WE OWE A DUTY TO ORPHANS
Elia Ntali
It is regrettable that some of the
student journalists, who are turning deaf ears to calls by the Press Club
Executive to donate towards charity and beneficiaries, happen to come from the same
affected societies.
Our lazy, lamentable response to these
calls may tell two stories – either one does not have, or is simply not willing
to participate in the noble exercise. Ironically, we fail to appreciate that
being an orphan is none of these children’s choice.
Amongst us, many lost parents at a tender
age, but were more fortunate than those stuck at various children’s homes
because they found support from relatives or well wishers who sacrificed their resources
to hide their “orphan tag”.
Charity Centers in our communities need
our support, and even the little that we would have donated will go a long way
in the upkeep of these unfortunate children.
Some who are already in the field of
journalism may agree that there is little or no support from the corporate world,
so its better we take the initiative and be exemplary. We will certainly leave
a mark in the beneficiary’s life.
I am one of those people who used to
look down on the issue of donating to charity until I paid a visit to an orphanage
in my neighborhood. It was a pity to see the children scramble for food and to imagine
that a four year old is wrestling with a thirteen year old for something to eat
is even more indicting. Who would you expect to win such a contest?
On March 1 2013 (tomorrow) the CCOSA PRESS CLUB descends
on a children’s home in Norton.
I am urging all students to come in
numbers and grace such a distinguished occasion.
It’s not about the president of the press
club, neither is it about the director of journalism, nor the lecturer in
charge. It is about all of us as journalists – as the ‘fourth estate’, as
‘watchers’, as reporters, as social ‘evaluators’, and more importantly, as
human beings.
