My Communities

The story of an orphan girl that I told to my audiences to raise funds

a story i found really powerful is the creation story in the bible because it is mysterious and supernatural while trying to give us an explanation of how the world began

A story I found really powerful was about young children pursuing their dreams with limited resources. It made me feel hopeful about the future.

A story I found powerful was of a young child starting school without being able to read and having no books at home. I felt his struggle to understand and catch up with others, and gratitude for my own ability to read and how I was encouraged at home. The story was relatable and moved me to buy a 'Reader Starter Kit' for moms and young children, through the city library.

I like that you included the person's name - makes the story more human and compelling.

I believe the stories we tell have great impact on our listeners. The same way, the stories we listen to have great impact on our lives as well. A story that motivated me was a story of a young school girl who did not like going to school because her peers teased her for coming to school with a tattered uniform but after an NGO stepped in and gave her just a school uniform, she never missed school. Her story taught me that we do not really need to do great things to change lives rather the littles things we do in great ways will change lives for the better

This is really interesting and its great that you allowed yourself to be moved by this story.

well done Swatil. Its great to be successful in our endeavors. I wish you more success ahead.

@andishanti said in Module 1 Discussion: The Power of Stories:

What made this so memorable for me is that a bond will never broken, it made me feel as if i am the one in the story after i read the story, this story did compel me to do good thing and believe in miracle and good luck.

Good

Right I think same

A story that i found powerful was that of young girls who would not attend school when they would experience their monthly menstrual cycles as a result of not affording sanitary towels. What also moved me was that they would go to the extreme of selling their bodies to older men in order to afford the sanitary towels. It made me feel sad because i did put myself in their position and that is when i made a decision to reach out to the government offices and make the story known through my social media platforms.

A story that I heard is that of my mother, she told me how difficult it was for her when she carried me, and that my father asked her to abort me. This story gives me so much strength to work to become someone useful, it gives me strength to help others too and I realize how important my life is and how much also my mother loves me.

A story I found really powerful was the trafficking of disabled children from Tanzania to Kenya. It made me feel sad and angry at the same time. Given an opportunity, I would like to help save them and return them back to their beloved families.

A story I found was really powerfully was of this guy who had completed his campus as an engineer, he had no place he could get a job, this forced him to work in a restaurant as a cleaner and cook as he could do this daily, he could usually take the left overs at home for his dog every evening and he could do this daily after work for good months, the manager was fine with it for the boy to take these left overs for his dog as he was a good and obedient worker but little did he know that these left overs where supper and dinner for this young man as he had no dog and slept down town in ghettos, this young man did this for survival, luck combined with Gods grace combined, hotels electrician was ill and didn't appear to repair what was to be repaired, with his knowledge the young man intervened and repaired all that was required perfectly and the boss was happy and the young man did this for part time, as per now the young man is happily married with two kids as a district engineer, It made me feel attached emotionally as a young university student who was pursuing my bachelors and also motivated me to keep going hard not to give up.

A story I found really powerful was about the plight of pregnant teenage girls that had no place to call home after being thrown out by their parents and relatives. Listening to their stories made me feel a sense of responsibility towards their situation. Hence, I started a shelter for teenage girls. This shelter caters for different categories of girls. They include, pregnant teenage girls, run away teenage girls due to violence or harsh cultural norms like female genital mutilation/cutting, and school dropout girls.
We take these girls through mentorship, guidance & counselling, and capacity building to enhance their skill set. We hope do to more in the future and even include the boys in our programs.

A story I really found powerful was about a bright young lady whom I initially found attractive upon seeing her because of her grace and intelligence. She told me about how she was birthed out of wedlock and how her present family took her in as their own. Immediately, the likeness I had for her grew into extreme love and compassion.

Wow such a captivating story and a tremendous reaction. I love the fact that you intend to include the boys because they are mostly the once who abuse the girls. I want to believe this is due to their background, environment and upbringing. sensitizing them when they are young will be instrumental in reducing the cases of abuse on the females.

A story I found powerful was that of a widow who was hospitalized due to a terminal illness she had that lingered for over 2 decades. she was unable to function normally in the society, get a job and take care of her 3 children as a result of which her children dropped out of school and have since then been able to acquire any formal education.
This made me feel pity for the family and I had to start up a campaign in the community to raise funds and settle her hospital bills.

Research tells us that when a story effectively transports us into the world of its characters, it can actually change our beliefs and willingness to act. Furthermore, when selecting the right story, we need to make sure the emotions it elicits connect to our impact goals. And I feel like the more people share stories the more they inspire each other.

