Starfish story inspires woman to help the homeless
Each individual has the potential to make a difference.
Cherese Nel, founder of Empowering the Youth of South Africa, donated care packs on to the homeless dwelling at the corner of Monument Road and CR Swart Drive on April 3.
The packs contained soap, sanitary pads, water, face masks, hand sanitisers and gloves.
Nel said she was inspired by the starfish story by Loren Eisley, which revolves around a man walking along a beach littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide.
As he walked, he came upon a young girl who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one. Puzzled, the man looked at the girl and asked what she was doing. Without looking up from her task, the girl simply replied: “I’m saving these starfish, Sir.”
She believed if they were left on the beach, they would die when the sun got high.
The man chuckled and said: “There are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”
The girl picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water, turned to the man and said: “I made a difference to that one.”
Nel said: “At this difficult time, it would be easy to ask: ‘What difference can I possibly make to this outbreak of Covid-19?’.
“I believe the starfish story is a good reminder to us all that even the smallest thing can make a huge difference. My feeling is that if we can touch just one person with a simple gesture, then we must not let that opportunity pass us by without acting on it.
“When I drove to the pharmacy the other day to fill my monthly prescription, the streets of Kempton Park represented the beach and the homeless represented the starfish.
“I was moved with emotion, so while out I created packs with water, soap, hand sanitiser, face masks and gloves and then bought food and dropped it in front of the police station, where the homeless collected it.
“Let’s join the little girl in the story and make a difference in the starfish’s lives.
“After driving away from the police station I was sad, really sad because I felt myself thinking there are so many starfish out there who need help and today I could only help 20, but when I arrived home I found myself thinking.
“I want to touch more than just 20 lives! I felt a nudging in my spirit saying if you want to touch a population of 59 308 690 then you can do that by praying for the nation.
“My take has always been that each individual has the potential to make a difference in their own lives, and also in the lives of others.
“As individuals, we can make a difference, but what can we achieve as a collective when we collaborate?” asked Nel.
Also follow us on:
