Empathy in a Time of Crisis – 9

Continuing our blog about this time of global crisis from the perspective of a voluntary team, taking each day as it comes. Thank you for reading.

What’s in a photo…?

Someone in the early 20th century is supposed to have said: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Here we are a century later, in the grip of a pandemic, and these words are amplified. In our technological age we can connect with each other in virtual ways, and so we are able to enjoy an extra special dimension to life. Grandparents can applaud their grandchildren’s first steps via FaceTime, lessons and plays are delivered online, and photos stream to our screens as loved ones share beautiful views or a smile from a familiar face.

Telling stories through photos is something Empathy Action has been exploring this week. At a time when we are far apart, it continues to be a wonderful way for us to stay together. Here are our stories, from afternoon tea to garden magic. We hope you enjoy them.

: Garden Joy

: Being the Youngest

: Together

: Catch a Rainbow

: Washing Line?

: Gamers

: Miaow

: Miaow to you too!

: Solidarity

: Rooms

: Afternoon Tea

: New Skills

: Siblings

The power of a simple series of photographs to narrate one of the key stories of today, and do good at the same time, is clear to see here. Ordinary, yet extraordinary, people taking photos with their phones of life and work in our hospitals in order to create a short fund-raising film focusing on the ‘hands that make us proud’.

Stay safe, keep connected, and please do get in touch with your own photo stories. We would love to see them.

#chooseempathy #sharestories

Rainbow Empathy in a Time of Crisis – 7

Team Empathy Journal – Part 7

Continuing our blog about this time of global crisis from the perspective of a voluntary team, taking each day as it comes. Thank you for reading.

Last weekend saw the launch of our fabulous Rainbow Campaign. So many heart-warming words have come our way:

“These beaded curios take me right back to happy times … I would love to brighten up a little lonely low patch.”

“I wish I could send them across the world.”

One friend wrote to say how wonderful it was to be able to “shift mindsets with a simple trigger.”

As our Innovations Manager, Sandy says, “It’s been a huge privilege to be conveying the beautiful messages that people are sending.”

So it’s probably time to meet our Rainbow Makers … the Vashavi, the amazing artisans behind these symbols of hope.

Based in Cape Town, Patmore Mphepo and his team of 12 work from home – a house with two bedrooms (some of the artisans sleep in the sitting room). They start work each morning at 6am, crafting Rainbows and other gifts by hand. The best days are when an order is received. On other days, the craftsmen go out and sell what they’ve made on the streets. But selling like this is nigh on impossible with the current crisis, and life will become even harder in the coming months as Winter arrives in South Africa.

Patmore and his co-workers are from Zimbabwe, but came to South Africa with the aim of earning money to support their families, which is why “nothing makes us happier than having orders, meaning that our families are taken care of.”

Patmore continues, “Selling handicrafts makes a huge difference to our lives and that of our families. The money is spent on sending our kids to school. Some buy medication for their family members which is in short supply in Zimbabwe.”

The men take great pride in their craft, and are passing on their skills to younger people who have followed in their footsteps in search of a better life. They also love “putting smiles on our family members’ faces when they receive trinkets from us.”

We asked Patmore what his greatest fear is. He replied, “Going without work, knowing that at the end of the month we need to pay our rent and send groceries home to Zimbabwe.”

Patmore hopes that in the future he and his team, “might work from the comfort of our own country.”

He also hopes that the people who buy their gifts “know that they are making a difference not only to the artists but to their immediate families.”

If you would like to send a Rainbow to a special person you care about, we still have a few left. Thank you so much for your support.

Stay in touch, keep connected and take care of yourselves – and others.

#chooseempathy #rainbow #lockdownlove #hope #giftsthatgivetwice

Empathy in a Time of Crisis – 5

Team Empathy Journal – Part Five.

Continuing our blog about this time of global crisis, from the perspective of a voluntary team, and on a more personal level. Thank you for reading.

Each day new numbers scroll on our screens. Each day new stories navigate their ways via every conceivable channel to reveal the people behind the numbers: individuals, families, business and nations – all affected in their own ways. There are tragedies and hardships, and fears with many faces. Narratives tug at our hearts and headlines fill our minds.