The story is very impressive and motivating. It made me feel touched. He thought very much about his future.

A story that i found really impactful for me was the author of harry potter.

A story I found powerful was one told to me recently. At a nonprofit annual gala, one that helped people through addiction recovery, and older gentleman stood up. He said all his life he'd tried to do it his way. But the day he walked through the nonprofit's doors he surrendered. Just surrendered it all. He figured after 68 years, his way obviously wasn't working and he was going to let someone else tell him how to do it.

It was told with humor, but it also sort of spoke to something in myself, too. I think we can all remember some time when we just banged our head against the wall over and over. What it made me feel, was empathy, and even a little bit of wisdom that I was privileged to be party to.

I can see how this story moved you to act. It could happen to any of us. Sometimes I think the power of stories is it wakes us up to how others, that face hard times, simply had a different circumstance than ourselves. Thank you for sharing!

A mother elephant stuck herself in a hole, for days, to milk her toddler elephant, which had fallen into the hole.

Villegers learned about that and worked together to save the elephants.

It made me feel happy and touched.

A story I found really powerful was the Cheshire Homes. Captain Leonard Cheshire was one of the team members of the infamous Hiroshima, Nagasaki bombings during the world war II. After seeing the horrific scenes of the after effects of atomic bombs, he became a philanthropist.
In of the wars, Leonard Cheshire took a dying man, who had nowhere else to go, into his home. Leonard nursed the man himself in his home of Le Court in Hampshire. They became friends and this act of kindness prompted more people to go to Leonard for help. People were keen to share a home with others and support each other.

He later started the chains of homes called Cheshire Homes across the globe.

His story made me feel about the importance of helping a physically/mentally challenged person and lead me to closely involved with this organisation in Bangalore from last couple decades.

I’ve seen a brand called Phool Co. tell a great story. Its about how tons of flowers offered by devotees in temples end up polluting rivers and how this company collects temple flowers and makes incense sticks and other luxury scents from them.
The fact that it is connected to flowers, something so pretty converted to an incense stick in my house, sounds like a great idea to me instead of it going to the rivers to pollute the water.
What emotionally appealed to me was how the company employs women who were earlier engaged in manual scavenging. They now deal with flowers, make amazing fragrant things with flowers, that too flowers which to them are holy because they’re temple flowers. It is the exact opposite of what they were doing earlier, a complete transformation of their lives.
I started researching more about this company after seeing their Instagram posts. Their posts had artwork, amazing artwork about powerful women, about mother nature. They made colourful illustrations and wrote description about the illustrations, which tied the pictures to bigger concepts such as feminism, nature and artistic power.

A story i found really powerful was the story of an Abandoned Baby in a pit hole which made me feel devastated . that morning on the 5 of August 2022 ,in the early hours of the day in a neighbouring community where members of that house were all standing and some where crying while others whispered about the shocking discovery . I was still in my bed when i heard a sudden knock at my door i gently woke up and reached to open my door to see who was knocking and why . That was when i heard one my neighbour shouting and crying in despair and pain , I was confused at first but later understood what the scenario was about . Behold an abandoned baby was found in a pit hole behind a house .

Few days back, I have seen a video where there's a guy walking down the street and passing by many strangers who daily works there.
The way the people were looking at that guy is like they are not comfortable in welcoming someone new to their area.
The guy notices the expressions of the people.
The very next day he decides to do small good deeds without expecting any appreciation in return.
The guy starts helping old people cross roads, saying hi to everyone with a broad smile, watering the plants of the area and so more.
Days passed and one day the rude expressions of the people melted when the guy was in need and looking sad.
The people consoled him offered him food and had a conversation with him to comfort him.

This story left a huge impact on me that being good at heart is all that matters.
Doing good brings good to you when needed.

I really found it nice that this story is motivating people to help more and more people.
Literally, there is no age or time to bring change, change whenever you feel and the world will be there to support.

A few years ago, there was a story I heard of a baby boy who'd been terribly ill for majoritiy of his short life. To help improve his condition, he needed to have surgery out of the country. Considering this was a major, complicated surgery, the costs involved were incredibly high, so his family set up a Gofund me online. Just reading about everything this boy had been through in his short life broke my heart. I made a donation to the campaign, and then I started gathering money as well from my family and friends around me as more of a donation. This was the first time I had ever donated to a Gofund me - one I'll never forget.

That's incredible!

