What's good today?

[Telesfora]

This thread is very general. I created it to share positive events, initiatives, and observations about the world around us. These can be global news stories, but also thoughts and pleasant surprises from more private life.

News for today:

‘We’re winning a battle’: Mexico’s jaguar numbers up 30% in conservation drive

In 2010, Gerardo Ceballos and a group of other researchers set out to answer a burning question: how many jaguars were there in Mexico? They knew there weren’t many. Hunting, loss of habitat, conflict with cattle ranchers and other issues had pushed the population to the brink of extinction.

Ceballos and his team from the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) thought there were maybe 1,000 jaguars across the country. They decided to carry out the country’s first census of the animal to find out exactly how many there were. They found 4,100.

“It was a great surprise, terrific news,” Ceballos said. “Obviously 4,000 means the species is still in danger of extinction, but 4,000 is a lot better than 1,000.”

Fast-forward 15 years and the news has got even better. The group’s latest census found that in 2024 there were 5,326 jaguars in Mexico, a 30% increase compared with 2010.

“The fact that the country has managed to maintain and increase its population over the last 14 years is extraordinary,” Ceballos said. “For me it’s great news for the country. Mexico and the world need good news.”

I invite anyone to share your positive stories, thoughts and news!

 

[Telesfora]

Positive news for today:

The extraordinary stories of survivors of the Rwandan genocide who forgave their attackers​

The 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda claimed over a million lives and left deep psychological scars among the Rwandan population, especially those who survived the genocide.

How do people overcome such trauma, especially in poor nations with minimal mental healthcare? In 2005, Dutch sociotherapist Cora Dekker developed an affordable, effective method in collaboration with the diocese of Byumba of the Anglican church. This approach, originally used by qualified staff in western clinics to treat military personnel and asylum seekers, was transformed into volunteer work involving trained therapists from local African communities. In Rwanda it is known as Mvura Nkuvure: “I heal you, you heal me.” More than 64,000 Rwandans have completed the therapy.

The therapy consists of 15 weekly three-hour sessions, with 10 to 15 participants. The first three meetings focus on safety. “During the first, no one feels safe,” says Emmanuel Sarabwe, a trainer and researcher at CBS Rwanda. “Imagine sitting in a circle with family members of the person who killed your brothers and sisters. Or the perpetrator. The discomfort is palpable.”

There is often dancing and singing and games, to keep the atmosphere light. Slowly, the beginning of a group feeling emerges. The next three sessions focus on trust: who do you trust? What inspires trust? The next two phases revolve around care and respect. In the last two, the focus is on directing oneself towards the future rather than the past, but also unearthing positive memories: when did you feel happy? When were you supported? Who were the people good to you?

“Every word, every gesture can be the spark that leads to closeness and healing contact in the group,” Sarabwe says. It helps if perpetrators show genuine remorse and awareness of what they have done, and what pain they have caused. The group listen carefully and one statement recurs: “They have suffered, too.”

The goal of the therapy was to give people tools to cope with trauma, but in many cases much more was achieved—forgiveness and reconciliation. After completing social therapy, 80% of the groups still meet.