Become a Tutor {Mandela Day} 34 / 67 ways to change the world

OK so I took a little break from it, but as promised on Mandela Day 2013 (19.07.13), this is part of my series on their 67 suggested ways of changing the world. This one comes under the category of 'Become an Educator':


34. Offer to provide tutoring in a school subject you are good at.


I tutor out of school hours (I am a teacher) to earn some extra money, but it had not really occurred to me to also provide free tuition as a way of doing charity. I don't know why- it makes total sense to! Often, the children who need that extra time, attention and input the most are the ones who do not have the resources at their disposal to access it. 

So whether you are a teacher, or are just specialised in a subject (have an A-level/ college certificate/  university degree / studying at university / have a practical skill), please consider passing on your knowledge and skills to those who need it most, but cannot afford it.

Blessings!

Ronell x

{photo credit: www.captutors.net}  

Make a Food Parcel {Mandela Day} 30 / 67 ways to change the world

OK so I took a little break from it, but as promised on Mandela Day 2013 (19.07.13), this is part of my series on their 67 suggested ways of changing the world. This one comes under the category of 'Help Out for Good Health:

30. Create a food parcel and give it to someone in need.

Often we can feel like we all we can do to help anyone is to donate money to an organisation, but this is not the case! There are so many little (and big) practical ways in which we can help others! Today's suggestion is to put together a food parcel for someone in need. There are many more ways in which you can do pretty much the same thing. You could put together a parcel of clothes for a family with a new baby or with a lot of children. You could put together a back pack of school supplies for a family in need who have a small child starting school. The possibilities are endless! The best part? You can probably find most of what you need in your cupboards and in storage and you probably wouldn't even need to spend any money!

Blessings!

Ronell x

{photo credit: http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/NewsChristmasNeedy}

Hospice Volunteer {Mandela Day} 19 / 67 ways to change the world

As promised on Mandela Day 2013 (19.07.13), this is part of my series on their 67 suggested ways of changing the world. This one comes under the category of 'Help Out for Good Health':

19. Help out at your local hospice, as staff members often need as much support as the patients.


I have seen the tremendous impact that hospices have in the final days of a terminally ill patient and their family! A local hospice near me which has made and incredible difference to many friends and their families is St Francis Hospice. Their amazing work is only possible through the brilliant volunteers! So why not volunteer your time at a local hospice like St Francis Hospice where you can support and stand with patients and their families? You'll never know the difference that you have made in their lives!

Blessings!

Ronell x 

{photo credit: http://www.zazzle.co.uk/good_works_of_the_hospice_volunteer_card-137153100673091317}

HIV / AIDS {Mandela Day} 18 / 67 ways to change the world //

As promised on Mandela Day 2013 (19.07.13), this is part of my series on their 67 suggested ways of changing the world. This one comes under the category of 'Help Out for Good Health':

18. Get in touch with your local HIV organisations and find out how you can help.


There are many local health-centred charities that you could get involved with in many different ways like volunteering, donating, fundraising, etc. HIV/AIDS is named here because it is rife in Africa and is spreading all over the world, but you could choose an illness that is more closely affects your community/country if you do not feel particularly driven by that one. 

Blessings!

Ronell x

{photo credit: http://www.drkabra.com/hiv.php}

Help the Elderly {Mandela Day} 6 / 67 ways to change the world

As promised on Mandela Day 2013 (19.07.13), this is the my series on their 67 suggested ways of changing the world. This one also comes under the category of 'Think of others':

6. Offer to take an elderly neighbour who can’t drive to do their shopping/ chores.


I am originally from South Africa, so all of my extended family, including my 3 remaining grandparents, are still over there and really don't get to see them very often at all. Every time I see an old person struggling to carry food shopping, hobbling down the street alone or trying to figure out something they have not encountered before, I think of my own grandparents and wonder whether someone would stop to help them if they were in the same situation. I think the sad truth is probably 'no'. 

I am completely guilty of this myself, but we are often so busy doing our own thing and rushing from one place to the next and not often (or ever) stopping to help someone with a practical day to day need. There is a simple solution (I am totally speaking to myself here)! Don't over crowd your schedule and rush so much that you are unaware of anyone around you and unable to stop to help even if you were! This is something I am certainly having to work on at the moment. 

So stop to help the elderly! After years of being 'useful', people often view them as a nuisance or 'pointless' and this is completely wrong! Even if you just stop to chat to them, it may be the only kindness they receive all day (or longer) and it may really make a difference to their day. 

So go on- show some compassion, love and respect and meet an elderly relative, neighbour, friend or stranger's need today!

Blessings!

Ronell x

"I am certain no one sets out to be cruel, but our treatment of the elderly ill seems to have no philosophy to it. As a society, we should establish whether we have a policy of life at any cost." {Terry Pratchett}

{photo credit: http://probateaz.net/}

Fill Pot Holes {Mandela Day} 3 / 67 ways to change the world

This one also comes under the category of 'Think of others':

3. Volunteer to help fix the potholes in your street or neighbourhood.



It is amazing how much we all (myself included) complain about the number of potholes there are, but when we honestly consider how fortunate we are or how able we are to change this, we should rather stop complaining and start making a change! If you are not able/allowed to physically help to fix potholes, donate money to help it get done. You could even club together as a neighbourhood and raise money for particularly bad sections of road in your town. It doesn't (and shouldn't) stop there though! Remember countries and communities filled with less fortunate people, and maybe even fundraise or volunteer to help fix up their potholes instead. 

Blessings!

Ronell x

"If you travel around America you see different sections of highways donated by this or that person, and that's a slow beginning of what may end up being a situation common in the Third World: some sections of highways in wealthy areas are beautifully maintained and other parts are just dirt-strewn potholes." {Robert D. Kaplan}  




{photo credit: fortheloveofbikes.blogspot.com}

Read to Someone {Mandela Day} 2 / 67 ways to change the world

This one comes under the category of 'Think of others':

2. Read to someone who can’t. Visit a local home for the blind and open up a new world for someone else.


We all take reading (what we consider a basic skill) for granted and don't realise that there are so many who never have the resources of opportunities to learn to read properly.

“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.”

- A C Grayling, Financial Times (in a review of A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel)

Share your gift today!

Blessings!

Ronell x

Make a new friend {Mandela Day} 1 / 67 ways to change the world

As promised on Mandela Day 2013 (19.07.13), this is the beginning of my series on their 67 suggested ways of changing the world.

It comes under the category of 'Think of others':

1. Make a new friend. Get to know someone from a different cultural background. Only through mutual understanding can we rid our communities of intolerance and xenophobia.


“All good people agree,

And all good people say,

All nice people, like Us, are We

And every one else is They:

But if you cross over the sea,

Instead of over the way,

You may end by (think of it!) looking on We

As only a sort of They!” 

― Rudyard Kipling, Debits and Credits

'We' and 'they' are dangerous terms, but as Rudyard Kipling explains in his poem above, they are only as relevant as you make them. In a time where there is a lot of crime or violence targeted on people based solely on this idea of 'we' and 'they' (differences in religion, race, nationality, etc), be a voice and an example and engage with people who you may not naturally spend time with. The more people who behave in this loving (or at least non-judgemental) way, the bigger the difference we can make!

So embrace you innner Miss World contestant and do something active to help bring about 'world peace' :)

Blessings!

Ronell x

{photo credit: Getty images} 

Mandela Day: Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day

Today has been declared Mandela Day in honour of Nelson Mandela, former South African President, who has spent most of his life as an activist fighting for freedom.

You might ask, "What can I do onMandela Day?". Well, there are some good suggestions including: 67 ideas to change the world (I will cover these as a series next) and a host of informing and inspiring videos.

They say about Mandela Day: 

"The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.”

Individuals and organisations are free to participate in Mandela Day as they wish. We do however urge everyone to adhere to the ethical framework of “service to one’s fellow human”."

Stand together and fight for freedom! Make every day a 'Mandela Day'!

Blessings!

Ronell x