I would like to share the story of June, a baby elephant, who lost his toes and his family. June
was found and rescued by York Don, Vietnam, in early 2015. When found, Jun was still trapped in a snare despite repeated attempts to escape and suffered a severely injured front leg and trunk. Jun's toes and part of his heel had to be amputated due to infection, and his trunk was permanently damaged.

Do you know elephants are one of the most intelligent and affectionate animals on the planet? With bright eyes and a beautiful pair of tusks, Jun could have lived happily in the wild as a mighty herd leader. But now, he has to live in the Rescue Centre and can never return to the wild.

Are you willing to take action to stop loggers and protect elephants like June?

A story I found really powerful was that of a woman who literally lost everything due to issues beyond her control and had to start her life afresh after. It made me feel sad, and see the need to be grateful for even the little things you had. She was getting her life back together when I spoke to her but she looked very happy and was grateful for where her life was at. It made me see the need to kinder to people. You do not know what they have been through. It made also decide to give more in my own way.

This is so sad. Thank you for sharing.

A story i found really powerful was the story of the people of a remote village in Africa. . the villagers had no safe drinking water. Cholera was very rampant and people were dying daily. Even worse was the absence of clinics.
This story made me feel sad, emotional because i can only imagine how sad the lives of the villagers was.

A story I found to be empowering was of a certain public official whose initiative towards improving the working conditions of his collectorate office by reorganizing the filing system and weeding out dump files was so inspiring that his model received nationwide applause.

A story I found really powerful is actually a life story. It's about the citizens who died in the lekki mass slaughter in Nigerian. The people stepped out to protest against SARS and on that fateful day, the police opened fire on the unarmed people. Innocent people died and when they were being shot at , they were singing the national anthem. It made me feel really terrible and actually overcome patriotic apathy. I made up my mind to be involved in the matters of this country till the evil is stopped

A story I found was powerful because it is full of emotions and feelings. That is how the man in the story made Mario and after her death, he contacted her daughter. It depicts the sentiments of one person from the other. Also, the price of Mario only increases because of the feelings that are attached to Mario.

I've heard tons of powerful stories recently as we are at war now and I can't tell you which one is the most impressive. But this time I'd like to recall the story of a cat named Glory who was rescued from the seventh floor of a building in Borodianka that was bombed by Russian troops during the invasion of Ukraine, where she lived for about two months without food and water. These brave men from the rescue team did their best to pick up the cat and return her to her owner.
Such examples of strength, unconditional love and devotion are seen here every day and these are the stories that craft the nation.
Rescue_of_a_cat_in_Borodianka,_2_May_2022.jpeg

@binhnguyen said in Module 1 Discussion: The Power of Stories:

I would like to share the story of June, a baby elephant, who lost his toes and his family. June
was found and rescued by York Don, Vietnam, in early 2015. When found, Jun was still trapped in a snare despite repeated attempts to escape and suffered a severely injured front leg and trunk. Jun's toes and part of his heel had to be amputated due to infection, and his trunk was permanently damaged.

Do you know elephants are one of the most intelligent and affectionate animals on the planet? With bright eyes and a beautiful pair of tusks, Jun could have lived happily in the wild as a mighty herd leader. But now, he has to live in the Rescue Centre and can never return to the wild.

Are you willing to take action to stop loggers and protect elephants like June?

Binh Nguyen, this story resonates with me so much, as I believe we have to protect and help the animals instead of damaging their habitat and threatening their existence.

A story I found really powerful was ________. It made me feel _______ ."

A story i found really powerful was in advocacy on cervical cancer, it made me feel i should be part of the advocacy team, move across near by communities and educate them about the disease since it is 100% preventable.

The story that I found powerful and compelling imaginations and emotions is youth empowerment through talent search and skill development. In search of of talent and developing skills in youths seasonal camps were scheduled far away from their local places, quiet and far from town where there is no chance of distractions. The institute involved organized a wide range of mentors to bring out the best in youths, these camps lasted for 3 months with seasons of classes, one on one talks, adventure tours in the forest, boat cruising , football and many other games. Via all these exercises youths where drawn into groups depending on their passion. After skills and talents were discovered classes for developing them began which were very intensive after the end of a camp all youths were empowered with resources after a check it was was discovered that over 90% of youths prospered as compared to what they were. I found this story so interesting because before providing resources to youths they were prepared to prosper unlike if it was just given out it certain that the percentage would drop greatly.

