26-year-old Ste Burke was on his way home when three men came up to him asking if he wanted to buy a bike. They were trying to sell the￡1,350 bike for￡100. Not only that, Burke realized that there must be something wrong because there was still a lock on the bike. Then Burke immediately bought it for￡80.

After he bought the bike, Burke posted a photo of it to social media in hopes of finding the first owner. “Has anyone lost his/her bike? I just bought this bike for￡80 and it’s got a bike lock on it. It is clear that it’s from the Crosby area. I know it’s a￡1,350 bike and I’d be heartbroken if it was mine,” wrote Burke.

Within hours, Burke received a phone call from a woman who knew the bike’s owner. A man whose house had been burgled (入室偷窃) earlier that very same week lost his bike. Since the man had saved up more than￡1, 350 of his own money to buy the bike, he was very thankful for its return. The man tried to pay Burke the￡80, but Burke refused, “I didn’t feel right accepting money from a man who had just had his house broken into.”

Burke has since been showered with social media praise for his honesty, although he says over and over that he did not return the bike for media attention. An owner of a bicycle store offered to give Burke a bike for free as a reward (奖赏) for his honesty.

A small recording room outside the Congolese capital Kinshasa has become a safe space for homeless teenagers. They sing about their life on the streets and dream of a better future. The homeless sing about their childhood, living conditions, and living experiences at the Mokili Na Poche cultural center. It is a safe space that allows young people and children to wash and eat.

“It really makes me happy when I sing,” said 19-year-old Mavakala. He has slept on the streets for years. There are more than 20,000 homeless children in Kinshasa. Other teenagers looked on with happiness as Mavakala turned on the recording equipment at the center in late August.

Mavakala dreams of bigger goals after having the chance to record in a real recording space. He said, “It stimulates me and I tell myself — ah, life belongs to (属于) brave persons.” He added that U. S. rapper Lil Wayne and Congolese star Fally Ipupa influenced his music.

He has been coming to the center for the past three years, taking part in the music, art, and reading classes it offers throughout the day. Founder Cedrick Tshimbalanga hopes these skills and daily experiences will help the children build a base for their life and their voices.

“With music, young people are able to talk about their daily experience — everything they live through daily: happiness and sadness,” said Tshimbalanga, who plans to release (发行) their music soon.

The classes are also a chance for young people to make up for lost chances in life. While the Democratic Republic of Congo has made progress in education, over 7 million children aged between 5 and 17 still do not have schooling, UNICEF found.

“Break free from the homeless life, my friend. It’s time to see what the future holds for you,” Mavakala sang during an excitement-filled performance at the center in August.

Woody Williams of Charlotte, North Carolina is simply Woody Williams, a retired graphic artist and musician who plays in local clubs and bars. But online, the 72-year-old is known as Funky Geezer (时髦老头), and he’s got more than 3 million followers on TikTok alone!

In December 2020, Woody was staying in his home to avoid catching the COVID-19, just like everybody else. He found himself with more free time than usual, and since he couldn’t go to perform in a club or jam with any bands, he decided to check out what was happening online. He downloaded TikTok and uploaded a short video of himself doing a little dance. The likes and comments started pouring in, and before he knew it, his video had been viewed millions of times!

Encouraged, Woody leaned in to his Funky Geezer persona (人设), uploading more videos to his channel. He enjoys connecting with people again, and always loves putting on a show to make others smile.

Funky Geezer has now gone viral more than once, and he’s got a large following across all of his social channels. He’s even getting requests to bring his dance moves to foreign lands, although he’s not sure he’ll be traveling much beyond his usual circles.

“I was asked to do shows in Canada, England and Micronesia,” he said. “I don’t even know where Micronesia is.”

Woody says he doesn’t run his “Funky Geezer Show” for fame or fortune; he simply wants to put a smile on someone’s face! “My motto is to inspire until you die,” he said, adding, “I am just encouraging the newbies to come up, grab their guitar, and get involved, express themselves.”