Giving is its own reward

CHRISTMAS this year appears beset by an army of Grinches. Job losses, the falling rand, the economic slowdown . . . not to mention the fiasco over the finance ministry last week. There is more than enough misery to pass around on December 25 and if we want to feel sorry for ourselves we would not have to make much effort.

We could, of course, choose a different attitude. We could follow the example of Poppy Mtshwene, a Real Hero featured in our new campaign to celebrate ordinary South Africans making a difference in their communities.

Gogo Poppy grew up in poverty on a farm. She is unemployed, uneducated and has little to call her own. But she saves part of her grant money every month to buy gifts and clothes for the children in her community — Emzinoni, in Mpumalanga. “I feel happy and my heart feels happy because I can help the children whose parents can’t,” she says.

The toys and clothes she gives also signal the love and care for others by a person immersed in her community. Her actions affirm that the children matter. Love and care are essential to every child, and no child can ever have too much of either. Research increasingly indicates that children who are deprived of love are more vulnerable to predatory adults or to antisocial behaviour. Acts of love and friendship can help them develop self-respect and resilience. The underlying value of Gogo Poppy’s gifts is to be found in the love that she spreads through her selflessness and generosity.

Gogo Poppy is probably also on to something that people often miss: giving brings psychological rewards for the giver, too. Thank you, Gogo Poppy, for the gift of your example. May you and all our readers have a blessed Christmas.