A story that I found really powerful was quite sad, it was the story of a little girl who lost both her parents very young, and who subsequently was wandered around her whole family and everyone found her a default: witch, thief, and so on. This has always revolted me and made me make several decisions: it is true that life and death do not depend on us but I will do my best to live a very long time and above all to avoid catching HIV

A story that had a huge unpact on me was for a regional park agency. They referred back to their founding in 1934 during the depths of the depression when citizens voted to tax themselves (during extremely difficult economic times) to create a park agency to preserve natural lands and give people access to outdoor recreation activities close to home. It made me feel that if I'd been born I too would have been part of that as all the citizens were, and that I and everyone has a part in the parks now and in the future. Parks are for all!

A story i really found powerful was "A set back is a set up for a comeback", it made me feel encouraged when i was losing hope.

A story of social impact is of an NGO who educates and empowers first generation girls in a rural village in Himachal Pradesh to work in corporate careers. One of the first generation student, let's call her "Laila" (name changed for privacy), one of the beneficiary of the NGOs pedagogy and program was chosen as a panelist in an important event. She is the first woman in the her community in her village (to have a salary and a career pathway as a development practitioner. She was invited as a panelist to discuss gender issues.

This story led me to believe the impact an NGO can have on the lives of young people in rural areas.

The memory of Madam Martha's last days on earth will forever live with me. She was 87 years at the time she told me her story and she had to endure the pain of having both legs off until her passing in the year 2014 when when turned 89.
She told me that all her children had left the village to make a living in the cities and no member of the extended family cared about providing any of her needs. Weakened from old age and having no legs to walk on, she had to crawl on the ground like a child to reach out to anything she wanted to pick; be it her chamber pot for pooping, or the jug for drinking water. As for food, how could she cook? She told me it was a certain female teacher newly posted to the village who would bring her something before she would eat. On occasions when the teacher would travel to the city on vacation, Martha literally starved. Besides the pungent stench in her room, bed bugs, cockroaches and mice made her nights sleepless.
From the time I encounter her, heard her story and experienced her living conditions myself, I was cut to the heart. I would spend much of my days thinking deep about how I could change her situation and that of the many others whose situations were not any different from that of Martha. Of course I did the little I could for Martha anytime I visited her including donating some food items and money to the teacher who had been cooking for her.
However, my biggest move towards this story of Martha and that of the several others I had heard or witnessed myself is the founding of Blessed Age Foundation as a non-profit organization with the sole aim changing the living conditions of poor and neglected old folks in Ghana. Thank you.

One story that I found really powerful was that of a woman who was born without arms but had and cared for children.
It made me feel grateful for life and pushes me to love what I have because it takes immeasurable power to brave what diminishes us.
Normally, I complain when I lack this or that, but since then I avoid because I know that in all circumstances there can be someone who has a worse situation than mine.

In March this year I received some visitors at the office. I thereafter wrote this about one of them:

Margret Wairimu cleared class eight in 2015 at a public primary school in Muranga County. She secured a slot at Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls in Nyeri County. It took a Wings to Fly Scholarship for her to be able to join BG Ngandu. The golden chance meant everything for and so she worked extremely hard.

In 2019 she sat for KCSE and scored an impressive A- (minus). She was looking forward to joining campus in 2020. It never happened.

Seeing how her mum was struggling she decided to move around asking for help. She has been to offices, banks and even churches. No help came forth.

She decided to look for the job itself. She moved to Kikuyu town where she was employed as a cook in a makeshift eatery. It didn't go for long though. She could hardly pay her own rent. She then moved to Nyeri where she teamed up with another girl she had schooled with in the past. At least they could share rent. She was working in a butchery to serve soup. Her friend later lost a relative, a situation that made both of them unable to continue working. They all moved back to their relatives.

Again she tried a third option. She was employed as a house girl at Kenyatta Road in Kiambu County. But one day she woke up and decided to go back and look for her former secondary school friends and see if their relatives could help salvage her situation.

One of her high school friends could not hold back tears when she learned her best friend had not joined school while she herself is already in second year. She started pestering her mother to talk to whoever she could.

We have been up and about to find a solution for Margaret. Weeks and months of visiting, calling and pleading with different offices. Months of waiting patiently. We needed Margaret in class.

And yesterday she got admission to JKUAT school of medicine. Just a few hours to the deadline.

We are happy she now has a chance to recover what she may have lost for the years she has been out there trying to find her way.

Thanks for patiently reading this post. It was meant for you. I am requesting your support to help the young lady settle.

I am sharing her details below so you can with a heart of love send a donation to encourage her that all is not lost. Her story is about to change.