Occasionally different stories interrupt the contagion, and we remember that there are forms of suffering and moments of joy wholly untouched by the virus. But soon they go quiet to make space for fresh facts and figures that roll out the next day. The heavy loads of information can be overwhelming and leave us at a loss to know what to do.

As a team we keep in touch by telling smaller stories, sharing uplifting moments and pungent finds of wild garlic. Worries are aired, and efforts to raise money for those hardest hit by COVID-19 are applauded. This week we were happy to lend a hand to our Syrian friends when they moved home, and we try to flag up local businesses transforming themselves to survive at this time.

We are also talking about an exciting new Empathy Action project – our Rainbow Campaign, a coming together of ideas in the shape of a new product made by a small group of our friends in South Africa. A limited number of their beautiful symbol of hope will be available very soon!

Zooming in on the micro helps to absorb the magnitude of the macro. It also enables us to deal with the fact that we cannot help everyone all at the same time. John Steinbeck wrote in his Journal, “Try to understand each other … if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.” If we start off by being kind to ourselves, we will gain the strength to understand and be kind to others, and from there empathy will surely continue to flow, from the micro to the macro.

Stay in touch, keep connected and take care of yourselves – and others.

#chooseempathy #randomactsofkindness #radicalniceness

Thank you Table Builders!

A big thank you to all of our amazing Table Builders who threw themselves into the spirit of our Christmas Campaign:

‘When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.’

They breathed new life into old Christmas cracker jokes, they shared their favourite ways to cook Brussel sprouts, and – most importantly – they invited us in and lengthened their Christmas tables for all.

We are so grateful to each and every one of them, and to you, our readers, for sharing in this too.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and much Merry #TableBuilding.

Meet Our Table Builders #6 and #7

Our Table Builders #6 & #7 are Kate and Mat Waugh (teacher and writer respectively). Here are their brilliant answers to the questions we asked based on our Christmas Campaign:

‘When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.’

1. How do you like your Brussel Sprouts?

I love them (Kate) but I hate them (Mat) so it’s a tricky subject in our household.

2. What’s at the top of your Christmas Wish List?

Given that the world seems to be spinning faster than ever and everyone is busier than ever, a big helping of time together. That’s worth more than a thousand chocolate oranges.

3. Is it a turkey Christmas, or are you veggie, vegan, seagan, or something else?

It’s a turkey Christmas and, as we are going to our friends house up the road for lunch, it’s also a no-cook Christmas for us – result!

4. Who will be at your Christmas table?

We will be joining our excellent neighbours and their extended family and Kate’s Dad will be joining too. We did the same last year and it was so lovely to have a large Christmas with lots of festive fun and cheer and no family bickering!

5. What’s your best Christmas Cracker joke?

I should really leave this one to Mat as he is a children’s joke book author! However, our middle daughter has given us this one: ‘What do you call a reindeer that steals all your Christmas presents? A rude-elf!’

6. If – in the spirit of our Christmas Campaign – you would be keen to build a longer table rather than a higher fence, who would you lengthen your table for this Christmas?

(Kate) My Mum died nearly nine years ago and that first Christmas without her was so hard. Over the years she made Christmas very special for us all and I try to continue many of the traditions in her honour. I’d love to invite people who’d lost loved ones and were facing their first Christmas without them and try to bring some festive cheer into what can be a tough time.

7. Who would you most like to encourage to do the same (i.e. is there someone you can think of who would benefit from being mindful of the saying!)?

Without naming names, there are several politicians we can think of! We’ll leave it there…

8. Which of our handcrafted Christmas gifts would you like to give to another?

Last year we bought lots of the bracelets, hearts and candles for stocking fillers and one of the angels sits proudly at the top of our tree. This year we’ll be getting more of the same for friends and family.

Thanks so much Kate and Mat!

Will you be a #tablebuilder this Christmas?

For Gifts That Give Twice shop here – please place any last orders by 10am tomorrow (20th December).

Thank you!