A gentle journey through one ordinary day in late 2025
Key Takeaways
What this piece is about
This article explores small daily victories in countries that rarely sit at the centre of global news, such as Niger (Africa), Chad (Africa), Malawi (Africa), Honduras (North America), Nepal (Asia), Moldova (Europe), Georgia (Europe), Cambodia (Asia), Rwanda (Africa), Uganda (Africa), Zambia (Africa), Laos (Asia), Togo (Africa), Benin (Africa), Madagascar (Africa), Haiti (North America) and Bolivia (South America).
Why this matters in 2025
In 2025, the United Nations Development Programme reports that global human development is growing at the slowest pace in thirty-five years and that gaps between richer and poorer countries are widening again. The World Bank now uses a higher global extreme poverty line of 3 dollars per person per day, which shows that hundreds of millions of people still struggle to cover basic needs.
What counts as a “victory” here
Victories in this article are simple acts: getting out of bed on a heavy morning, walking long distances to work or school, studying when tired, staying calm at home, saving a little money, or trying again after a “no”.
What the reader is invited to do
The reader is gently invited to notice one small victory from today and to treat it as something real and valuable, in any country and on any kind of day.
Story & Details
A day that can be any day in late 2025
In late 2025, many headlines talk about wars, elections and new technologies. At the same time, a quieter story runs through daily life in Niger (Africa), Chad (Africa), Malawi (Africa), Honduras (North America), Nepal (Asia), Moldova (Europe), Georgia (Europe), Cambodia (Asia), Rwanda (Africa), Uganda (Africa), Zambia (Africa), Laos (Asia), Togo (Africa), Benin (Africa), Madagascar (Africa), Haiti (North America) and Bolivia (South America).
This quieter story is made of small actions that almost no one sees from outside, but that keep families and communities standing.
Morning in Niger and Chad: getting up anyway
In parts of Niger (Africa) and Chad (Africa), morning often begins before the sun climbs high. A room may still be cool from the night or already warm. Worries about food, school fees or work wait in the mind.
Someone opens their eyes and feels the weight of the day ahead. Staying under the blanket would be easy. Instead, feet touch the floor. A person walks to collect water, opens a small stall, heads to the market, or wakes a child and helps with clothes and books. There is no audience and no speech about motivation. That first step out of bed is a quiet victory.
Morning in Honduras and Haiti: stepping out with fear
In some neighbourhoods of Honduras (North America) and Haiti (North America), the first sounds of the day can bring tension. People hear about crime, political conflict or rising prices for food and fuel, and streets and buses do not always feel safe.
Even so, many people leave home. Someone climbs into a crowded bus and holds a child close. Someone sets up a street stand with fruit, snacks or repair tools. Someone walks to a job that pays little but still keeps the family going. Fear stays present, but it does not fully decide the day. That choice to go out is a victory.
Midday in Nepal and Bolivia: thin air, long roads
By midday in parts of Nepal (Asia) and Bolivia (South America), many people have already walked up and down steep hills. Towns and villages can sit high in the mountains, where thin air turns every climb into hard work. Markets, schools and clinics are often far apart, so one simple errand can mean hours of travel.
A parent may have carried water at dawn, then goods to sell, then a child who grew too tired to walk. The sun is now strong. Legs ache, backs hurt, and the day is only half done. The small victory is a quiet thought: “I am very tired, but I can keep going a little more.”
Midday in Moldova and Georgia: when numbers just about work
In Moldova (Europe) and Georgia (Europe), midday can mean a short pause with coffee or tea. During that break, someone adds wages, bills and prices in their head. There is rent or a mortgage. There is money needed for heating or electricity, for food, for bus tickets, for school supplies and for medicine.
Recent Human Development Reports describe how progress in health, education and income has slowed in many low-income countries, and how gaps in living standards between the top and bottom groups of countries are growing again. For a person at a kitchen table in Chișinău in Moldova (Europe) or Tbilisi in Georgia (Europe), the key fact is simpler: if the power bill can be paid, if rent is not late, if there is enough left for a notebook for a child, that is a victory.
