2016 seems like the worst year that we have ever come across, from many celebrity deaths to injustices and unwanted election results, there were still some good things that happened in 2016 that we should acknowledge and end this year on a positive note.
1) Giant pandas are no longer endangered:
The population of pandas has been on the rise since 2014 and they are no longer considered endangered.
2) An 11-Year-Old Started Her Own Black-Girls Book Drive:
11-year-old Marley Dias, created a book drive to find 1000 ‘black girl’ books because she was frustrated over only being able to read books about “white boys and their dogs.” Dias was able to exceed her goal of a thousand, by collecting more than 8000 books which she then donated to her school library and to schools across the world.
3) An 11-year-old Girl Got a Whole Foods Contract for Her Lemonade Business:
11-year-old Mikaila Ulmer built her own lemonade business called ‘BeeSweet Lemonade’ which uses local honey as an effort to save the bees and received a $60,000 investment from ABC’S Shark Tank. Whole Foods saw the promise in her lemonade and signed a deal with Ulmer to sell her lemonade in 55 stores. Ulmer also gives a portion of her profit made off the lemonade to bee rescue organizations.
4) Dakota Access Pipeline Construction Permit Denied:
After a months-long, campaign against the pipeline, the standing rock Sioux Tribe have finally achieved the victory they were all waiting for. Engineers who were responsible for building the Dakota access pipeline under the Missouri river denied the permit and have decided to reroute it.
5) Pakistan passed a legislation that prosecute honor killing perpetrators:
Pakistan’s Parliament passed a law that stated that those who are convicted of killing female relatives in the name of honour will no longer be allowed to be pardoned by the victim’s family.
6) Volunteers in India planted 50 million trees within 24 hours:
More than 800,00 volunteers came together in an attempt to plant 50 million trees in 24 hours to help the country fight climate change.
7) Black rights activist Viola Desmond will be the first Canadian woman to appear on a Canadian banknote:
Black rights activist Viola Desmond who was jailed for fighting segregation by sitting in the “whites only” section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre, will be the first Canadian woman to be celebrated on the country’s currency.
8) First female Somali lawmaker in U.S history:
Minnesota elected Ilhan Omar, who became the first Somali-American lawmaker in the United States.
