Written by Emeke Ndego

St. Valentine’s Day never existed in my calendar growing up. I knew about Easter and Children’s day and days you would dress your best for a friend’s birthday party. Christmas, too, was so much fun.  The ambiance and serenity of a festive season always left its print and was also a time to look forward to.  For instance, in my community back in the 80’s, young girls about my age, during Christmas, would form little dance groups.  Dressed in their cultural attires and touring the locality, neighbours would stop their patrol for some minutes of entertainment for a fee.

Those were days of innocence.  Inflation, unemployment and other macro-economic variables were all present and alive.  They were incisively reported on the pages of daily newspapers and the usual 9pm network news.  Well, we never bothered reading or watching because the technicalities and complexities were burdens older people should carry.  There was never a care in the world!  For us, it was school, church, play, sleep, food, party and every other thing you wanted, depending on how well-off your family was.

Our world today has really changed. It is now God for all and every man for himself.  Your most friendly neighbour would smile, pray and wish you well but, if you are hungry, it would be wise to join the fast paced world in search of your daily bread.  Brotherly kindness, it seems, is limited to festivities and, even then, charity is not what it used to be.  I am not a kid anymore, and I don’t need hand-outs, but I do wonder about the kids these days, especially those who look forward to a festive celebration to have a decent meal, between the dog-eat-dog days…

At Fair Life Africa Foundation, we work with disadvantaged kids all year round to ensure that they enjoy a decent standard of living, and have opportunities for a better life in the future.  We are using this festive season to appeal to the hearts of the general public, in hopes that more children will be touched and enjoy better days ahead, even after the last red ribbon is removed and Valentine sales are over…

Valentine’s is regarded as the season of love.  Love, they say isn’t complete until it’s shared.  But imagine if there was no special day set aside to convey love.  What if every day was Valentine’s?  Why must we wait for a certain day to show love to our neighbour who we see every day?  The truth is we needn’t wait for Valentine’s Day to see that every day is blessed and holds so much opportunity to capture beautiful moments with friends, families and all around us…  Every day is a day to show love.

What’s your take? Do you feel especially charitable because it’s the Valentine’s Season?