I was very touched by a story about fistula repairs in Madagascar and South Sudan. While this is happening in many places around the world, an NGO that works in those areas in collaboration with a fistula repair organization was highlighting the difference it makes for women who receive those repairs. Prior to that the women are often ostracized from their community but after a simple procedure are able to live a normal life. It touches me because of the many forces that impact women in communities where they are not able to make their own choices. It resonates with my own disempowerment growing up with a father who believed/believes women should be submissive. The story of women's liberation from the stigmas and challenges of the fistulas makes me feel encouraged and eager to help more women.

I appreciate this story of hope and persistence. While the NGO is significant in how it helps, the women's tenacity and vision is also very inspiring.

A story I found really powerful was about the issue of hygiene poverty in UK. 50% of teachers interviewed said they have witnessed children being bullied because of hygiene issues .It made me feel quite shocked that such issue exists.

It reminded me of Nick Vujicic from Australia who is an motivational speaker

This is a cause that is dear to my heart. Thank you for sharing.

A story I found really powerful was about an elephant who wasn't restrained by a rope or other object so that he could escape. However, this elephant never attempted to flee even after he was freed. According to a caretaker, the elephant was previously tethered and would frequently attempt to escape, but he was unable to free himself and eventually gave up. He now believes that effort is pointless. It helped me come to terms with things, relate to my own life, and broaden my perspective.

Interesting

The story I found most powerfull was told by a NGO on how the are saving lives of young girl diagnise with cancer facing surgery but she and her poor mother could not afford the bill .This story of this young girl and her poor single mum touched me emotionaly and I was moved to create fundrasing with my facebook account for her.

The story that I found powerful was the slum to school story, the organisation told the story of how they used the game of chess to change the lives of children living in slums.

A story I found really powerful was about an older man in Mongolia who participated in one of our trainings. It made me feel really connected to him when his face went from very hard and stone-like to soft and emotional. Tears streamed down his face as he told us his memories from school as a young boy. His teachers taught with authority and sternness. They did not value his opinions or understanding. He went through life believing that his opinions were not worthy or valued. He felt less than, until in his 50s, he joined our participatory training where our primary focus was drawing out the ideas and potential of the learners. As tears streamed down his face, he told us this was the first time he felt valued.

I will never forget this situation because he was emotionless somewhat reserved for 2 days. The overall look on his face throughout the 2 days made me think that he hated our training and felt annoyed by our methods. So, when he opened up and shared how deeply he'd been impacted, it was like a jolt to my system! I felt so much joy for the newfound value he felt as a human being that I nearly cried myself.

Traveling and being away from my family for weeks at a time was very challenging, but when I can see and experience the deep impact on someone's life it really renewed my energy and motivation to carry on.

Yes, creating that emotional connection is critical in getting people behind a cause.

A story that I found compelling was of a person with disabilities that my organization supports becoming an honorary member of his local fire department. (Here's a cliff's notes version)

As a child, the boy used to ride his bike past the fire department every day and camp out until the sirens would go off. He would then tail the trucks on his bike and watch the firefighters spring into action. One day one of the firefighters noticed him and invited him into the firehouse. The boy got a tour of the facility and got to try on one of the guy's helmets. The boy, who has developmental disabilities then said, "maybe now I'll make some friends." From that moment on he was adopted into the fire department's family and became one of them. After 17 years of sweeping up the station, washing the trucks and shadowing training, the boy was named an honorary member of the department.

This story was one of my favorite stories to tell because it served as a perfect example of what my organization tries to do by providing enviable lives to adults and children with learning and developmental disabilities. This story makes me feel so proud of my organization and of my community.

The story I found very powerful is the story of women vendors' experiences in the vending streets. I was told the story by an employee who works with an NGO which supports women vendors in cities. The story was about challenges and hardships, including sexual assaults women face in the streets when buying the materials for their business and during vending. Also, the story described the resilience of women from abuse trauma and continued with the business supported by that NGO.
The story brought emotions to me that led to starting to volunteer the projects that increase women's livelihoods. As we can start small, with time, we will be able to help more women economically.

action always beats the inaction. If you know a lot about a particular area but you do nothing is useless.

A story I found really powerful was a testimonial by a member of the alumni body from the Public Leaders Capacity Building programme organised and funded by the Foundation I work with.

The foundation is focused on improving public service delivery in Africa. I had just joined the Foundation at the time the testimonial was sent in. The Testimonial was so detailed with emotion-laden words of gratitude to the Foundation. The alumni in question explained how the training had granted her a long-awaited promotion at work and how she is now due for a national award.

The story made me feel like I was part of a mission bigger than myself and it gave me a fresh sense of commitment and dedication to the vision of the Foundation. It has been three months working here and my commitment to the Foundation has only grown stronger over the period.

