Just do it, regardless

IDON’T know about you, but it seems to me that we are living in a world gone crazy. It’s like a real “stop the earth, I want to get off now” type of time. What with mistresses plotting the downfall of not only their current lovers but also exes, to so-called billionaires spoiling their children from the day they pop out.

Then we have a couple of lions who escaped from the Kruger National Park and decided to take a road trip.

The one big story is the ANC Provincial Elective Conference which starts today in Colesberg.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but it just seems like the conference is being forced on supporters. It’s almost like the general saying to his troops: “We will be marching into enemy land this morning at 09h00 regardless of the fact that you only signed up yesterday.

“It doesn’t matter that you are not battle ready, you will march into enemy territory. That is an order!”

It doesn’t seem to matter that supporters are unhappy with the whole process, it doesn’t matter that the ANC claims it wants to fix the “faction enemy” after its poor showing in the local government elections last year, it doesn’t matter that after 23 years these very supporters still do not have access to basic services – you will be at the conference and you will vote for me! That is an order!

But, sigh, it is time to come back to reality. And that reality hit me like a bullet in the stomach when I was lucky enough to accompany one of our reporters to cover the story on children lucky enough to benefit from the Smile Foundation.

These children’s reality is that some have been born with cleft lips and palates; another is a burn victim who doesn’t have full use of his hand, while another has a speech impediment. This is only a few of almost 50 children from as far afield as Springbok, and this is the children and their parent’s reality.

And, what really shone through with these children was that it didn’t matter what their “reality” was, they were still kids who wanted to play and just be children.

Not to worry how they would be able to get out of their homes because they were being held hostage by sewerage running in their front garden.

Not to worry that they might have to bring out the buckets to catch the rainwater seeping into their shanties.

They might have been taunted by the children in the community, but here they were in a happy and safe environment and, as one four-year-old said, “After the operation I’m going to be beautiful.”

The harsh reality is that all these children are already beautiful beyond words.

It really is a great pity that our politicians who are lobbying for positions, tenders, more money … can not just spend half an hour with these children who don’t know about stabbing anyone in the back, and to know that when they leave the hospital they will at least have a nice winter gown and a blanket to keep them warm on the long drive home.

No matter what is going on in this crazy world, there is some reality out there and we all need to face it.

Shap to all the children undergoing their “reality” operations!