Pennsylvania students help Africa's poorest children

Kibera, just a few miles from the skyscrapers of Nairobi, Kenya, is the largest slum in Africa.  Most residents earn less than $1/day. Assault and rape are common. Clean water and electricity are scarce, and many families cannot afford education for their children, pictured here.

Recently (as reported in the Hawley News-Eagle) a class of students at Wallenpaupack Area High School in northeastern Pennsylvania "visited" an elementary school classroom in the Kibera Slum via Skype. The American students were impressed by (1) how little the slum children have, and (2) how grateful they are for what they do have. The class was inspired to collect and send 20 backpacks to kids at the elementary school. Each backpack will contain crayons, a luxury in the slum, and a personalized letter.   To "visit" the Kibera Slum for just five minutes, simply click this link. vimeo.com/80863473   After seeing the slum first-hand, you may wish to support Wallenpaupack students with a donation. The class hopes to collect backpacks by June 16, but contributions will be accepted through June 30. To learn more, email Colleen Connors at connorco@wallenpaupack.org.

Ever wish you were younger? Or older?

Airline reroutes Mom to son's bedside

Recently, Peggy Uhle was on a Southwest Airline flight from Chicago to Columbus waiting to take off, when the plane unexpectedly turned back to the gate and she was asked to get off. Her husband had tried to call her with sad news, but her cell phone was turned off. So he called the airline instead.

After the plane arrived at the gate, the attendant asked her to check in with customer service and call her husband, who told her their son was hospitalized in a coma after suffering a head injury.  He lives in Denver, and even before she disembarked, Southwest had already rebooked her -- with no additional fees or service charges -- on a non-stop flight to Denver, departing in two hours.

"They offered me a private waiting area; rerouted my luggage, allowed me to board first, and even packed a lunch for when I got off in Denver," she said. Her luggage was delivered directly to where she was staying in Denver, and she later received a call from Southwest asking how her son was doing. He is continuing to recover, and she is thankful for the extra-mile service she received. "The care I was shown was second to none," she said.

Let's wear our work boots all day.

Officer "pumped" to be of service

Today's crumb was contributed by a faithful reader in Columbus, IN, USA, who saw it in her distinguished local paper, The Republic.

A mentally-challenged resident is familiar to many residents of Columbus. He's often seen riding his bicycle through town, picking up aluminum cans and recycling them. That's how he earns money. Police all know him. He waves to them to let them know he's okay. Officer Frank Dickman received a commendation recently for helping this man.

Second shift patrol officer Dickman noticed the man on a city street, but he was not on his bike because it had a flat tire. The officer used his patrol car to transport the man and his bicycle back to the man's neighborhood, and then left. A few minutes later, a witness saw Officer Dickman return with a new tire and inner tube and fix the man's flat tire. He did not report this good deed.

A few days later at a Board of Works meeting, Dickman was identified as the anonymous officer. "Not only did you go above and beyond what is written in your job description, but you did it discreetly without the desire for any recognition," said Chief Jon Rohde, as he commended Dickman.

Her best birthday ever!

In July, 2013, Hillary Sadlon turned 22. The Seton Hall University senior nursing major wanted it to be her best birthday ever, really unforgettable. So instead of planning a massive party, she spent six months creating a list of 22 random acts of kindness she'd perform on a two-day, five-city, ten-hour goodwill tour with her boyfriend Evan Reed and BFF Meghan Cox. Here's her list.

First, she donated blood at the Miller-Keystone Blood Center in Bethlehem, PA. As a nursing major, she knew how badly blood was needed. Later she delivered donuts to a local police station, and brought balloons to special needs children. She donated pet food and rabbit bedding to an animal shelter. Then she and her boyfriend approached an elderly couple in a Walmart parking lot and offered to load their groceries into their car. They were so grateful. "They just kept telling me, 'May the Lord bless you,'" she said, "and they asked for a picture of me and Evan." When the list was almost finished, she visited her grandmother. "I love my nana," Hillary said. "She's my everything. To do something for her was really meaningful for me. Whenever I come, she's like, 'how long are you staying? Can I feed you?'"  This time Hillary declined any food, and only stayed long enough to weed nana's front yard.

When the tour was complete, "we were in the best mood you could ever imagine," she said. "And that's what I wanted for my birthday. Your birthday is supposed to be a happy day. Making someone else smile makes you want to smile." She hopes her birthday will inspire others to make kindness lists.

Matthew 7: 3-5 illustrated

Today's crumb was offered by a faithful reader in Indianapolis, IN, USA. It's called "The Window from Which We Look."

A couple moved into new neighborhood and one morning, while eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean," she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better soap." Her husband looked on, but said nothing. Each time her neighbor hung wash out to dry, his wife made the same comments.

About a month later, his wife was surprised to see nice clean wash on the neighbor's line. "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly," she said. "I wonder who taught her?"

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends upon the purity of the window through which we look.