ERBIL, Iraq—Like many living in northern Iraq, Nour Adil watched helplessly as her city filled with Syrian War refugees and Iraqis when ISIS took over and destroyed nearby cities. 

“We saw lots of ladies looking for jobs but having a hard time finding them,” Nour recalls. Her mother was skilled at sewing, and Nour had management skills from years in banking. Hopeful Hands was born. 

Tomiwa Olatunji sat in a classroom with about a dozen other students, all dressed like pilots in white shirts and navy blue trousers. At the back of the room, a plastic foam model aircraft stood on a table, finished with wirings and wooden parts.

The project was the first for Olatunji and four of his classmates who started at the International College of Aeronautics in Nigeria’s Lagos state in July. The group collaborated on the model’s drawing and construction and on sourcing for the materials around Lagos.

A New York moment: 

A half-burned organ sits in a historic building, Brooklyn’s oldest Baptist church, surrounded by new luxury condos. I’m working on a story about the church, formerly called the Baptist Temple but now the Recovery House of Worship. In reporting the story I came across Keith Bigger, 71, who has spent years caring for that organ. 

This year is the 50th anniversary of Richard Scarry’s terrific picture book, What Do People Do All Day? It’s also the 70th anniversary of Candyland, which Eleanor Abbott designed in 1948 after she contracted polio in San Diego and sought something to delight the children in her hospital ward.

INDIANAPOLIS—Fifteen years ago Tom Morales wasn’t planning to build a $100 million staffing business.

He had lived the American Dream and wanted to share it with immigrants for the second half of his life. The Purdue University grad had climbed the corporate ladder at companies such as Procter & Gamble and Union Carbide. He was looking for a way to give back to the growing Hispanic community in Indy: “I knew there was more to life than just being successful in corporate America.”

Every week brings reminders that death comes for every man and every woman—and sometimes children—but it’s still a deep blow, no matter when or how it arrives.

Last week brought sad news of the sudden and tragic deaths of two well-known figures: fashion designer Kate Spade and television star and author Anthony Bourdain. Both had tremendously successful careers. Both committed suicide. 

When journalists at major American newspapers write obituaries for the news sections of their publications, the opening sentence usually identifies the reason the deceased person is widely known.

If tradition holds, future obits likely will remember Capt. Tammie Jo Shults as the Southwest Airlines pilot who deftly landed a heavily damaged jetliner with a gaping hole in the side, saving the lives of 142 passengers and five crew members.