Awesome story. Thank you for sharing.

Months back, I was moderating a focus group discussion for developing project's post distribution monitoring report with a number of beneficiaries who were assisted by my employer organization. The beneficiaries were seen more affected and vulnerable by recent conflicts. They were asked by me to share details about factors caused of these troubles.
The beneficiaries started reluctantly by complaining from both sides of conflict who were supported by neighboring countries and western countries, respectively. They added, "each family from this community lost or injured at least one family member from because of the conflict." The mentioned that more than 99% of households are on the verge of straving. "Adults just eat one time to spare food for their children", they told. Respondents added that even few households sold one one child on human trafficing mafia for abtaining money to procure food for their other children to not strave.
These stories made me upset to the extent that I lost my sleep. I ever never forget the humble eyes of the beneficiaries who in their eyes asked for the next phase of the assistance.

Wow, I am really touched by this story because most of the times, people with disabilities are easily written off and regarded as people who can not offer any thing to the society. I'm glad from this story that this was an opportunity for people with disabilities to explore the world.

This is so sad. Thank you for sharing.

A story I found really powerful was about the donkey that fell down a Well. The donkey was old and the farmer thought he would leave him there, the sad donkey cried. The farmer invited his friends to come and fill the Well with soil. The donkey went quiet. After many shovels of dirt the farmer looked down the Well and saw that with each shovel of dirt that hit the donkeys back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. Eventually the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off! The story taught me don't give up easily, try to be more resilient like the donkey, shake the dirt off and take a step ahead. It made me feel I could do that too.

the story which made me feel pity, broken and unfair. I regularly see how street sanitation workers do their job during very hot summers and cold winters. Once when I was going to work, I saw that one woman was in a very bad mood, she was heavily breathing. I asked if I could help, and she said that she needs water. I noticed an accent in her speech, I gave her water and asked, whether she is from another state or belongs to another nationality. She said that she is from another state and works here instead of a street sweeper who is legally registered as an employee in the sanitation department. I did not understand. She said that she was not able to find a job in her state, that she had 3 children, and that her husband was in jail. She came to the capital city to work as a street sweeper instead of a legal street sweeper person and that person gives her half of his salary. She said that she is not the only one who does it, there were a lot of people from provinces who come and work like that. I felt really bad.

Thanks for sharing such a powerful story. It tells me about the importance of caring and loving, as well as focusing on the right things can drive to better outcomes in live.

I was once worked at a Non-profit organization that provides health care to pregnant women in poor communities, supports the girl child in these communities with full scholarship opportunities and also helps to raise awareness about breast cancer as well as provide quality affordable care to women who have/had breast cancer. The foundation was created to honor the founder's wife who lost her life to breast cancer unfortunately.

I heard that in the final months of her life on earth, she spent them carefully planning out what would go on to be the organization that exists right now. The more time I spent working at the organization, the sooner I discovered that the NGO was established as her dying wish. I also learned that every objective and goal of this foundation was based on things that had directly or indirectly affected her, even till death.

I found this story really powerful because it made me feel that having compassion, taking action, choosing to care for others, are the types of things that make the world a better a place. It also gave me a different perspective about life especially when I listened to people talk about how amazing the deceased was while on earth.

There's always a sense of joy and accomplishment that comes from being a part of something bigger than yourself. Glad you have an opportunity to experience this!

A story I found really powerful was about a family who made it our of poverty. It made me feel hopeful for a better future.

A story I found really powerful was one that I wrote for a newspaper. It made me to feel how just a little help can turn someone's life around.
The Pit Latrine a treasure?
When one hears of treasure, what normally comes to mind are expensive jewelry made of gold, diamonds and silver, or a chest filled with gold coins and silver coins or better still a chest of precious stones such as rubies, sapphires, topaz, and many others. It therefore comes as a surprise when someone describes something as mundane and cheap as a pit latrine as a treasure.
But that is exactly how Mahama, a blind old man living in a rural part of Ghana describe his pit latrine.
Mahama is one of 300 people living in this rural area who benefited from pit latrines that were built by a non-governmental organization working in this area to help improve sanitary conditions.
Explaining why he sees the pit latrine as a treasure, Mahama said, "I am blind so when I have to use the toilet in the night it is a big challenge for me to go into the bush as I used to because I could step on a snake or run into a bush animal without knowing because I am blind. Also, I can run into criminals who will assault or kill me. But now that I have a pit latrine in my own house, I can go to the toilet in the night without fear. The toilet indeed is my treasure!
Now, this goes to show how providing basic needs for the needy can impact and enrich their lives.

