Thursday, December 30, 2004

Walls of water bring waves of generosity

Most of you know that I've created this blog as a wannabe travel diary for the big holiday that is coming up really quickly. However, the title of this blog also lends itself to a bit of analysis about general things that are happening across the globe that make me smile, or otherwise.
I resist writing about anything political, lest I be revealed as the ignoramus I am on these issues. I don't like writing about dramatic events in world history for fear that I relegate this blog to a sad, whine-fest. But something happened yesterday that warrants a mention here.
The Boxing Day tragedy in Asia has focussed our attention on a small corner of the world that has been ripped apart by a relentless wall of water that took away lives, property, and just about everything recognisable in the region. Since the tsunamis hit, national governments have responded by contributing financial aid etc but, for citizens like me, working out the most effective way to help is tricky. What will my $100 donation do, when funds in the magnitude of $30million are on the table? In response to thoughts like this, I defer to the old chestnut that "every little bit helps".
So it was heart-warming to see the call go out across the State Government email system yesterday for volunteers to support the Red Cross Tsunami Appeal phone lines this coming weekend. In the first hour alone, 400 people registered their willingness to work for free to register donations from across South Australia.
Was I surprised at the outpouring of generosity, or was I perhaps more gratified that those people willing to help were the much-maligned public servants?

1 comment:

kilabyte said...

Amen ........