awarded is education and healthcare. Over 60 Million children in Africa and India have benefited from the work.

Read the whole story here.

Click here to read more good news stories shared by other #WATWB bloggers.

If you like to spread good news, you can join in too and help us make critical mass.

As founders of #WATWB say, our newsfeeds often overflow with disasters and tragedies of all sizes, from large to small, that may overwhelm us with feelings of hopelessness and a loss of faith in the goodness of humanity. WATWB aims to combat those feelings with good news stories. They say, “There are many an oasis of love and light out there, stories that show compassion and the resilience of the human spirit. Sharing these stories increases our awareness of hope in our increasingly dark world.”

If you would like to join in with #WATWB, here are the guidelines:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

2. Link to a human news story on your blog, one that shows love, humanity, and brotherhood. Paste in an excerpt and tell us why it touched you. The Link is important, because it actually makes us look through news to find the positive ones to post.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

Tweets, Facebook shares, Pins, Instagram, G+ shares using the #WATWB hashtag through the month most welcome. We’ll try and follow and share all those who post on the #WATWB hashtag, and we encourage you to do the same.

The co-hosts for this month are:

Sylvia McGrath, Lizbeth Hartz, Shilpa Garg, Mary Giese, and Belinda Witzenhausen.

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter your link on the Facebook page. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB Step positively into the future

36 Replies

I love to share good news and try to have a positive, though realistic, outlook on life and the world. It’s the reason I join in with the We Are the World Blogfest (#WATWB) on the last Friday of each month. If you like to spread good news, you can join in too. The more the merrier.

Our newsfeeds often overflow with disasters and tragedies of all sizes, from large to small, that may overwhelm us with feelings of hopelessness and a loss of faith in the goodness of humanity. WATWB aims to combat that feeling with good news stories. They say, “There are many an oasis of love and light out there, stories that show compassion and the resilience of the human spirit. Sharing these stories increases our awareness of hope in our increasingly dark world.”

This month I am sharing a story that says that while humans may be pessimistic by nature, the outlook for the future is not all bad. We are confronted daily with damage that we humans have wrought upon our Earth. Can we be meliorists and believe that we can also change the world for better? I’m certainly hoping so.

The article, Why we see the past through rose-coloured glasses, but not the future, reports the views of Steven Pinker, a Harvard psychologist (also referred to in the article to which I linked above). Pinker says that we are losing perspective and failing to make decisions that will positively impact our future. He says that many things now are much better than they were in the past; for example, life expectancy, infant mortality, fewer people living in poverty, higher rates of literacy worldwide. His views are supported by many other researchers who all agree that we need to have hope, that pessimism will not carry us forward, that we need to take actions to create a positive future.

I think we need to be meliorists and believe we can change the world for the better and take steps to ensure it is so. Spreading good news and combating the darkness through projects such as WATWB is one small contribution we can make.

Click here to read the whole article.

If you would like to join in with #WATWB, here are the guidelines:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

5. Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

The co-hosts for this month are:

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter your link on the Facebook page. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB Learning to code and a local Aboriginal language from a robot

26 Replies

On the last Friday of each month We Are the World Blogfest invites bloggers to join together in promoting positive news. I join in as often as I can as we need to look beyond the alarmist headlines and see all the good that is happening in the world. If you would like to join in, please check out the rules and links below.

This year is the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

I have already shared three good news stories that complement the year’s theme:

A mindfulness app for Indigenous communities

Engagement through music and song

New Indigenous Doll to Foster Understanding

This month I am adding another about a small robot named Pink that is being used to help children learn the local Aboriginal language at the same time as they learn to code. Interactions with the robot have been found to involve deep learning of both languages and an understanding of and appreciation for the traditional and new cultures. Many in the community have become involved and a new pride in the traditional culture of the area has developed.

Click to read the whole article: How a robot called Pink helped teach school children an Aboriginal language.

As stated by #WATWB, “There are many an oasis of love and light out there, stories that show compassion and the resilience of the human spirit. Sharing these stories increases our awareness of hope in our increasingly dark world.”

I think we can always do with more good news stories so please join in and share positive stories you have found.

Here are the guidelines for #WATWB:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

5. Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

The co-hosts this month:

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to paste the link to your post in the Facebook group. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB New Indigenous doll to foster understanding

27 Replies

On the last Friday of each month, We Are the World Blogfest invites bloggers to join together in promoting positive news. I join in as often as I can as we need to look beyond the alarmist headlines and see all the good that is happening in the world. If you would like to join in, please check out the rules and links below.

This month, I am sharing a story that I think is long overdue. In celebration of NAIDOC Week at the beginning of July, Play School, a television show for young children, added an Indigenous doll to its collection. The doll’s name Kiya means ‘Hello’ in Noongar language from Noongar country in Western Australia.

Kiya is a modern Aboriginal girl doll and will remain part of the show’s collection to foster understanding of Aboriginal culture and respect for country.

I think it is a fabulous addition to the show and is especially significant this year, The International Year of Indigenous Languages.

Click to read the whole article: Play School reveals Indigenous doll Kiya for NAIDOC Week.

I think the world could do with some more light at the moment. Please join in and share positive stories to lift the clouds.

Here are the guidelines for #WATWB:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

5. Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

The cohosts this month:
Shilpa Garg

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter the link to your post. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB Engagement through music and song

32 Replies

This month I am sharing a story of a small community in Western Australia that is using music and song to engage at-risk Indigenous youth. Since the town was established in 1992, the community has been suicide-free, reversing a trend that is all too common in Aboriginal communities.

