I wrote about the difficulty of seeing the beauty of humanity in general, but one small article changed my perspective.
The way Springs people and others from surrounding areas reacted to a single family, living in difficult conditions, was awe-inspiring.
There were so many calls and messages requesting more details so they can assist them.
So many, in fact, that I had my hands full for most of a morning.
The positive response was fantastic and I applaud the people of Springs.
Of course, as with every situation, there was also the not-so-positive, yet not-negative, feedback.
I remember one in particular where a woman said, “Normal life for millions of South Africans…” and another stated, “Many families in the area are struggling”.
This is absolutely true, we all know the struggle many people in this country face.
Some asked where are the articles written about the others who struggle and suffer through hardships.
True, we could write books about struggling families and what people have to live through, but there is a lot of awareness out there about the matter.
Not necessarily in the form of articles, but social media has made a great impact on this.
Then I thought, why do we need articles to make us aware of others’ hardships?
Do we not see it ourselves?
Do we not drive past many struggling people on a daily basis?
This does not include beggers at traffic lights, on a sympathy scale of 1 to 10, mine is 0.1 in that regard.
We know a little about these people’s circumstances, yet we continue with our lives after a hurried ‘ag shame’.
Then we’re done, yes?
Why do we need to read an article explaining the details of this way of living, before acting?
Please don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic that so many people have reacted to hearing this family’s story.
But if not made public, do we react then?
I’m also not talking about our awesome non-profit organisations in Springs, those who make it their life’s mission to help as many of these families as possible on a daily basis.
I’m talking about you and me, the person next to you and the average person on the street.
Do we react to seeing a mother walking with her small children to an unknown destination?
Do we react when we see the horrid conditions people sometimes have to live in?
Do we react when we see an elderly woman carrying her grocery shopping bags on her way home, or to an old age home or who knows where?
I know I don’t. Do you?
Tell me, do we react when a person paying in front of you doesn’t have enough money to buy their bread or milk and they need to choose between the two?
I’m not saying you should walk into an informal settlement or any other dangerous areas alone or to stop and pick up any random person.
Actually, please don’t do that.
All I’m trying to get across is that there are many ways to help someone who you can clearly see is struggling.
And that’s exactly what I’m going to start doing this year.
I’m moving past the ‘ag shame’ and taking action. I don’t know how yet, but I believe I will know when the opportunity arises.
We don’t need the media to tell us when someone is in need and how we can help.
Humanity and common sense dictate that and we will know where we are needed and what we can do to help.
My two cents.
