What are we doing for society? Are we doing enough to help the next man? Or is the fame more important? I was watching a documentary on poverty in America and the realities that a rich country such as America has homeless people and people living off stale, past fast food meals got to me. It is illegal for the homeless person to go through the trash for food because that property belongs to the state (in California). This made me think of the poverty here at home.
As a waiter, we were instructed that we must discard all the food that is returned by the customer. Yes, for health reasons this makes perfect sense. Yet, when you begin to witness full plates of food being discarded because the meat is “too well-done” or the wings are “too spicy”, that makes you think. Across the street, there will be a homeless person or two who wouldn’t mind if the wings are too spicy or the meat too well-done. In fact, other waiters and even the manager would not mind at times in that they’ll discard the food into their bellies. It is a revelation to witness the poverty that ravages many families and yet we turn a blind eye towards their suffering. In many parts of today’s world, unless there’s a camera, people do not extend a helping hand to those that need it.
Yes, there are those that indeed help regardless. They are the ones that help not for likes on social media but because they genuinely care for the wellbeing of the next person. There are so many people living life not knowing where the next meal will be. There are so many people living life not knowing where they’ll rest their heads. Shockingly, this has become such common knowledge that it no longer shocks our everyday existence.
One night, I once ventured into the Bloem nights to get a glimpse of the homeless life. With nothing but my backpack that virtually had nothing inside, I sat out to live on the streets for that one night. I began my journey in the afternoon around 3pm. As I walked around, I realised many things. Small things like most restrooms were locked to the public. Those that were public restrooms were not functional. Water taps were also locked. It truly blows my mind that we live in a world where people lock their taps so that people cannot have access to water. Water. The one resource that without it, there is no life and yet there people who deliberately deny other people this basic need of life.
Anyway, as the night drew darker, the idea that I have to find a place to sleep crept in. I moved from building to building searching for a place to lay my head. Most abandoned buildings already housed someone. That someone was not there but you would see a mattress laid out at the far end of the building. Fearfully I’d quickly escape the building. No man likes uninvited guests in their home and I believe the same goes for the homeless. As I was approaching the ends of Bloem, there were huge concrete cylinder blocks laid out in an open field. I climbed to the top one and crawled inside. My sleep probably lasted 10 minutes before I headed out to search for another spot.
I continued to walk. At this time, it was probably around 2am. There was an old building next to the airport. I ran for it. Halted by a torch light held by the security guard, I had no option but to retreat. At this point I could have simply called a taxi and returned to my place. To a warm bed and warm water. But, the wallet was empty and my phone was dead. The gravity of the situation suddenly hit me. Tears began to flow down my eyes and I went and sat on a rock by the highway. A white B-Class Mercedes pulled over. It was an old white lady. A “tannie”. She asked me why I am here and if I’m lost. I told her my story and obviously, with fear, the tannie however ushered me into her car and told me she’ll take me to my place. This one act of kindness is something I will never forget.
It is true, my expedition that night was entirely voluntary, At any point, I could have found means to call my sister, my brother or any of my friends to get me. Or simply, I could have walked back to my place of residence. But I hungered to experience the true experience of life on the streets. And truth be told, those tears came from the overwhelming appreciation of how easy life has been for me. There are people who have it tough. And sadly, we as a people seem not to care to help these people, unless we receive some award from it.
Back to the documentary about the poverty in America. There was a part in the documentary that documented the efforts of some couple in efforts to ease the burden for the homeless. The husband builds wooden rooms for homeless people and the wife finances the initiative. There was a scene where this guy explains that he was about to deliver one of his houses to a homeless family. A man, woman and two children living in the streets. The place that this family housed their personal belongings (in a wooden cart) was near a residential area of sorts. The moment the man arrived with the wooden house, the homeowners quickly protested. They went further to even call the police to have the homeless family’s home taken away. The depth of that scene is too profound for words.
One could argue that the homeowners had every right to react the way they did. That’s the area where their property is built. Therefore, the surrounding areas affects the overall value of their properties. They could be fearful that the homeless family might invade their homes for food and bring in diseases to their families. The homeowners have every right to take drastic steps to protect that which they value. Yet the flipside to the story is the fact that, the homeowners have the comfort to rest easy at night. The homeless family, which they were ready to battle, do not.
This is not a family of drug addicts or hooligans. This was a family of a well-meaning man who works piece-jobs around the city to feed his family- just they have no home. The delivery of that wooden house, no bigger than a single room, brought him and his wife (and children) immense joy. Yet, from a point of self, the surrounding homeowners were ready to take that joy away from that family. How heartless can one be? The sad reality is that, that occurrence was in America. An economy so rich that it fuels the rest of the world. When one thinks of the homeless and the needy in our country South Africa, it hits even harder.
