Hopeful Socks
By Trevor Black
One person who gives me hope in South Africa is John McInroy.
There is a lot of noise in the world. The more you care, the harder it is to filter things out and focus on things that are important in your immediate circle of concern. It is hard to filter these things out because if you are an empathetic person, you know that you focussing just removes that pain from your awareness, not from the world. One person who gives me hope in South Africa is John McInroy. John will always emphasize that he likes the story of the work being done to be the focus. John’s story is not about John. John’s story may focus on South Africa, but it is not even about South Africa. It is about the fact that we exist beyond our circles of focus. Even when we have to focus on other things because we have limits, we can remember what is going on elsewhere. We can take steps to help. We can allow people to help us. We can help ourselves.
The story of Red Sock Friday began with two South African friends living in Ireland with one due to move home. John and buddy Ian Symons had heard the story of war veteran Sidney Feinson who got captured in the Battle of Tobruk during World War 2. He and two friends made a pact that should any of them make it back alive, they would wear reads socks to always be together no matter what. John and Ian decided to wear red socks every Friday to do the same. John has been spreading this idea through http://www.shooops.com/ and trying to ‘connect the world’ with passion and positive energy.
His journey also led him to start the Unogwaja challenge (http://www.unogwajachallenge.com/). Participants in this event cycle from Cape Town to the start of the Comrades Marathon, which they then run. But the story isn’t about a joy ride and a plod. It is about changing the world and connecting people through passion and the pushing of boundaries. It is about having fun. Bringing people together. Thriving. Inspiring others. Positive Energy. Participants raise money for charities focussing on helping people help themselves.
I do think there are individuals who are able to act as sparks, but they release the passion that is already there. It just needs a push. I meet lots of South Africans and lots of people from around the rest of the world who are bursting with energy to move forward. You can’t solve problems if you don’t hear about them and communicate about them. We shouldn’t be upset by some of the noise. It means we know about it and are doing things about it. Tribes united individuals. Religions united tribes. Countries united religions. We can go further than that. We can share stories and recognise bits of ourselves in others. If hope is a belief that people will learn, and overcome difficulties then I haven’t met many people you don’t give me hope. John is providing the red socks to help them remember each other while they get on with it.
[For more from Trevor Black, who wrote this piece, go and take a look at his blog over here: www.swartdonkey.blogspot.com]
Also who is someone that YOU think is doing something positive in South Africa that gives you hope. Drop me a line at brettfish@hotmail.com and let’s talk about how you can get their story up here…
[To read another story of hope, this time from a mom who lost her young daughter, click here]
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[…] [For another post on someone who gives me hope in South Africa, click here] […]
[…] One person who gives me hope in SA is: Nicky Kemele Nicky is one of our 33 amazing foster mothers at Home from Home – an organisation which sets up and runs supported and supervised community based foster homes for vulnerable children in the Western Cape. Nicky was our very first foster mother when we started Home from Home ten years ago in 2005. Nicky, who was working as a nanny for a family in Fish Hoek, started volunteering at a children's home in Khayelitsha where she lives, in 2003. That¹s where she first found out about becoming a foster mom with Home from Home. Nicky says that she was inspired to foster by her own mother back in the Eastern Cape. Her mom had been orphaned at the age of two, and was bought up by other people, often under very cruel circumstances, and at one stage ended up living outside eating with the dogs as no one was caring for her properly. Believing that no child should have to grow up as her mother did, Nicky wanted to make a difference in the lives not just of children who needed a loving home, but also to make a difference in her own and her mom's life. And she has done just that. Five children who came into her care in 2005 are still with her today, together with another girl who joined their family in 2010. Nicky loves her foster children just as much as she loves her own grown up children. Two years ago, Nicky's mom died, but she was so proud of what her daughter had achieved; creating a loving family home for children who have no families of their own. Though Nicky's story is a one-off, our other 32 foster mothers all have their own reasons for taking on this most precious of challenges – caring for children who are not their own by birth. Sadly, there are many children in South Africa who need foster care and a place to call home. Nicky and her sisterhood of foster mothers give us all hope in this incredible country of ours. [as shared by Pippa Shaper] You can learn more about Home from Home by visiting their site over here. Who is someone that YOU think is doing something positive in South Africa that gives you hope. Drop me a line at brettfish@hotmail.com and let's talk about how you can get their story up here… [To read another story of hope, this time that of John McInroy and the red socks, click here] […]
[…] [For more incredible stories of regular people in South Africa doing things that inspire, click her… […]
[…] [For other South African stories of people giving us hope, click here] […]
[…] Filed under: Change the world, heroes or heroic moments, inspire-ations — Leave a comment March 27, 2015 One of the greatest problems in South Africa when you are privileged is you sometimes see poverty as an annoyance. You are sitting down in a restaurant on a Friday night and all of a sudden a group of kids come out doing an local African dance then touting you and tourists for money. And out of sheer guilt (or maybe just a desire to have the group move to the next restaurant) you toss a few coins their way. Now what if you just took a moment to see it a bit differently. That’s exactly what a young guy born to South African parents but having grown up in Americaland did. Let me introduce you to Jason Woolf: As a young kid, he came to South Africa on holiday and like most tourists, got to see a couple of buskers. It planted a seed. Later, as a teenager about to leave high school on another trip, he asked some deeper questions: what happens to this money made by these kids? Does it reach them, or do some adult handlers take most of the cash? Is there a possibility to create “fair trade” busking, a way of ensuring the money given by tourists and locals goes into ensuring the young performers get the cash? And if there is, can we use this to revitalise South African culture? So cue Jason Woolf today: In his twenties, he took some time out of the USA, moved to South Africa, reclaimed his citizenship, rented a place in Khayelitsha and formed Umbiyozo and started an NGO trying to answer some of those questions. But let me not talk any more about Jason, let me introduce you to him through this TedX video. It’s worth your 15 minutes of time to watch. [To learn and see more on Umbiyozo, click over here] [For other South African stories of people giving us hope, click here] […]
[…] [For more stories of people who give us hope in South Africa, click here] […]
[…] [For other stories of people who give us hope in South Africa, click here] […]
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[…] = = = = = = = = = You can take a look at Trevor Black’s first guest post on my blog, titled ‘One Person who Gives me Hope in South Africa’ as well as taking a look at his blog, ‘Swart […]