Sometimes the News Can Make You Happy

A couple weeks ago while I was reading the news Ben asked, "Is the world going to hell in a hand cart?"   I tried to recall one, just one, positive detail from the New York Times that I could share with him.  I couldn't recount one positive story from my readings and that made me sad.  I am trying to find something beautiful-something hopeful-every day when I read the news. 

Today, I read a great article about the drop in infant death rates in Zambia.  The drop can be attributed to a pilot program that trains midwifes on basic diagnostic and resuscitation procedures.  Total, the project cost $20,244, and saved an estimated 97 lives.  That is a story that I like to hear.

Here is a small excerpt from the article:

 "The researchers compared survival rates among 20,000 babies born before the teaching and 20,000 afterward. The first-week death rate among babies had dropped by almost half, they found, to 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births from 11.5 deaths."

The birth attendant below is using a clay stethoscope  to monitor a baby's heart rate. 

Lynn Johnson/National Geographic, via Getty Images