Donate/Stories2/en

Inspirational Wikipedia Stories

“I was recently deployed for the second time to Iraq this past year. I was a Section Sergeant for a "Gun Truck" team of 25 Soldiers attached to an Infantry Battalion. We spent about 400 days in the Babil To: Province of Iraq and conducted over 450 patrols. We were in constant interaction with the Iraqi culture and population out in sector and we had no knowledge of their culture and history. I did not want us to be "bad" ambassadors for the U.S. and the only way I could make sure my Soldiers respected the Iraqi people was to educate them on the history of Islam and culture of Iraq. With only a laptop in our Tactical Operations Center, I accessed Wikipedia weekly and researched everything from the rich history of our area in Iraq to the Shiite religion. Knowledge breaks all barriers and eliminates fear. Thank you.”

“I'm from Agnam-Goly, a Sahelian village in north-eastern Senegal with a population of 3,143 inhabitants. I used Wikipedia the first time in 2007 for educational purposes while I was studying in Cheikh Anta DIOP university of Dakar. At the beginning, I thought like many other students in Dakar that the Wikipedia articles are all completed work to which I can't add anything- I mean a closed system. So that I just have to come by and take from Wikipedia projects what I want as information for my research and that's it. But by curiosity, I entered the name of my village (Agnam-Goly) within the Wikipedia search tool, and I noticed that the article entitled "Agnam-Goly" does not exist but I can create it. And I said to myself "wow, how come?!". I was so happy to know that I can be part of the system, I mean becoming an active Wikipedia user and contributor… I can proudly say that I shared the best knowledge I had about my village (Agnam-Goly) by using Wikipedia free tools but by the meantime, I learnt about basic creation of a website, how to embed images within plain text and I also extended my knowledge on personal interests (sustainable development, alternative energies, climate change, carbon offset, mechanism of clean development, etc.) But what I learnt most from all of that is the fact that the best of the communities is the community of knowledge and sharing and that's what Wikipedia means to me.”

“I'm a teacher. Some instructors tell me that they refuse to accept quotations from Wikipedia as references in a student's work for class. Well, I say, why not go to Wikipedia where a basic definition can be found and links can lead the student to other sources? As a teacher, I find Wikipedia a quick way to get some information. I applaud Wikipedia on its mission and I hope others will support the foundation.”

“As a patent attorney I need to know how a lot of things work. Inventors who explain their inventions to me do not want to waste their time telling me all the background. So I need to research it. Wikipedia is my first port of call. I have referred to Wikipedia in patent specifications I have drafted. One academic client was horrified that I used such a source, claiming it to be inaccurate and unreliable. I am afraid that Wikipedia's usefullness and accessibility far outweighs any perceived inaccuracies. Also, knowing academics as I do (I act for a number of universities) they are a nit-picking lot, who like nothing better than to rewrite the same thing in different words and call it something different! Wikipedia is fantastic and I donate willingly to keep it alive and well!”

“I'm a syndicated puzzle writer, and need fast access to a wide variety of information on a very wide range of topics when writing crossword clues and other puzzles. In recent years Wikipedia has become my main reference for my work - I use it every day.”

“I use Wikipedia in my personal life as a singer of choral and classical musical music. For one performance, Elijah, by Mendelssohn, Wikipedia gave me a huge historical and religious background on the prophet Elijah and the worship of Baal in the middle east. The knowledge I gained from Wikipedia really enhanced my understanding and appreciation of Mendelssohn's great oratorio.”

“I am the older sister of a man with autism who is truly curious about the world. After showing him how to pose a question on the computer and bring up Wikipedia, he developed his own way to investigate maps, eras, history, space, well the list goes on and on. I was working on a project and was stumped by the origin of a concept. He astonished me by typing a related word on to the screen, then bringing up Wikipedia! Your site has truly helped to develop his sense of our world! Professionally I am the Director of an agency serving children and adults with autism. Having done so well with my own brother, I insist people who work with our autistic participants use Wikipedia as often as possible. What a fantastic way to teach, illustrate and enlighten individuals with and without handicaps! Thank you Wikipedia!"

“On September 2nd, 2007 my son died of SIDS. He was four months and seven days old. Just like every parent, I had heard of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but once the tears started to settle what I really wanted was more information and to convince myself that everything that could be done in the realm of preventative medical research was being done. And more than this, I wanted to know everything there was to know about SIDS. I wanted to donate to causes fighting SIDS, I wanted to join support groups of parents like me and I wanted to know why... WHY?! Ultimately, the support of friends and family and church and lots and lots of prayer saved my wife, my two healthy children (currently 7 and 9) and myself from life-long depression. But when it was INFORMATION that I wanted to know, for what it's worth Wikipedia was the best place to begin. The WHY question is being answered in continued prayer. But when the WHAT and HOW questions needed to be answered with more research, Wikipedia was my first click.”

“I am, for the most part, homebound because of my disability but my mind is still very active and curious. I can count on Wikipedia to give me the information I want or need. It is always up to date and gives me other links and directions to explore to broaden my understanding.”

“I was on holiday in November 2008 on a tiny island in the Grenadines of the Caribbean celebrating my 30th birthday - lucky me! Unfortunately I got very sick, and as I was 7 months pregnant this was a big worry. My husband had spent a long time and lot of money on planning the holiday - which was also to celebrate our joint birthdays - and our 1 year old girl was really enjoying swimming in the sea every morning. I didn't want to cut our holiday short for what might be nothing, but I didn't want to put my pregnancy at risk. Amazingly I managed to pick up GSM coverage on my mobile from the adjacent island and was able to look up Wiki to check out my symptoms against those of pre-eclampsia, heat stroke - pretty much anything I wanted to know and was reassured that it probably wasn't too serious. I found out there was a small hospital on the adjacent island and, to pass a sleepless night, I read about the history of the island I was on. The following morning I took a boat to the adjacent island where I got medical treatment. I was able to look up the drugs I was given (being British and the drugs all having American names) and in the end we continued our holiday. My mobile phone bill was pretty spectacular when I got back, but the information I could get from Wiki that frightening night - in the middle of nowhere - was priceless. That's why I just made a donation.”

“I am a physican and I am frequently asked a number of strange questions. With the explosion of medical knowlege, it is impossible "keeping up" or remembering everything. Wikipedia is an initial fast way of looking up an item and getting up to speed in a matter of seconds. There is always the issue of accuracy, however, I have been impressed by the information supplied and I especially find the references and additional connection sources helpful. I am also grateful that I can access the information without entering any codes, this contributes to the speed of access, but it also demonstrates how free this information is for people all over the globe. When I use Wikipedia, I feel like I am walking in a public library. These are the best resources that we can possibly have- they are more valuable than oil and gold.” “As an American living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where access to a [well-stocked English language] public library is virtually non-existent and the written word (in its many splendid varieties) is stringently controlled by the government, Wikipedia is literally a god-send.”

“You made my friend and I stop arguing about how old Judy Garland was in the Wizard of Oz. Thank you Wikipedia.”

Template:2008/Donate-footer/en