Dear Editor
South
Africa is a country with immense potential – we have the people, the resources,
the spirit to become not just a continental leader, but an inter-continental
world leader. Through our tragic past, we have evolved in ways that other,
older, democracies haven’t.
That
potential is threatened by a greed and corruption that sees the few become
bloated fat cats, while the masses are starved of both hope and food. When a man
is unable to find work to feed his children, how can he ever develop the latent
talents and gifts he has?
Patric
is such a man. I have known Patric since 2008, when I met him selling homemade
brooms and brushes along our street. He had to leave school to help
his mother feed & educate his siblings. Whether he is dripping wet from a
highveld storm, or baking under the hot summer sun, Patric is a young man who
always smiles as he enthusiastically sells his wares. His hopes for the future
and his belief in this country make me proud to be South African.
This
year Patric is trying to gain a more reliable and better paid job as a driver
or in any other capacity in a company that offers him future prospects. Being
the enterprising young man he is, he has pro-actively gone about seeking to
make a better life for himself and his family. You can see this from his
letter, which I have transcribed below. From my years of knowing Patric, I
endorse what he has stated there.
As
our country limps along, licking old wounds (apartheid’s legacy) as new ones
(like President Zuma’s infamous Nkandla & the Guptagate scandal) are gouged
out of our hopes, I would like to help Patric achieve his dream of a better job
and thus a better future for himself.
Why
do I not employ Patric, a more concrete form of help than writing a letter? As
an ordinary working family, my husband and I employ four people in our house
& garden, my sister and her husband the same number, and my recently
widowed mother employs three. Not because we each need that many workers, but –
being ordinary people who aren’t able to change all that’s wrong in this world
— we feel this is a trifling way we can try to change a few
individual lives by giving them a small sense of achievement & self-esteem.
In addition, we have recently made a substantial pension payout to our old
gardener, who we supported from 2004 when he had a stroke and was unable to
continue working (he passed away recently and we made a final lump sum payment
to his children.) Sadly for Patric, though, that means we are financially at
maximum employment capacity for a small family like ours.
However,
I’m still hopeful that I can help Patric in another way – by asking other
people for help. That’s where the xxxxx comes in!
Do
you know The StarFish Story?
It
tells of a young girl who was walking along a beach upon which thousands of
starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each
starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People
watched her with amusement. She had been doing this for some time when a man
approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this
beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a
difference!”
The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she
bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into
the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,
“Well, I made a difference to that one!”
The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she
had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish
back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.
In
the spirit of The Starfish Story, would you use your considerable power and
readership to help this one young man? Perhaps you can run a human interest
story and appeal to a far wider audience than I ever could – with God’s
grace and a little bit of luck, one of your readers will be touched by the
story and be in a position to offer Patric a job that has a better chance for
him to use his talents and work towards his dreams.
Can
the XXXXX help make a difference to one man’s life? Can you help
Patric by publishing a story about him and asking your readers for help? The cell
phone number Patric gave me is 076 814
1975
Yours
sincerely
Judy Croome
Johannesburg, South Africa
Twitter: @judy_croome
Email: judy@judycroome.com
Patric’s Letter (scanned copy of original can be emailed
on request)
“Nhlanhla
Lucky Jali (Patric)
ID 860615*******
26 Years
old
Drivers
Licence – Code C1
Languages
Spoken – English, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho (basic), Afrikaans (basic)
Education
– Grade 10 Amandlethu High School Inanda Durban Kwa Zulu Natal (2003)
Cell
Phone contact – 076 814 1975
Employment:
2003 – to present – self-employed entrepreneur
I have
been selling household items door to door since 2003 when I became the sole
breadwinner for my family.
I am a
highly motivated individual who is working very hard to improve my life and
that of my family.
My goals
are to have a good job which will allow me to support my family and to be able
to build my own house one day. I value education and would very much like to
send my children to a good school.
I play
soccer for the Phola City team when I am in Durban, and value the camaraderie
of team work.
While I
do not have formal employment experience, I am a dedicated and hardworking
individual who would be an asset to any company. I am prepared to work my way
up within the company.
Thank you
for considering me.”
5 comments:
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Hi Judy .. this is heart-warming and heart-rending as there must be so many, who have not been given any opportunity in the New South Africa after so many promises with Nelson Mandela's release ..
I sincerely hope Patric finds some education, an opening, a way forward ..
Like the starfish .. it is one at a time ...
Many many thoughts to Patric, and I sincerely hope your letter will bring some good news ... Hilary
Judy, thank you for reminding me about the starfish story. To see your actions helps me remember that we can all make a difference with small actions. I am wondering lately how I can help as the UK faces some tough changes and times.
I do hope that your letter will help Patric.
HILARY - there's a lot of work we still have to do here, but one starfish at a time! :):) Thanks for your good wishes for Patric - hoping something pops up.
JAN - that starfish story is always so comforting and inspiring when I feel overwhelmed by all that needs righting in this cruel world. Hope you can find your small starfish that you'll make a real difference too! :)
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