Acts of kindness make world a better place

Kindness. Possibly one of the most beautiful things in life. A quick Google search and kindness is defined as “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate”. But to those on the receiving end of an act of kindness, it could mean so much more than those three words.

It can mean the difference between life and death: that person you smiled at this morning and told to have a good day or they have pretty eyes could very well have had suicidal thoughts.

And kindness can really be as simple as smiling. On Thursday, we read in The Herald about a Gqeberha family who decided to treat 200 children from four Nelson Mandela Bay children homes to more than 1,000 Easter eggs.

It was while picking up her son from school in January that Morningside resident Porsché Booysen, 35, decided to make a difference in the lives of the impoverished children.

Her motivation a simply question from her son, Malachi: “Mommy, why are the children asking for food, why don’t they go home?”

“I told him: ‘Those children are not as fortunate as you’ .I asked him: ‘Do you want to do something good to help children on the street’ and he said yes,” Booysen said.

Booysen then posted a request on WhatsApp and donations started to flood in with 31 boxes of marshmallow Easter eggs and speckled eggs donated, totalling 1,044 Easter eggs.

Booysen, her husband, Alister, 40, and their three sons Zaheer, 15, Malachi, 6, and Micah, 2, made up the parcels which were delivered this week to MTR Children’s home, SOS Children’s Home, Thandusana Safe Home and EP Children’s Home.

The world has become such a cruel place, we think especially because social media and its anonymity makes it so easy to be nasty towards others.

So kind acts, simple as they may be, like the Booysens collecting had handing out eggs, are most welcome and much needed.

Who knows, a future philanthropist might be among this week’s recipients and this one random act — a donation of Easter eggs — might be a lifelong memory that inspires them to pay it forward one day.

One act of kindness a day from each one of us just be all it takes to make the world a better place.