Mrs. White lived in a town of England. Her husband died three years ago and one of her children worked in the capital and the other three lived in another town. Her husband didn’t leave her much money and she had to live a simple(简朴) life. Sometimes her children went to see her during their holidays, but they stayed with her for only two or three days.

One winter morning the old woman got up early. She was going to buy some food in a shop. And when she came out, she found there was much snow in the street. She had to sweep it away. And suddenly she found a dying dog at the comer of the house. She picked it up and took it into the house quickly. She put it near the fire and gave it some milk and bread. At first the poor dog ate nothing and that afternoon it drank some milk and three days later it was all right. Now the old woman found it was a beautiful dog. And she liked it very much and took it everywhere she went. A week later she went shopping with her dog. At a bus stop a young man was eating fish and chips. The little dog became very excited at the smell of the man’s lunch and began jumping up at him.

“Do you mind if I throw it a bit?’’ asked the young man.

“Not at all,” answered Mrs. White.

Having heard this, he picked up the dog and threw it over the wall.

Every experience that American business woman Leigh-Ann Buchanan remembers has come from travel. Her early trips to the countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas were no small thing — they assisted her to make connections with community organizations abroad, build leadership skills and find a greater purpose in her voluntary work. All of these experiences played an important part in her becoming a mentor (导师) to high school students in Miami, US.

She saw that many of her students from underserved communities had never left the country. This not only shut them out from having life-changing experiences, but they often missed out on college scholarships (奖学金) because their resumes (简历) couldn’t compete with those from higher-income backgrounds.

Then she saw a program founded by her friend in Ghana. It offered US students the opportunity to experience cultural exchanges abroad. Buchanan wondered why the kids she mentors in Miami couldn’t have these life-changing experiences. So, she started the Nyah Project in 2014.

Since then, the project has provided money for 10-day leadership trips to 57 high-performing high school students throughout underserved communities in Miami. All 57 have gotten into colleges around the country, and over 90 percent have received full scholarships to college. Nyah fellows have traveled to countries including Indonesia, Namibia, Costa Rica and South Africa.

The trips bring cultural exchange opportunities, like learning about traditional Balinese dance in Indonesia and teaching younger students in Namibia. Kemoni Alexander, who is studying at Ohio Wesleyan University, was a Nyah fellow in 2017, and traveled to Namibia and South Africa for her first time out of the country.

“The neighborhood that I grew up in wasn’t the most resourceful and my schools were short of money,” Alexander said. “I could hardly believe that I was able to have that opportunity because other people saw that potential (潜力) in me and believed in me.”

In a room at Texas Children Cancer Center in Houston, eight-year-old Simran Jatar lay in bed with a drip(点滴)above her to fight her bone cancer. Over her bald(秃的)head, she wore a pink hat that matched her clothes. But the third grader’s cheery dressing didn’t mask her pain and weary eyes.

Then a visitor showed up. “Do you want to write a song?” asked Anita Kruse, 49, rolling a cart equipped with an electronic keyboard, a microphone and speakers. Simran stared. “Have you ever written a poem?” Anita Kruse continued. “Well, yes,” Simran said.

Within minutes, Simran was reading her poem into the microphone. “Some bird soaring through the sky,” she said softly. “Imagination in its head…” Anita Kruse added piano music, a few warbling (鸣,唱)birds, and finally the girl’s voice. Thirty minutes later, she presented Simran with a CD of her first recorded song.

That was the beginning of Anita Kruse’s project, Purple Songs Can Fly, one that has helped more than 125 young patients write and record songs. As a composer and pianist who had performed at the hospital, Kruse said that the idea of how she could help “came in one flash”.

The effect on the kids has been great. One teenage girl, curling(蜷缩)in pain in her wheelchair, stood unaided to dance to a hip-hop song she had written. A 12-year-old boy with Hodgkin’s disease who rarely spoke surprised his doctors with a song he called I Can Make It.

“My time with the kids is heartbreaking because of the severity of their illnesses,” says Anita Kruse. “But they also make you happy, when the children are smiling, excited to share their CD with their families.”

Simran is now an active sixth grader and cancer-free. From time to time, she and her mother listen to her song, Always Remembering, and they always remember the “really sweet and nice and loving” lady who gave them a shining moment in the dark hour.