The song in this video was written and recorded by the children of the town with the support of the youth engagement coordinator, Robert Binsiar. It is a song about their lives and their town.

Click to read the whole article:

WA town using music to engage at-risk Indigenous kids and keep town suicide free

I think the world could do with some more light at the moment. Please join in and share positive stories to lift the clouds.

Here are the guidelines for #WATWB:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

5. Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

The co-hosts this month:
Sylvia McGrath,
Susan Scott,
Shilpa Garg,
Eric Lahti,
and Belinda Witzenhausen.

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter the link to your post. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB Repaying the debt forward

30 Replies

On the last Friday of each month We Are the World Blogfest invites bloggers to join together in promoting positive news. If you would like to join in, please check out the rules and links below.

This month I am sharing a story of a philanthropist who paid off the college loans for almost 400 students at an estimated cost of approximately $US40 million. All that Robert F. Smith (a self-made millionaire through investments in technology) asked of the students was that they “pay it forward”.

Click to read the whole article:

Billionaire to pay off entire graduating class’s student debts

I think the world could do with some more light at the moment. Please join in and share positive stories to lift the clouds.

Here are the guidelines for #WATWB:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

2. Link to a human news story on your blog, one that shows love, humanity, and brotherhood. Paste in an excerpt and tell us why it touched you. The Link is important, because it actually makes us look through news to find the positive ones to post.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

Tweets, Facebook shares, Pins, Instagram, G+ shares using the #WATWB hashtag through the month most welcome. We’ll try and follow and share all those who post on the #WATWB hashtag, and we encourage you to do the same.

The co-hosts for this month are:

Damyanti Biswas,
Simon Falk,
Shilpa Garg,
Mary J. Giese ,
and Dan Antion.

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter the link to your post. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB A mindfulness app for Indigenous Communities

36 Replies

For the past two years, on the last Friday of each month, We Are the World Blogfest has invited bloggers to join together in promoting positive news. This month they are celebrating their second anniversary. Now that’s an achievement. Thank you for helping to spread light on the world.

If you would like to join in by sharing “stories that show compassion and the resilience of the human spirit . . . (to increase) our awareness of hope in our increasingly dark world”, please check out the rules and links below.

This month, I am sharing a news article about Aboriginal women who created a mindfulness app in their own languages with the aim of improving mental health in Aboriginal communities.

Mental health and suicide, especially among young people, is a major issue for many Aboriginal communities. What I like about this project is that it is empowering the local communities to take actions that will contribute to improvements. That this is occurring in the International Year of Indigenous Languages, makes this project even more special.

The app combines singing, meditation and breathing exercises and combines ancient wisdom with western knowledge of mental health.

To find out more about this wonderful project, click here.

Here are the guidelines for #WATWB:

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

5. Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

Tweets, Facebook shares, Pins, Instagram, shares using the #WATWB hashtag through the month are most welcome. We’ll try and follow and share all those who post on the #WATWB hashtag, and we encourage you to do the same.

The co-hosts for this month are:

Sylvia McGrath,
Damyanti Biswas,
Shilpa Garg,
Dan Antion,
and Belinda Witzenhausen

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter the link to your post. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

#WATWB Helping neighbours in need

47 Replies

On the last Friday of each month, We Are the World Blogfest invites bloggers to join together in promoting positive news.

“There are many an oasis of love and light out there, stories that show compassion and the resilience of the human spirit. Sharing these stories increases our awareness of hope in our increasingly dark world.”

During the first weeks of this year, Australia has been hit by unprecedented and devastating weather events all over the country, including bushfires, droughts, drenching rain and floods. While these events cause heartbreak for many and will take countless years for full recovery, they also provide an opportunity for bringing out the best in people.

When the drought-stricken North Queensland city of Townsville was hit with a deluge, people quickly reached out to others in need, even as they waited for help themselves.

This month I am sharing an inspiring story of a Townsville family who opened their home to “more than 60 flood-stricken people and their pets … as they waited to be rescued from rising floodwaters”.

Click here to read the whole article.

If you would like to join in, please check out the rules and links below.

Guidelines

1. Keep your post to Below 500 words, as much as possible.

3. No story is too big or small, as long as it Goes Beyond religion and politics, into the core of humanity.

4. Place the WE ARE THE WORLD badge or banner on your Post and your Sidebar. Some of you have already done so, this is just a gentle reminder for the others.

5. Help us spread the word on social media. Feel free to tweet, share using the #WATWB hashtag to help us trend!

The co-hosts for this month are:

Sylvia McGrath
Peter Nena
Shilpa Garg
Inderpreet Uppal
and Belinda Witzenhausen.

Please pop over to their blogs to read their stories, comment and share.

Click here to join in and enter the link to your post. The bigger the #WATWB group each month, the greater the joy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

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Live Love Laugh Learn . . . Create the possibilities

Category Archives: #WATWB

#WATWB Plans for a New School — Out of Pain comes Hope

#WATWB Age is no barrier

#WATWB Trio recognised for reducing poverty for 60 million people

If you would like to join in with #WATWB, here are the guidelines:

#WATWB Step positively into the future

#WATWB Learning to code and a local Aboriginal language from a robot

#WATWB New Indigenous doll to foster understanding

Here are the guidelines for #WATWB:

#WATWB Engagement through music and song

#WATWB Repaying the debt forward

#WATWB A mindfulness app for Indigenous Communities

#WATWB Helping neighbours in need

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