Originally posted on www.oddastic.com
1. The Runner Who Intentionally Lost a Race
In 2013, a Spanish runner showed the world that sometimes winning is not everything. Spanish athlete Ivan Fernandez Anaya impressed the world by giving up victory to do the right thing by refusing to take advantage of his opponent’s misadventure in a cross-country competition which took place in Burlada, Navarre. Anaya won second place after helping his opponent Abel Mutai. Mutai, who was a bronze medal winner at the London 2012 Olympics, lost his way. He pulled away just about 10 meters before the finish line, believing he had already won. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, Anaya helped Mutai, guiding him to the actual finish line and letting him take the first place.
2. The Waiter Who Fed A Man Suffering From Cerebral Palsy
A South Carolina waiter who is only known by the name ”Five” had a friend in Lee Bondurant. Lee who is suffering from Cerebral Palsy and is unable to use his hands, was touched when Five offered to feed him.
Five was busy with other customers but noticed that Linda, Lee’s mom was trying to feed both herself and her son. What he did next came natural to him. He came over and offered to feed Lee. Literally! “Seafood is best eaten hot, so I didn’t want her food to get cold. I didn’t want his food to get cold,” recalled Five, “I just wanted to help a fellow man out.”
3. The Man Who Acted as a Bench For an Elderly Lady Stuck on Elevator
A student from the Art Institute of Florida was performing a move for College HUNKS at an assisted living facility inside a 10-story building when the elevator got stuck. For a full 30 minutes Cesar Larios sacrificed himself by serving as a human bench for an elderly lady’s comfort after she complained she couldn’t stand for extended periods. He became quite an internet buzz after his boss contacted Good News Network to tell them about Cesar’s act of kindness.
4. The Rickshaw Driver Who Helped Poor Students
The Virtuous Mr. Bai Fang Li was a Chinese pedicab driver who donated 350,000 yuan to enable more than 300 poor students continue with their studies. In 1987 he retired from his pedicab driving job and returned to his village where he saw many children working in the field because they couldn’t afford education. At that time he was 74 years old and he decided to go back to his job of driving a pedicab in Tianjin.
Till 2001 he often worked long shifts, sometimes 24 hours at a stretch so that he could make the money to pay the installment for the school fee. He got an accommodation close to the railway and would wait 24 hours a day, eat simple food and wore second hand discarded clothes. At the age of 90 he paid his last installment to the school and retired from his job. In 2005, he died at the age of 93.
5. Christians Join Hands to Protect Muslims as They Pray During Cairo Protests.
In 2011, Striking photos of unity emerged from the chaos in Egypt as Christian protesters stood together to protect Muslims as they prayed. A group of Christians joined hands and faced out surrounding hundreds of Muslims protesters left vulnerable as they knelt in prayer. A day later, Muslims returned the favour, surrounding Christians who were celebrating Mass in Cairo‘s central plaza, ground zero for the secular pro-democracy protests that reverberated throughout the Middle East.
6. The Man Who Was Saved By His Act of Kindness
Anthony Santos, a 36-year-old Filipino worker then stationed in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta State, in an act of kindness, fed a group of weary fishermen who stopped by his company barge one day. He never thought sparing some few slices of bread would save his life in the nearest future.
In Feb. 18 2006, a militant group opposing oil activities in the Niger Delta abducted Anthony and eight other foreigners employed by the US oil service firm Willbros, holding them hostage in a jungle hideaway for almost two weeks. One of the kidnappers, it turned out, was also one of the famished fishermen whom Anthony had helped.
The man recognized Anthony among the captives, and assured the Filipino that “nobody among the other kidnappers could touch him,” He regarded Anthony as someone he should “protect” in case his comrades decided to make good their threat to torture or kill any of the hostages.
The kidnapper in his quest to protect the Anthony even stated that the other kidnappers might have to kill him first before they got to the Filipino. He indeed kept to his promise as Anthony was released after two weeks without any injury.
7. The Runner Who Carried Her Opponent to the Finish Line
In 2012, Megan Vogel, a junior runner for West Liberty-Salem High School (West Liberty, Ohio), won the 1,600-meter title Saturday at the Division III girls state meet at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus. But it’s what she did in her next race that was most remarkable. With about 20 meters to go in the 3,200, Arden McMath, a sophomore from Arlington High School, collapsed in front of Vogel. Rather than run by her, Vogel helped McMath to her feet and carried her across the finish line, making sure to keep McMath ahead of her.
Vogel’s gesture resonated with the thousands of spectators who witnessed it, as well as with the thousands more who read about the story or saw video of the race’s finish. By the time Vogel arrived home, word of her sportsmanship had already spread. She had 30 new friend requests on Facebook within a few hours. Ohio media pounced on the story and lauded Vogel’s selfless act.
8. The Nigerian Girl Who Got Written Into a Will Because of Her Little Act of Kindness
A young Nigerian girl based in the US, who served an old man coffee every Sunday took to twitter to reveal her shock when she found out she was written into his will to be given $7,000 after he passed away.
9. A Soccer Team Helped A Farmer
A bus for a Gaelic soccer team from Donegal was driving through Ireland recently when they made a pit stop that no one expected. Most people assume that athletes are burly, self-centered jerks who are the jock archetype from high school. That’s just not the case. The Naomh Columba team spotted a 60 year-old farmer, Tomás Lydon, tending his land on their way to Corrib Village in Galway city. He was turning turf and having a hard time, so the players had the bus pull over to help him.
10. The waiter who handed out pizza to hungry migrant children
In September 2015, a Reuters photographer captured a moment of kindness amid the chaos of Europe’s migrant crisis. In the Slovenian border village of Sentilj, one server delivered pizza to a group of migrants and refugees waiting behind a fence. Many individuals at the country’s borders scrambled to lend a helping hand and gave out meals. While we don’t know the waiters name or his backstory, his kind gesture continues to resonate with folks around the world.
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