Year Ender 2020: Stories that warmed hearts on social media despite it being 2020

Rescue worker saves elephant hit by motorcycle

A rescue worker performs CPR on a baby elephant after a motorcycle crash in Chanthaburi province, Thailand. (Source: Reuters)

Mana Srivate performed CPR on a baby elephant that had been hit by a motorcycle while crossing a road in Thailand’s eastern province of Chanthaburi. A video of the rescue went viral on social media in Thailand.

Nigerian ballet dancer gets scholarship thanks to video

Anthony Mmesoma Madu, an 11-year-old ballet dancer, poses during a rehearsal with other students at the Leap of Dance Academy in Lagos, Nigeria. (Source: Reuters)

After a video of him dancing an elegant pirouette on a muddy street grabbed attention on the internet, an 11-year-old Nigerian boy was offered a full scholarship from an elite American ballet company.

Newlyweds get praise after cleaning Karnataka beach before honeymoon

Many locals too joined them to help pick up trash at the beach.

To celebrate their wedding, Anudeep and Minusha Hegde from Karnataka cleaned over 500 kg of garbage from the Someshwara Beach near their house.

Aged couple running ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ in Delhi get outpouring support

In the video, 80-year-old Kanta Prasad shows dal, curry, parathas kept in large dishes, ready to serve at around 30 to 50 rupees per plate.

A video of the tearful aged owner of a small eatery called ‘Baba Ka Dhaba’ in South Delhi talking about his struggles during the pandemic was widely shared on social media. Support poured in for the couple, including the couple being offered free cataract surgery  They even opened a new restaurant with the funds.

UK residents tweets ‘I am not OK’, netizens try to cheer him up

The man was deeply touched by the overwhelming response from all over the world.

A British man’s tweet about feeling very low was flooded with people around the world assuring him that he wasn’t alone and that things would get better. Edmund O’Leary from Surrey thanked everyone for the support.

Dubai Crown Prince keeps SUV aside after birds nest on it

“Sometimes the little things in life are more than enough,” Sheikh Hamdan, Crown Prince of Dubai wrote while sharing the clip. (@faz3/ Instagram)

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, refused to use his Mercedes SUV after spotting a nest on its windshield. Later, he shared a video of the new chicks that hatched.

Sikh group distributes free food to truck drivers stranded on UK-France border

The group distributed fresh meals to hundreds of truck drivers stranded near the border.

Thousands of truck drivers, who were left stranded on the UK-France border post the news of a mutated strain of COVID-19 in Britain and South Africa, were provided free food packages by Members of Khalsa Aid. The volunteers travelled around 210 miles (338km) to serve hot meals to the drivers stuck in Kent.

Auto-rickshaw driver’s pet dog travels with him

The bond between an autorickshaw driver and his dog won hearts online. (Source: Manjiri Prabhu/Facebook)

A Pune based auto-rickshaw driver won praise online after a picture of him travelling with his pet dog went viral on social media. Harvinder Singh said he began ferrying around with his pet Ronnie as there was no one to look after him at home.

A very generous tip makes waves on the internet

Since being shared online, the post has been flooded with people lauding the customer’s generosity.

Days before Christmas, a customer’s generous tip for a waitress was cheered by netizens.A US-based restaurant shared a picture of a receipt where the customer left a $5000 tip for a $205 bill.

Andhra constable carries elderly devotees on his back

The incident took place on December 23, when Arshad was on security duty on the pilgrim route.

An Andhra Pradesh constable carried two elderly devotees on his back after they fainted while walking to the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara in Tirupati. An image of Police Special Party constable Sheikh Arshad carrying a 58-year-old Mangi Nageswaramma on his back earned him a lot of praise on social media.

Woman’s journey from janitor to nurse inspires many

In 2014—four years after Andrades began her career at Baystate—the Springfield resident earned her nursing degree.

A woman, who started working as a janitor at a hospital, later studied enough to become a nurse at the same hospital. New York based Jaines Andrades shared her story on Facebook and received a lot of praise.

Ohio newlyweds serve reception lunch at local shelter, win hearts

The couple got married at the bride’s grandparents’ house with few family members and friends. (Source: Tyler Tapajna/ Facebook)

A couple in the US, who had to cancel their wedding reception due to the pandemic, decided to donate all food meant for their reception to a local shelter. Dressed in their wedding attire, the couple served lunch at the Cleveland crisis centre for women and children.

Video of boy with non-verbal autism saying his name wins hearts online

The video crossed over 10 million views on the app and then spread on other platforms as well.

A video of a five-year-old boy talking for the first time received a lot of support online. The TikTok clip of little Micah, who has non-verbal autism, saying his name for the first time was shared on the app by his mother.

Hospital staff celebrate when COVID-19 patient is taken off ventilator

The doctors and nurses underlined that amid all the sad news around, such good news must be celebrated to give people hope. (@hungrydes/ TikTok)

The intensive care unit staff of a hospital celebrating when two of their patients were taken off the ventilator and the videos has since been widely shared on social media.