The
Empathy Campaign is about MORE than the translation of my book on
Empathy. Yes, I am a dreamer and a visionary. But with that, comes responsibility and the commitment to work at achieving these dreams. Indeed, I am committed. It takes a lot from an ordinary South African citizen with only a dream, to decide to follow that dream, in spite of a lack of support. I completed my book on empathy had it published (see image below), secured a regular empathy slot on radio. Here I am, still committed to continue with this great cause, a cause that South Africa needs; a cause that needs South Africa's commitment.
I dream about the wonderful and
positive contribution that I and every other South African who
believes in nation building could contribute to South Africa. Apart
from the other voluntary work that I am involved with, the foundation
for my passion to contribute to nation building, is based on The
Empathy Campaign http://www.facebook.com/empathycampaignsa
This
passion came from understanding what it feels like to be on the
receiving end of unkind and inconsiderate behaviour, of severe
discrimination that were justified because of who I am, where I come
from, what I look like. My powerful journey of personal growth made
it possible to forgive.
The
pain from my past, brought a wealth of good. It made me say:
“Because I know what that feels like, I can never do it to another
human being.” Let's re-consider our unkind actions.
Let's
Ask: “How
would I feel if I was on the receiving end?
Let's
Act: And perhaps we'll be inspired to decide against such
actions.
I
was further inspired by ordinary South Africans and some, not so
ordinary South Africans. I call them my EMPATHY
ANGELS.
My
dream with EMPATHY
ANGELS,
is to inspire South Africans to identify people in their communities,
people who are making an empathic difference in the lives of others.
With the necessary support from Government and Corporate South
Africa, we'll be able to pay tribute to such individuals with what I
call, an
Empathy Angels Awards. Until
it happens, I'll continue doing what I am absolutely passionate
about, sharing the empathy message with South Africa on various
platforms.
I
am always looking around and getting inspired by the work that other
people do. Stories about their kind and empathic gestures that they
display, gestures that deserve to have that snowball effect. Today,
I would like to identify some of these individuals who, with their
actions, inspired me to choose between getting revenge and doing what
is good for South Africa. Yes there are many individuals out there,
making an empathic difference in their communities and South Africa.
Today I'll focus on a few who stand out for me. These individuals
include:
Mr.
Nelson Mandela
His
wonderful example set for people of all races in South Africa and
around the world. An example that was instrumental in my journey
towards healing and letting go of emotional pain and bitterness. I
was able to forgive, because I had a great example to look at.
Angelique
Fuhr
She is the 83 year old
widow who discovered James Bhemgee, winner of "South Africa's got talent", season
2. He worked as a street sweeper and was always singing while doing
his job. She realised his talent and sponsored singing lesson, among
other things. As they say, the rest is history. Her investment has
paid off.
She deserves all the
praise for doing this, as a white South African nurturing the
wonderful talent of a coloured man, a street sweeper at that, living
on the Cape flats. May her soul rest in peace.
Apparently she still
has a daughter, living in Cape Town. I'll be in touch with her as
soon as the Empathy Angels Awards become a reality.
Prof.
Jonathan Jansen, Rector at Free State University
Well, it takes courage
to do the thing that eventually will contribute to the greater good
of humanity- especially when there is so much criticism. It could
not have been easy to be in that position. One thing I believe that
we cannot deny, is that his decisions around the painful incident
that took place at Reitz, was done with good intention, to eventually
contribute to the greater good of South Africa. Love him or hate
him; how would you have handled the situation?
Prof.
Jansen also wrote the Foreword of my book on EMPATHY: In
Mekaar Se Skoene.
Mr.
Willem Maree
A homeless and jobless
white South African saving a little black girl from drowning. He
didn't say: “She's black, I'm white and I will not save her.”
He saved her life.
What a wonderful example for nation building?
Blaine
Vlantis
I
recently discovered this young lady on Twitter. After reading her
blog post, I knew that she deserves to be on this list. And
hopefully one day soon an Empathy Angels Award will mean
something, hopefully one day soon, the recipient will have something
that they could hang on their wall.
How
often do we fail to empathise with those who do not belong to our
racial group, our cultural group, our religion? How often do we
justify unkind treatment of those who represent the group or
institution of that one individual who caused us pain? How often?
Blaine's blog post starts with: “How weird is it that they’ve put all the black girls in rooms on the bottom floor together?”
Read her complete blog post by clicking this link:
http://vryestudent.com/profiles/blogs/yeah-but-you-said-it-hetero-racialism-in-stellenbosch1
My
dearest mother: Maria Williams
I do not recall that
she has ever worn shoes that didn't belong to someone else first. In spite of extreme poverty, she was a woman of strength, a woman of great wisdom. “Never do
unto others what you do not want done to you.” These words she
spoke on a regular basis. By the time she passed on, these words
were engraved in my mind and her valuable teachings guided me through
many challenges in the past.
She struggled with raising seven children by herself after my father left. More often than not, the cupboards were bare, but she raised her children, always emphasising respect and good manners, treating other people well, “because you want them to treat you well”. In spite of all the hardships, she was our rock. She always told us that if we wanted to see our father, that she would not stand in our way. How noble? So often we hear those sad stories about parents splitting up, where one parent keeps the children from having a relationship with the other parent, often simply because they blame the other for the break-up.
It was heart-warming to
hear the words of Dr. Frank Chikane on television news the
other day. He said: “We should get to that place where we are
able to get into the boots of others.” This tells me that our
politicians are realising the importance of nation building. They
too need the support from citizens. I pledge mine.
I believe in nation
building and I am willing to contribute towards it, for the greater
good of all. I will never think of myself as so powerful that I
could manage and grow The Empathy Campaign by myself. No, I
can't and do not want to. This campaign needs all the support that
it can get.
If you have any enquiries, do contact me.
Thank you, South
Africa.
Andeline Williams-Pretorius
CEO, Andeline's
Motivational Traininig
Creator Of The Empathy
Campaign
Speaker / Trainer /
Author / Counsellor
Http://www.andeline.co.za
http://andelinewilliamspretorius.blogspot.com/2012/05/help-spread-important-message-of.html
Listen
to my regular Empathy
contributions
on Afrikaans radio station RSG, Tuesday's between 09h00 & 10h00.
Andeline
is one of thrirty women recognised by African Innovations
as
one of South
Africa's Most Inspirational Women.
Their glossy-page coffee table book will be available in August 2012.
Contact Lonwabo Jabavu with your enquiries about this fabulous and
very inspirational book. Lonwabo@africaninnovations.co.za
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