This is a very moving story, Once a mom, always a mom. To every mother, her child will forever remain her baby no matter her old she is.

A story I found really heartfelt was about the kid who always comes back late after lunch. My colleague was telling us a story about the kid who always took 2 hours to go back home for a lunch break because there is no canteen in his school, not even the canteen, they don’t even have a proper classroom. So he has to walk 1 hour to school, 2 hours for lunch, and then 1 hour back home every day. But this kid is still very determined to study at school.

It made me feel sad because, in the city where I live, we have nice classrooms and a canteen, and many other facilities. This also makes me want to contribute more to my organization, which the mission is to rebuild schools in Indonesia.

A story I found really powerful was the one about a boy living with Autism in Nigeria as shared by the BBC. It made me feel a sense of fulfillment knowing that people with disability can find a corner of support and love in the world and what this support can do to help them thrive. Ahmed Salami was his name and I can't forget it anytime soon. It also showed to me the strength and power of a mother. I felt the need to share his story far and wide and to even subscribe to his YouTube channel. I now feel like a part of his fandom.

This is such an emotional story. Access to good educational facilities is also an issue in my country, Nigeria. I do hope we can get help from more people like you too!

The story I found really powerful is from Kip Thorn about the black hole. In his book there are 2 parts, one is a fiction and the second part is about the hard facts. Both are interesting but as the time goes, the fiction story is what I remember. I was not aware of the role of the story at the time of reading but it help to imagine the physical impact the black hole could have on the personage of the story, trying to visualize highly complex physics phenomena into clear image in my brain. It makes me feel now that creating a story allows to help educate people, to make them aware of the complexity of the world, make them understand some of the most complex physical theory with just couple of words. Another good example is about Schroedinger's cat and quantum physics. Something that most of us will never really understand but could explain one of the principle of quantum physics with such a simple example. What it also makes me feel is that I could explain to other some difficult topic without details that would just kill the story.

For sure it does help to put things into perspective. Why complaining to wait for couple of minutes for something, when kids need 2 hours morning and evening to go to a school that would help them and their family. What this stories made me feel in that case is how much human being is capable to doing good things and the resilience we can be capable of. All the heroes don't ware cape.

One of the story that was really powerful was from one of my closest friend who tried to recruit me to become he's employee. The story is about how he worked on this Investment company that has a lot of negative comment's about it. But, my friend knows that the Industry can help many people in different kind of way. It just have the misconception about it because there's so many assumption that build through the people. He also said that if you try to offer investment instrument to people, you need to have the right mindset and purpose to achieve greater success. From there, he tell me that he's successfully help he's mother in a financial way because the mindset he brings whenever he offer the product, he tried to help people to gain income in more easier and faster way. It does touch me emotionally because I've know the guy since I was a child. It motivates me to become success like him and can help my parents financial. It also, change the way I think about how investment works and the way it can help so many people.

I currently volunteer for a female focused NGO. I was really moved by their vision and impact. I found their story really powerful which is about empowering women and the girl child, as a female myself it really made me feel the zeal to be an active contributor to the movement and till now, I work with the organisation because of the values they sold to me through their story and the works they do to achieve their goal.

A powerful story from our rescue centre is about Chhouk, an elephant who was found orphaned as a young calf after part of his foot was cut off by a snare. He could not walk properly so my boss convinced a company that made prosthetic limbs for people to make him a custom shoe. The story makes me feel hope that the best parts of humanity can help correct the wrongs of our worst.

A story I found really powerful was about a fish vendor who died in a bombing caused by the National Peoples' Army in the Philippines. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was even more painful because, on the day he died, his last message to his wife was "Happy Anniversary, I love you." It made me feel so angry at the NPA for causing so much pain to the families of the victims of the violence who are just going about their day making an honest living. All these years, they have operated in the Philippines, so many Filipino lives have been lost not to mention the millions of damages to government infrastructure projects and private sector development projects. This senseless socialist-Marxist insurgency needs to stop.

A story I found really powerful was the story of the late football legend "Pele," about how Brazil lost a world cup and his father was crying bitterly. The young boy then consoled his father and promised to win him the world—which he did. It made me feel inspired, highly motivated and challenged to impact my world in every little way possible

the story that struck me in the context of my work in business support is that of a girl and her mother. A brave, illiterate mother who supports her family through her informal business and her daughter, a young intellectual who has the ambition to modernise this business and turn it into a family enterprise. Faced with the numerous challenges linked to entrepreneurship, the mother has always dissuaded her daughter from putting so much energy into this project, but the daughter has managed to convince distribution partners in large stores, to obtain all the necessary authorisations and to have many financial partners today. Unfortunately, before seeing and experiencing this success, her mother died of cancer. Nevertheless today it is the daughter who is in charge of her family and continues to believe in her project in memory of her mother.

