I witnessed an extraordinary act of kindness. What if altruism is more common than we think? | Emma Wilkins

When a virtual stranger helped my grandfather, it reminded me that for all the bad in the world, behind the scenes lie untold stories of extraordinary good

I heard some good news recently. My 91-year-old grandfather called me to test his new hearing aid. For the first time in a long time, he could hear my voice. It thrilled us both.

He and my grandmother had been trying to replace his previous hearing aid for more than a month but confusing instructions, impatient explanations and faulty hardware meant they'd almost given up. Now they had me on speakerphone and were giving me an update in excited voices. This time their story didn't evoke sympathy but joy.