I’ve recently met three people whose lives have been dramatically changed because of random acts of kindness.

First, we meet Ketty, who spends her day selling necklace pendants on the beach.

37 years ago, she met an Australian woman who bought a piece of land for her so she, and her husband, could stop sleeping on the streets. Over time, they saved up to slowly build a home which also houses her three daughters, and five grandkids as well.

Next we have Jim, who grew up in Amed, Bali and made a German friend who has moved to the area to set up a dive center. He took Jim under his wing to teach him how to scuba dive, where Jim received his scuba certificate for free. Jim then worked for the German scuba diving center for two years and saved up to build his own dive center, which now employs and teaches other locals how to be dive masters, creating a viable career for them.

They also donate a portion of their earnings to the local schools that identify students needing new uniforms or books.

The last homestay I visited was run by Komang. During COVID, an Australian tourist he had met previously sent him money to sustain him and his family. He has now had his first homestay open for less than two months, and one of his initial guests helped him expand from listing exclusively on Booking.com, to Airbnb as well. The day after the new Airbnb listing was up, he got a new booking!