Isn’t it wonderful how a crisis like Covid-19 can bring out the good in people? I am thinking in particular of a 99-year-old man in the UK and a 10-year-old boy in Cape Town. Some of you may already have seen the old man’s heroic efforts.
He is Captain Tom Moore, a Yorkshireman, former British army officer and World War 2 veteran, who at the age of 99 decided to raise money for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). He thought they were doing a brilliant job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak that has flooded their hospitals for weeks. Captain Tom, as he has become known, decided he would do 100 laps around his house to raise £1,000 for the NHS. So he set out, wearing a jacket and tie, his WW2 war medals pinned on his chest, and with the support of his wheeled walking aid, did 10 laps a day. He wanted to finish 100 laps before his 100th birthday on April 30, and did so last week. Well, his campaign went viral and by Tuesday this week he had already raised over £27 million. Captain Tom has been interviewed by news organisations all over the world and his achievement has drawn praise both from ordinary people and the rich and famous. UK’s Prince William and Kate made a video clip for him in which William called him a “one-man fund-raising machine”. Captain Tom said in a BBC interview: “They’ve done so well for me, and they’re doing so well for everyone else at the moment, and I think we must say: ‘Well done, NHS!’” The UK’s Daily Mail dubbed him “Captain Fantastic.” At the other end of the age scale there is Hadley Hunter, a 10-year-old boy in Cape Town, who decided last Sunday to do a 10km run for charity. When his parents asked what charity in particular, Hadley said any that helped give food to those in need. He had seen the news shots of row upon row of hungry children sitting cross-legged with their plates or bowls, waiting for a charity organisation to give them a hot meal. It made an impression on him. So “Hadley’s 10km Lockdown Challenge for Charity” was born, the race title printed out and pinned on his T-shirt. His father did a pre-race video for prospective donors, so they could see the track, which during lockdown had to go around the house 118 times. His six-year-old sister, Helena, fired the starter gun, set up the water point table, put up the finish tape and made the certificates. It was the first time Hadley had ever done such a long run. It was tiring and repetitive, but Hadley was determined, and in one hour and 36 minutes he had done the 118 laps that made up the 10km. By early this week he had raised close on R15 000, of which R5 500 has gone to Knysna Rotary food relief – and donations are still coming in. He is chuffed indeed. Makes me think of Winston Churchill’s comment: “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
