The importance of charity and benevolence cannot be underestimated in any society but especially in ours, where poverty and want are prevalent. The scale of poverty in The Gambia is so high and this has driven a host of people to begging in the streets and other places. No one will lose sight of the fact that beggars have increased exponentially. During times like this, the goodwill of the ones who are capable enough is called upon. There can be no meaningful and genuine exchange between the poor and the rich, when the disparity in wealth and amenities is increasing, without a bridge of sorts. That bridge is the giving back of the wealthy.
The private sector should put it as a part of their social corporate responsibility to help these types of people. It’s a pity that most of these companies are very active in sponsoring entertainment events only to become inactive like fossilised toads when it comes to lending a hand to cases of human suffering like Mallah Manneh’s.
There’s hardly a street in our towns without a billboard advertising an entertainment event with a cash-flushed company being declared its “proud sponsor”. Of course it’s important to help the arts, but we need to extend the hand of giving to the woeful and plaintive cries of our countrymen inveigled to subject themselves to the seeming indignity of having to tell the whole world their sorry stories in the hope of some succour.
And this call is not for only for business companies but all others – the state, firms, organisations, individuals. We are a community that is interdependent and continually need each other. One merit that we are praised for the world over is our sense of generosity. It’s with this and other virtues in mind that we call upon all and sundry to contribute in helping such cases. We should always be our brother’s keeper.
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