‘The voice and heart of the community’
THIS is a slogan that meant, and still means, so much to many of us. To this end, this newspaper, founded in March 1955, has, in the last 50 or so years, given tangible meaning to this by being integrally involved in community affairs.
Our projects included being involved in joint fund-raisers for the Aryan Benevolent Home, the Verulam Child and Family Welfare, and the Chatsworth Child Welfare societies, to name a few.
In addition, we had teamed with the Chatsworth Centre and Phoenix Plaza, through the now late Shobna Persadh and the centre and plaza marketing teams, to offer bursaries to deserving and successful matriculants to pursue tertiary studies.
One had to see the smiles of the recipients at these award presentations to fathom the joy of relief. The tenants at these two malls were ever so willing to partner with us in these projects.
One of our other key projects was the Special Appeal Fund to financially help those with medical problems. The gratitude of the beneficiaries, and their families was immeasurable.
The POST Real Curry, the Baby and Bridal competitions, and the Miss POST contest, as well as our association with showbiz promoters, in which we offered ticket give-aways, all helped cement the ongoing relationship with readers.
Our hosting of president-elect Nelson Mandela in 1992, shortly after his release from prison and before his 1994 inauguration as the first democratically-elected leader of South Africa, was certainly a scoop to be proud of.
On the sports front, this newspaper played a pivotal role in highlighting non-racial sport, especially coverage of Federation soccer (we even spearheaded a Save The Fed fund-raiser due to a dearth in sponsorship and raised a substantial amount through pledges), cricket, golf, athletics and other codes, as well as SA Council on Sport activities, and afforded wide coverage to Natal High Schools’ sports events.
The mainstays here, among others in high school administration, were Maya Singh, the Naidoo brothers, Lenny and Vishnu and their ilk.
To end, the cherry on the top, without a shadow of doubt, was our massive The Journey supplement in 2010, highlighting the 150th anniversary of the arrival of our forefathers in this country from India. It garnered sales of close to 69 000, which again proved conclusively that the umbilical cord for those with ancestral links to India remains firm. A pity then that now, close to 163 years in November, there is still so much government procrastination over the planned statue/monument.
It’s about time that promises are translated into concrete action as a fitting tribute to our ancestors.