Every two years the countries funny people get together and put on an evening of entertainment with the purpose of raising millions for the needy in Africa. A very worthy cause and it has been great to see so many dressed in red to support the cause. Have to admit that a day of having buckets rattled under my nose and gang pressed into parting with another quid got kinda tiresome, i support the cause and am willing to give whenever the opportunity arises but i got it on the way to work, at work and then on the way home again and got a whithering glance off the woman outside the train station when i gave her the national 'i haven't got any change' gesture of shrugging and patting my pockets. I could have patiently explained to her that i must have handed over 20 pound coins during the day to the same cause she was collecting for and would certainly be pledging something over the phone tonight but I never.
What Comic relief does do well is break up the comedy with short, heart breaking pieces from Africa.
I can't remember when it was but one piece always sticks in my mind. A celebrity was talking about children dying in Africa and told us that a child dies every 3 seconds. He clicked his fingers, then a second later another celebrity did the same, and then another one and the words that's 3 seconds. That really stuck with me and i sometimes find myself working out how many African children died in that time when anybody mentions something in seconds. This post has taken me 27 mins to write, that's 1620 seconds. 540 children. Frightening.
5 comments:
Cool header.
Paul,
My wife and I give to many charities as well as giving a lot of our time for service. One we are working at this moment is Blood Water. It is a project to provide water wells in Africa.
> When giving money I never know how much, if any, will eventually make it to the needy. But it can help many people and places simultaenously.
> I also try to remember that I can only be doing one thing at a time. If I'm giving my time and energy to a mission in Mexico, then I can't be giving my time to a mission anywhere else.
Lot's of needs. Limited resources.
Q
Thanks annie, quite happt with how it turned out myself.
I find it hard to draw a line sometimes Q because every charity is needy but it is impossible to give to them all. As you say, lots of needs but limited resources.
"I could have patiently explained to her that i must have handed over 20 pound coins during the day to the same cause she was collecting for and would certainly be pledging something over the phone tonight but I never. "
I always make sure I brandish the badge or sticker (in this case it was a sticker) at any subsequent collector who wants me to give my last penny for the cause. Saves a lot of unpleasantness. Comic Relief do brilliant work though, no doubt.
Last i saw it had raised £59 million. Thats a staggering amount. Well done to everyone.
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