Eddy's Good News: Truck drivers quick actions saves a life and old wells turned into sculptures

Virgin Radio

29 Nov 2023, 10:03

Every day during his show on Virgin Radio, Eddy Temple-Morris brings you Good News stories from around the world, to help inject a bit of positivity into your day!

Be sure to listen each day between 10am and 1pm (Monday - Friday) to hear Eddy's Good News stories (amongst the finest music of course), but if you miss any of them you can catch up on the transcripts of Eddy's most recent stories below:

Wednesday 29th November 2023

Let’s say hello to a very lucky lady from Illinois who would have died in front of her two helpless children had it not been for a ‘have a go’ hero truck driver whose quick thinking and first aid knowledge saved her life in seconds.

Jeff Hanus was at work, in his cement truck, waiting for it to be either loaded or unloaded, when he saw a woman stagger out of her car and make the hands around the throat ‘I’m choking’ sign. He leapt out of his truck, ran over and wrapped his arms around her from the back, with his fists under her rib cage and performed what we hopefully know as The Heimlich Manoeuvre, three abdominal thrusts and the food that was choking the poor suffocating parent flew out onto the building site and she got to see a Christmas she might have never seen.

Jeff put it beautifully with a native American saying: “it is not the path that we walk, it is how many lives we touch along the way,” - what a guy!

Credit: Abandoned well transformed with Virudhunagar District Rural Development Agency by J Meghanath Reddy

A rusty old abandoned well is not much of a cause for celebration, but in Tamil Nadu India, it definitely is. The local authorities are rejuvenating these old wells by turning them into whimsical sculptures, you might see a giant cake, or a Christmas present, or a teacup and saucer.

They’ve become talking points and meeting places now and all of this helps educate people in the importance of water infrastructure in a region irrigated entirely by rain not rivers. The wells had become dumping grounds for rubbish, but a clean up and a new system of pipes to channel and conserve rainwater will turn them into a much needed boost to Tamil Nadu’s water reserves. The rusty old eyesores are now colourful focal points where children play. Have a look for yourself!