Message of the Week 25 - 29 May 2020
Week 22 | 2020
Unite in helping out during COVID-19
By now many of us are feeling a tad tired with this new lockdown lifestyle. The most common cause of complaint, and indeed anxiety, being the uncertainty. We know that the COVID-19 pandemic is significantly changing the world, but no one can tell us exactly how it will affect our future lifestyles and livelihoods.
There is no end date in sight, no certainty and no blue print to follow. About the only thing we can do is to live up to the Kyocera philosophy of “Serving the Greater Good of Humanity and The World”.
If you can get your hands on it, I’d recommend reading the New York Times’ bestseller The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr Edith Eva Eger. Eger was orphaned in World War II and sent to Auschwitz before being pulled from a pile of corpses when the camp was liberated in 1945. Through her personal journey, the book reveals human capacity to transcend even the greatest of horrors and to use that suffering for the benefit of others.
In true South African spirit, we are seeing daily stories of generosity and ingenuity. Our business communities are using their resources to help others during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is not only corporates that can contribute towards helping out during Covid-19, each of us can contribute in our personal capacities too. Here are some inspiring stories I’ve come across recently:
- Eat Out is helping those restaurants that are feeding the hungry to access funding to do more!
- A Johannesburg based firm is 3D printing essential medical gear
- Hyundai is helping to bring food relief to communities
- Faf du Plessis is helping to ease anxiety by helping out the poor
- Joburg residents are uniting to host COVID-19 charity drives.
What’s important is that we each do what we can within the constraints of our circumstances, this could be anything from continuing to pay your domestic staff, to donating time or money to a cause. Maybe it making up two food parcels each time to shop for yourself. If you’re not sure who needs help, take a look at For Good, an organisation that links people with a variety of skills with local charities.
With some effort, proactive work, unity and an open heart and some luck thrown in for good measure, the world that emerges after COVID-19 will be a kinder more connected place.