One random act of kindness is all it takes to create an endless ripple of kindness. When we do something kind to a stranger, we can bring a smile to their face, a glow in their hearts and a desire on their part to show kindness to the next stranger they meet. The passing on of kindness can create an ever-widening ripple that has the potential to make this world a better place for everyone.

Today, when kindness and compassion are often forgotten virtues, where people are busy chasing material things, we all need to take a deep breath and ask ourselves, how can I contribute to a kinder world.

We at The Times Kuwait recently asked a number of kindness leaders in Kuwait their opinion on spreading  kindness. We hope their insights will serve as a gentle reminder to all of us to stop living life in a rush, to take a break from our ever-busy schedules and show kindness to a stranger that we next meet.

Goodwill Tribe

When we started Goodwill Tribe – Kuwait in September 2016 we only wanted to share and encourage positive thoughts, to be there for others, and to experience the power of doing nice things. We simply worked towards this believing firmly that everyone could benefit from interconnecting, being kind and gentle with those around them.

From all our events that we have so far hosted in Kuwait and we plan to host in the future we only hoped to create an endless kindness ripple. Be it writing, music, meditation, stargazing or drawing, we have indeed seen the magic of kindness and how it has helped us bring people closer and create the human connection that we have dreamed to see in Kuwait.

For instance:, one of the major events that we host regularly is Kindness Confetti where people come together to create handmade cards with positive, fun and inspiring quotes, which we then go about distributing to strangers.

Through our events we hope people experience the power of being more empathetic, caring and loving. We often feel touched at the amount of care and laughter that a bunch of random strangers share for the events we organize. It simply proved to us that people just need a platform and a reminder of the power of love and how it helps us to understand and respect people around us.

We feel at peace when people tell us, they feel grateful, at ease, and happy though Goodwill Tribe Kuwait, and that is our success. We do hope we can continue to organize more events in the coming years in this wonderful city and we are indeed grateful to our regular members.

Special thanks to Melissa Azavedo for speaking to The Times Kuwait

 

Ox Adventures

Ox adventures started out as a travel blog that slowly turned into a small community of people who design ‘volunteering experiences’ across the globe. We focus on finding yourself through travel and sharing experiences through activities such as volunteering and cultural exchanges that help push us out of our comfort zones. We also believe in sharing our experiences, so when we undertake a trip we try and sense everything around us and learn from each experience so that we can return and narrate it to others and thereby encourage them to experience the same.

The volunteering experiences that we design each time is basically about spending time and giving our time to others, expecting nothing in return. Volunteering is about one person manifesting his or her own thoughts on kindness, which then creates an endless ripple of kindness to spread. And I do believe this is our inbuilt human nature that only needs some motivation to start.

Today we can proudly say that through our community trips we have influenced people’s hearts. Many people have joined our trips and have come back influenced and filled with deep peace and happiness.

What we try to do is create positive influence for us and the people around us. We believe that positive thoughts create positive energy.

Special thanks to Saud Aljuwain for speaking to The Times Kuwait

Coexist Kuwait

Coexist Kuwait was founded in January of 2017 as an invitation to transcend our collective conditioning. The main motive of the initiative is to bridge social, financial, ideological, and cultural divides through cultural events and gatherings. Most of the activities revolve around poetry, singing, and music. This year, however, open discussions were added as a novel platform of bringing the community together.
The initiative of coexistence locally is far from reaching its vision of closing the segregational gap between inhabitants of Kuwait, but through the evolution of consciousness and a profound recollection of our oneness, anything, nay everything, is possible.
A particular conversation that embodied the message of coexistence occurred when a young gentleman came out of the closet to me before opening up to his family. That moment will remain an indelible imprint throughout my life.
When we are no longer divided by class, culture, religion, or sexual orientation, the vision of coexistence in Kuwait will be manifested. I ask us all to remember, one by one, that we were born to coexist.
A special thank you to Nejoud Al-Yagout, founder of Co-Exist Kuwait, for speaking to The Times Kuwait.

Al Nowair

Established in 2013 by Sheikha Intisar Salem Al Ali Al Sabah, Alnowair is Kuwait’s and the GCC’s first non-profit organization aimed at creating positive social behavioral changes through educational, workplace and community programs, and campaigns based on scientific studies in positive psychology.

Today, six years down the line, we are more than happy to see how Kuwait has been inspired by kindness and how well the city supports our activities. Recognized by the United Nations Development Program, Alnowair’s work is rooted in research in positive psychology and targets at bringing about a positive social behavioral change in Kuwait.

Alnowair is based on the vision to share with all people that sit has been scientifically proven that positivity is a choice. Once we choose to notice the positive more than negative, we start feeling better, see more open doors than closed ones, we are healthier, and we even sleep better. Till date many partners and corporations inspired by this vision have joined in supporting our programs and campaigns.

Some of our regular events and initiatives include:

Boomerang: Kuwait’s first anti-bullying school outreach program that uses restorative applied theatre and kindness habits to help schools rise above bullying. The program aims to develop kinder school cultures and provide a sustainable solution to bullying through a variety of tools.

Yelloworks: It is a first-of-its-kind employee engagement program comprising strategic workshops that engages an organization’s employees through positivity activities to generate positive behavior change for 15 business benefits – which in turn, increase employee productivity and organizational profitability

Creating a positive social behavioral change is a journey. We feel forever grateful for support received so far and always hope for more people and organizations to help us, as together we can achieve so much more.

There are many ways to be part of our ever-growing environment. One can subscribe as our volunteer and help us during events or with our programs. Another simple way is to subscribe on our website www.alnowair.com

Special thanks to Gaia Kruchlik for speaking to The Times Kuwait

By Meryl Mathew
Special to The Times, Kuwait 

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