One story that I think is very strong is about a female sex worker with dissability. It makes me feel ashamed when I complain about my job and inspires me to advocate for the Government, providing access to inclusive healthcare for them.

A story I found really powerful was the story of a boy who was depressed fr years and had no one to help him come out of his depression.
Instead of letting depression turn him into a bad person however, he survived and since then shared his depression story with others and inspire others. It made me feel like there are still people who survive their battles on their own and turn up to help others fight theirs.

A story that i heard that compelled me to be more environmentally conscious is the story of the cofounder of the organization i work in. Her name is Oluwaseyi Moejoh. She told the story of how she became interested in the environment- and it made me want to do the same!

One story that made an impact on me was about Charles, a young boy who has a unique talent - he is a storyteller. At 7 or 8 years old, he had memorized a kid story book with several pages of short paragraphs and had performed it eloquently in front of an audience of 500 people. I was part of that audience.

It made me feel proud to be part of the organization OneChild that helps kids like Charles to have hope and opportunity to dream big in spite of poverty.

What a powerful story! Thank you for sharing.

A story I found really powerful was one told by an educator of work. She told the story of her father when he was a young kid competing in a swimming competition. Her father was an upright man even as a child and in one competition, he disqualified himself because of a very minor mistake he made at the finish line. It cost him the medal, but it was the right thing to do.

She told that story to remind us that doing the right thing was more important than winning. That story stayed with me.

I felt a sense of loss at first, but then I was also encouraged. I am now more likely to choose to do right because I remember this righteous man.

A story I found really powerful was of a little boy and a stranded puppy. It made me feel emotionally overwhelmed .

A story I found really powerful was about a mother who was going without dinner every night so there was enough food for her children to eat. Then, she visited a food pantry and was able to get the food she needed so they could all eat dinner together. This story made be feel empathic for the mother and happy that she was able to get the help she needed to nourish not only her children, but herself too.

A story that has continued to resonate with me is that of an older woman who attended one of our public outreach events. She had gotten out of an abusive relationship, struggled with some health issues and had been living in her car. She was able to connect with our network of service partners where she enrolled in one of programs that provided support in worker retraining, housing, and other support services. We were able to get her into stable housing and connected with employment.

This story definitely speaks to love and sacrifice. However, I think it misses the mark in teach consequences for your actions.

I met an entrepreneur who was so convincing, he spoke so smoothly, with very simple words, and confidently. I always admired his communication skills. Now because of this course when I connect the dots, I realise he weaved stories. Many of them. One story I remember was how he struggled to speak English and I couldn't believe it because he spoke so well. He explained his journey and said, he took a chance of knocking on a retired professor door, to ask him to teach him to speak english. He created such a good build-up that I have vivid images of his story.

A story I found really powerful was one I heard from a young person who had experienced homelessness and was determined to turn their life around. It made me feel inspired and hopeful, and it reminded me of the incredible resilience and strength of the human spirit. It compelled me to reach out to homeless shelters in my area and donate my time and resources to help those in need.

A story I found really powerful was the lottery
by shirley jackson
The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 20th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o’clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.

The children assembled first, of course. School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix—the villagers pronounced this name “Dellacroy”—eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys. The girls stood aside, talking among themselves, looking over their shoulders at the boys, and the very small children rolled in the dust or clung to the hands of their older brothers or sisters.

Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands. Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call to their children, and the children came reluctantly, having to be called four or five times. Bobby Martin ducked under his mother’s grasping hand and ran, laughing, back to the pile of stones. His father spoke up sharply, and Bobby came quickly and took his place between his father and his oldest brother.

The lottery was conducted—as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program—by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him because he had no children and his wife was a scold. When he arrived in the square, carrying the black wooden box, there was a murmur of conversation among the villagers, and he waved and called. “Little late today, folks. ” The postmaster, Mr. Graves, followed him, carrying a three-legged stool, and the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it. The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool, and when Mr. Summers said, “Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?” there was a hesitation before two men. Mr. Martin and his oldest son, Baxter, came forward to hold the box steady on the stool while Mr. Summers stirred up the papers inside it.

The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here. Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything’s being done. The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.

I felt really emotional!