Afternoon in Rwanda and Uganda: tired eyes, open books
In Rwanda (Africa) and Uganda (Africa), many young people use the afternoon for study. Classrooms are full. Small libraries stay busy. Cyber cafés and basic phones serve as windows to lessons and practice tests.
A student may have worked in a field in the morning or helped with younger siblings. Eyes are heavy, the chair is hard, and the room is noisy. It would be easy to close the book. Instead, one more page gets read. One more exercise is finished. One more short lesson plays on a phone screen. Research on “small wins” at work and in study shows that tiny steps forward can lift mood and motivation in a strong way. Each extra page in Kigali in Rwanda (Africa) or Gulu in Uganda (Africa) is a small step with real power, even if no one claps.
Afternoon in Cambodia and Laos: trying again
In Cambodia (Asia) and Laos (Asia), many afternoons are filled with second and third and fourth attempts. Someone who lost savings on a failed stall opens a new one. Someone who has sent many job applications writes another message. Someone signs up for a simple language course or online class, even while thinking, “School is for other people, not for me.”
There is risk in each new try: more time, more hope and maybe more disappointment. Yet each try is also a way to say, “Giving up is not the only path.” The result may not show this week or this year. The victory is in the decision to try again.
Evening in Zambia and Malawi: kindness in crowded houses
In Zambia (Africa) and Malawi (Africa), evenings often mean many people in a small home. Children ask for food and for help with homework. Older relatives need care. Adults return from long days in fields, markets or informal jobs, carrying worry about money and health.
In this mix, tempers can rise fast. A harsh word or a shout is always close. The harder choice is to listen to a child’s story from school, to share a small joke, or to stay calm when a plate breaks. When someone makes that harder choice, the air in the room changes. The house is not richer, but it feels safer. That change is a victory.
Evening in Togo and Benin: saying “not today”
In Togo (Africa) and Benin (Africa), many people live from day to day. At night, there may be a chance to buy small treats, join friends for drinks, or spend money just to forget the stress that has built up. These moments can bring joy, but they can also eat into rent or school fees.
Saying “Not today; this money stays for food, school or medicine” can feel like a loss in the moment. Friends may not understand. Still, this choice protects the days ahead. Even if no one else sees it, it is a financial victory.
Late night in Madagascar, Niger, Haiti and Bolivia: the win of “still here”
In Madagascar (Africa), Niger (Africa), Haiti (North America) and Bolivia (South America), the last victory of the day often happens in the dark. A person lies down and thinks, “This day was not great. It was not special. But I went out, I did what I had to do, I tried to be fair. I am still here.”
There is no music, no medal and no photo. Yet in a world where work is insecure and prices are high, being able to say “still here” at night is a real and deep victory.
What the numbers say in late 2025
In June 2025, the World Bank raised its main global extreme poverty line from 2.15 dollars to 3 dollars per person per day, using updated price data. This shift increased the official count of people in extreme poverty by more than 100 million people and confirmed that hundreds of millions still live on very low incomes. A United Nations statistics note records that this new 3-dollar line is based on typical poverty lines in the fifteen poorest countries, adjusted for the cost of living.
Human Development Reports in 2024 and 2025 describe the slowest progress in global human development in thirty-five years and warn that inequalities between countries are growing again. Analysts expect that a large share of people living under the new 3-dollar line will remain concentrated in countries such as Niger (Africa), Malawi (Africa) and Madagascar (Africa), many of them also affected by conflict or climate risk.
These numbers matter. They help the world see where support is needed. But they do not show the first step out of bed in a hot room, or the long walk to school at altitude, or the choice to stay kind when patience is gone. The statistics are the wide shot. The small daily victories are the close-up.
A tiny Dutch language moment
There is a Dutch phrase that fits this story well: “kleine overwinning”. It means “small victory”. “Kleine” sounds a bit like “klay-nuh”, and “overwinning” like “oh-ver-win-ning”. The phrase is simple but strong: even a very small win is still a win.
