Humans of New York, also known as HONY, is a popular Facebook page which features stories of ordinary people, sometimes living not-so-ordinary lives. What started as a page focused on sharing the stories of different people from New York, the page creator, Brandon Stanton, has travelled to more places intending to introduce unique stories of various people from different walks of life.
The stories are sometimes so moving, and there are even stories that bring out the best in people — to the point that followers of the page actually send help to the people in need featured in the page. The page started in 2010, and over the years, it has grown drastically. Brandon started featuring real stories of real people from different countries. And just recently, Brandon visited the Philippines to share the stories some Filipino people have to tell.
One of the best stories when Brandon visited the country came from someone who appears to be just an ordinary cab driver — but he’s more than that. This 75-year old man is a grandfather who took care of his niece as his own. His niece’s dying wish was for him to take in her six children.
Despite his old age and limited work opportunities to raise his grandchildren, he’s determined to fulfill his promise to his niece. So now, every day, he drives his cab to earn a living and support his six grand-kids he loves so much:
Another heartwarming story was of a father who’s on his way home when he met Brandon. He said he was jobless and it made him more sad that he wasn’t able to share stories from work to his curious little boy because of unemployment.
It was actually the perfect time for Brandon to spot this man — because on that day, after many days of trying to apply to different jobs, he was just hired and was excited to come home to tell his son about it. It was simple, but the excitement of this father in having a new story to tell his child could easily be seen in his eyes:
The story of another exceptional father was also featured by Brandon. It was about a father who knew that his daughter was pregnant at a young age. His daughter’s boyfriend abandoned her and her unborn child. But, instead of reprimanding her, he asked her what her plan was. His daughter wanted to keep the baby, so the father gave his all to support his daughter’s pregnancy.
He made sure his daughter got everything she needed. Sadly, this father fell ill and passed away even before he met his own grandchild. The story was shared by his daughter, who has now raised her son by herself and who will forever be grateful to her late father:
There are so many beautiful stories from people all over the world. Through pages like Humans of New York, we can open our eyes and broaden our knowledge as we learn about other people’s experiences, outlooks in life, and journeys.
Most importantly, getting to know more about other people can make us more connected to each other — connected to people — or humans — we would otherwise just regard as strangers.
(Photo credits: Facebook/Humans of New York)