Column: Myron On Compassion & Community
[Column written by Martha Harris Myron]
The US economy is strong, so the economic pundits say. Inflation is dropping, but that trickle-down effect is not reflected in ordinary families’ financial situations. It never has been so in Bermuda where cost-of-living is always a challenge.
This news is not of any comfort to any working family that is now struggling to make ends meet. Food banks and helping hand charities, in soliciting increasing support ,are reporting that the demand for basic living needs has increased substantially from prior years.
More concerning, in the ominous financial choice of paying the rent or buying groceries, more employed workers are seeking assistance just to get by. Who knows how many are one paycheck away from homelessness? Most of us have never felt the constant fear, neediness, and humiliating exhaustion of finding / begging for food, nor even having access to basic bathroom and laundry facilities.
That is being – financially less than survival level – working poor.
We are incredibly lucky. We can still buy our creature comforts, although possibly not in the same volume or value as in previous extravaganza years. But, this, too, will pass, you think. Once inflation is normalized, the gravy train will be back.
Maybe yes, maybe no. We cannot predict the future. We can in our own way when we are able to, however, help those who without basic needs as food, lodging and healthcare, have lost hope for the future.
There are so many altruistic organizations, incredibly caring souls among us, who have given their career and retirement years to the care of others. The Salvation Army is one of them.
Their commitment – doing the most good and above all, love – means meeting human needs without discrimination across the world. This is their complete dedication to humanity. They have participated in disaster relief efforts for more than 100 years. They believe in economic justice, providing comfort and support in times of need.
In 2023, in the United States alone, they served 168 million free meals, plus provided financial assistance to 3 million more. On a much, much smaller Bermuda financial scale, they constantly manage their support mission with care but still must continually ask for donations.
They are ardent campaigners against international human trafficking and slavery. They believe in God’s work by showing their commitment to practice what they preach. They truly live the life.
There are many other invisible ordinary citizens who help anonymously and willingly. All these wonderful people have prioritized community service above personal success.
Our own teachers, for instance, who generously dip into their own pockets to buy meals [and clothing, etc.] for children with none, always come to mind having known some personally. Teachers receive so little in compensation given their challenges to enhance the creative young minds of our precious children.
Selflessly kind, these are the people who deserve our gratitude this year. They are our true heroes. Sharing the abundance of privilege.
This is the challenge. To all those who can afford to help this year, it is now time to do so. If you have never given before, show compassion and caring for your community [and people] who have had to take a step backward in the quest to ‘get ahead’ in life.
It does not have to be monetary: cook for a neighbor, garden up a yard, help in a food kitchen, volunteer at a hospital, drive elderly to medical appointments, clean up after storms, you know what you can do.
In the United States, such a wealthy modern country, if every person in the workforce of 161.5 million [October 2024] gave $5 [the cost of one bag of chips] to the charity of their choice, that’s $807 million dollars. Doubling that to $10 dollars – just the cost of lunch out – translates into 1.6 trillion dollars. Now that’s funding a lot of meals.
In Bermuda, imagine how terrific it would be if every person in our workforce of 37,000+ people gave $5 [the cost of one coffee], that’s $185,000. Giving $10 equals $370,000 and a mere $20 – which is less than the cost of one lunch out – translates into three-quarters [$740,000] of a million dollars. That’s a lot of meals, too.
This is a one-time donation – what if you double that to twice a year, three times a year? A tiny, tiny amount that you won’t even miss – multiplied thousands of times has enormous power.
Think of the power you have personally to contribute to the well-being of someone else’s life. Imagine how the act of giving, instead of getting, can enhance your own self esteem. You can do this. We can do this, as a community we always have.
Let’s not get too self-satisfied either. You never know when you might need a helping hand.
- Written in memory of our father, Cecil Harris – The Bermuda Sewing Machine Man – who was a great supporter of his church community and the Bermuda Salvation Army.
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