In Bloemfontein, we used to hear stories of students who slept at the train station. There were stories of students who slept in the overnight study area. Some of these students we saw first-hand. One would see a student the previous night in the study area and see the same student in the same clothes the next morning- every day. There are students in QwaQwa who slept in people’s garages. Most garages in QwaQwa are not like garages in Sandton so let the imagination run free to imagine the state of these students’ accommodation. And these are people who are embarking on obtaining a higher education certificate and yet their living conditions are questionable.
At this stage, the question becomes what can we do to help the next man. Like that tannie who picked me up in the middle of the highway in the middle of the night in Bloem, her act goes unnoticed and yet it forever stays with me. We do not need to do the great and mighty. We need only do that which we can. A tiny act can create hope in someone’s life. The hinge opens the door, a tiny spark becomes a great fire. This other time, I was at PicknPay ready to pay for my goods. Realising I was short, I decided to leave the bottle of Coke I had hoped to buy for my mother. The sad feeling sunk deep in my heart because I really wanted to buy that Coke for my mother. After all, this was money from my first pay check. However, miscalculations prohibited the transaction. As I was about to leave, another “tannie” behind me said that I can take the coke. She said that she’ll pay for it. She explained to me why she decided to buy the bottle of Coke for me and told me about a movie called Paying it Forward. Whatever her reason, her single act filled me with joy that I doubt she could ever fathom.
The fact is, we cannot solve all of society’s ails. But we can help wherever we can. It is saddening that most people act in kindness only if there is a camera involved. Most of our celebrities’ good-will gestures are captured on camera. Therefore, the subsequent result being that the followers of these celebrities believe that for a good deed to be done, it needs to be captured. And that’s not the case. One would argue that it really does not matter. Whether from seeming like the Good Samaritan or simply helping out, the end result is the same. The celebrity who publicly announces R10 000 to a feeding scheme and delivers on the promise, is contributing more than the average Joe who cannot spend more than R500 on their philanthropic escapade. The chain-effect is powerful because other celebrities (for their public images) will want to join in the giving. Their followers (because of their loyalty) will also want to join in the giving. Adam’s invisible hand takes effect.
However, they do lack one key ingredient. The human touch. Former Miss SA once visited an orphanage and during her time there, she was wearing gloves. She was smiling and taking many pictures with the children, wearing gloves. Obviously, the public went into uproar. The official reason was that she was wearing gloves for her protection. The question then became why go there if you need protection? A doctor during these trying times of COVID-19 told a reporter that as doctors they cannot be scared of the disease. If as a doctor you fear sickness, then being a doctor is not for you. The inhuman touch of wearing gloves to interact with other human beings (who do not know a physical, warm human touch) in the pursuit “to be an ideal role model who visits the needing” is highly disgusting. There was a child from an orphanage in deep rural QwaQwa who I loved with all my heart. I once kissed him on the cheek and the poor boy simply wanted more. Every time I went to him, he would point his tiny finger to his right cheek. That’s the magic of a human touch and good deeds without this human touch are simply in vain.
We are not all Mother Teresas. We are not all destined for the life of servitude towards humanity. Yet, an act from a pure heart to other human being brings hope to those that need it. An interview with Kendrick Lamar revealed that Kendrick Lamar spends a huge portion of his wealth on developing schools in Compton. When the interviewer exposed this, Kendrick Lamar with a clear look of pure frustration asked the interviewer how he found out. Clearly, Kendrick Lamer is following in the steps of his idol Tupac who did the same with his millions. The effect that one human has on the next person is without a question very powerful. Kids grow up believing that being a rapper will pay them millions as it has for AKA and them. Kids grow up believing that being a house DJ will pay them millions as it has for DJ Tira and them. Therefore, seeing our idols reaching out and helping those in need has the same effect. The key thing to remember is that we are dealing with people; fellow human beings. The human touch is what brings hope to a dying soul. A warm hug from a loving mother when all seems over can bring you out of depression. A warm embrace from the one you love can give the hope that tomorrow the storm will be over. The power transmuted through the touch of one human to another is one that cannot be replicated for likes on social media.
One remembers that Tannie and wonders where she is. She contradicted the narrative of an elderly Afrikaner woman in South Africa. Her single act gave me hope that I had never before experienced. Inasmuch what I was doing was for “an experience”, I had not counted on the fact that I might come across an angel that night. She goes as an unsung hero. The same as the unsung hero who gave Tony Robbins a meal one thanksgiving and that inspired him to feed millions more. The same as the unsung Brazilian woman who experienced all the evils a woman can experience in a single lifetime to inspire and help transform troubled teenagers in the rough-parts of Brazil. The human touch is want brings meaningful change to people’s lives and it’s this human touch that we desperately need as a people. South Africa has one of the highest inequalities figures in the world. Being African in South Africa, I personally know more than one family that struggles every night to sleep with a full stomach. Therefore, the human touch can definitely touch someone in need. We need only but act. We need only but to reach out and touch the next man- as a human.