A gentle invitation to count one victory
Writers and researchers who study motivation often say that celebrating small wins helps the brain release reward signals, which makes it easier to keep moving through long, hard tasks. In the countries named in this article, that idea is not a trend or a slogan. It is a way to stay standing.
One small victory from today is enough. It might be getting out of bed during a low mood, going to a health check that felt scary, finishing a simple but important task, saying sorry, or saying “no” to an expense that would harm the family budget. Naming that win, writing it down, or sharing it with someone can make it feel real.
Conclusions
A world held up by small acts
Across Niger (Africa), Chad (Africa), Malawi (Africa), Honduras (North America), Nepal (Asia), Moldova (Europe), Georgia (Europe), Cambodia (Asia), Rwanda (Africa), Uganda (Africa), Zambia (Africa), Laos (Asia), Togo (Africa), Benin (Africa), Madagascar (Africa), Haiti (North America) and Bolivia (South America), late 2025 is full of small daily victories. People get up when they would rather stay in bed. They walk long roads. They study when tired. They stay calm when anger would be easy. They save a little when spending would feel good.
Global charts show poverty lines, growth rates and development scores. Those charts are important, but they are not the whole story. The small acts described here are another layer: the quiet courage that keeps lives moving even when the numbers look hard.
A soft ending for the reader
Reaching this last paragraph is already one small victory. It means there was enough time and calm to follow a story from start to finish. The hope is that this story makes it a little easier to see the strength inside everyday effort, and to recognise that no country, and no person, is only a grey shape on a map.
Selected References
[1] United Nations Development Programme – “Rich countries attain record human development, but half of the poorest have gone backwards” (press release, March 2024).
https://www.undp.org/press-releases/rich-countries-attain-record-human-development-half-poorest-have-gone-backwards-finds-un-development-programme
[2] United Nations Development Programme – “Human development progress slows to a 35-year low” (press material, May 2025).
https://www.undp.org/pacific/press-releases/human-development-progress-slows-35-year-low-according-un-development-programme-report
[3] United Nations Development Programme – Human Development Report 2023/2024 (global report PDF).
https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf
[4] World Bank – “June 2025 Update to Global Poverty Lines” (factsheet).
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2025/06/05/june-2025-update-to-global-poverty-lines
[5] World Bank – “June 2025 global poverty update from the World Bank: 2021 PPPs” (blog).
https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/june-2025-global-poverty-update-from-the-world-bank–2021-ppps-a
[6] United Nations Statistics Division – “International poverty line” (SDG indicator 1.1.1a metadata, August 2025, PDF).
https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-01-01-01a.pdf
[7] Our World in Data – “$3 a day: A new poverty line has shifted the World Bank’s data on extreme poverty. What changed, and why?”
https://ourworldindata.org/new-international-poverty-line-3-dollars-per-day
[8] Our World in Data – “Poverty” topic page.
https://ourworldindata.org/poverty
[9] Harvard Summer School – “Why Celebrating Small Wins Matters” (blog article).
https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/why-celebrating-small-wins-matters/
[10] Harvard Summer School – “Why Celebrating Small Wins Matters?” (YouTube video).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQBgNFWsHqE
Appendix
Extreme poverty
Extreme poverty is a situation in which people live on very little money per day, often below a global line such as 3 dollars, so that they struggle to pay for basic needs like food, shelter and simple health care and have almost no safety net.
Grey countries
Grey countries are nations that rarely appear at the centre of big international news stories and are often shown in neutral colours on maps or charts, which can make their daily struggles and successes easy to ignore.
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a number used by the United Nations Development Programme that combines data on life expectancy, education and income to give a simple picture of the overall level of development in each country.
Small victories
Small victories are modest everyday successes, such as getting out of bed on a bad morning, finishing a needed task, staying calm in a tense moment, saving a little money or asking for help, which together help a person move through hard times.
Underreported countries
Underreported countries are nations that receive little regular coverage in major global media, so that most people hear about them only through short crisis stories or statistics rather than through detailed human stories.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 