On behalf of Pooja: ‘Thank you’

MY EYES well with tears as I pen this editorial – I am crying tears of joy and contentment.

I am moved by the kindness of POST readers who must be the most warm-hearted, caring, loving and benevolent newspaper readers.

In just three months, during tough economic times, they have raised almost R250 000 for prosthetic arms and legs for 12-year old Pooja Santhoo, who was born without limbs. Shoprite has also donated a substantial sum and pledged to take care of her schooling and personal needs for the next three years.

Since her birth on August 15, 2003, at King Edward VIII Hospital, to parents who lived in a shack at Malagazi south of Durban, POST has been capturing the milestones along Pooja’s journey to the present day when, as a pre-teen, she loves everything from Justin Bieber and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan to WhatsApp.

At the recent POST SAB Women’s Day Breakfast, Pooja stretched out her new prosthetic arms and handed retired judge Navanethem Pillay a bouquet of flowers. Since then the child with an indomitable spirit has been fitted with prosthetic legs to give her greater freedom and mobility.

If only I could, I would like to personally thank each reader of POST who contributed so willingly to such a worthy cause. Their charitable disposition is in total accord with the timeless doctrine that “the hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray”.

Those of us fortunate enough to have the use of all our limbs take for granted the things that had long been denied Pooja – simple daily functions like brushing her teeth, combing her hair, feeding herself and shaking hands. It is therefore a celebration of the human spirit that Pooja will now have some semblance of normality with her new limbs, moulded from the kindheartedness of POST readers.

The people who opened their hearts – and wallets – to Pooja’s plight confirm that there is a lot more kindness and goodness in the world than is made out. These are the people who help remind us that no matter how much evil there is, good will always prevail.

We at POST are happy to be able to count such people, overflowing with the milk of human kindness, as our faithful followers – our readers, who hanker after a news source they can trust, and a paper that entertains and informs with truth and integrity.

The common characteristic of great newspapers is that they have a soul – and POST has shown that it is made of more than ink and paper. This newspaper shares a living bond with its readers. We will continue to build that relationship.

On behalf of Pooja, thank you dear readers.

YOGAS NAIR

EDITOR