One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has seen death, economic hardship and anxiety on an unprecedented scale. But it has also witnessed self-sacrifice, courage and perseverance.

In India, Brazil, South Africa and other places around the globe, people are helping others and reinventing themselves.

“I’ve been adaptable, like water,” said a woman whose dream of becoming a US boxing champion was dealt a blow by the crisis, though not necessarily a knockout punch.

Their voices and images can inspire, even though the future is as uncertain for them as it is for everyone else.