Fashion, Charity and sms line for Ons Huis

From as long as I can remember Fashion and Charity have always been interrelated. from Gianni Verscace to Elton Johns Aids Trust. Giving back is something that people find difficult to do, that R 1 rand is easy to give to a car guard but ask for R 10 and people think twice. Coming up with an sms line that people can donate to charity immediately is a grand idea, however getting people to part with there money is even harder. I wonder sometimes how easily people will spend money on drinks on a night out partying or the expensive dinners... Don't get me wrong, I love a good party and nice restaurants. It's so much easier to spend on yourself than help others. Through being a semi finalist for the MR SA I have had numerous interviews on radio stations and TV and I thought as soon as I mention donate to a charity that people would all take out there phones and donate right away. I sincerely was hoping for Pavlov's law of pre-condition to apply lol!

However I realized that to get someone to part with there money is not an easy thing. To get people to be charitable you need to stop and talk to them individually and explain what the charity is all about, why the charity needs money and how you are involved in the process. It is more about spending a lot of time with people convincing them to donate. I know that when I become MR SA I am going to use my celebrity to impress upon people the need to give more, more easily. Giving, I do not confine to only money, it's also your time and effort. I have always wanted to make a difference in the lives of people, I want to see the happiness that beams on there faces when a little help makes there day. A friend of mine's dad helps communities with Sustainable Development, basically him and his friends physically build crèches in poverty stricken areas and build Tunnel farms next door, so the teachers fees are paid by the produce that gets sold. What a great iniaitve a small way to help build our nation.

Many south Africans are were they are today because of the Apartheid Legacy. Forcing people to live in area's with boundaries, not allowing them to own property, quelling their thirst for knowledge but not schooling them well. All these factors have contributed to our South African situation. It's time we all help to build a nation that is strong and self sufficient. Sometimes I wonder is it only the rich that feel charitable then I remembered my trip to India, a country of contrasts of extremely wealthy and most poverty stricken. While driving past some areas I would gasp at how some people really lived, how children would be running around smiling and laughing and playing on the sides of the road. I'd peer in at a small home that had a bed and some pots and was around 1m by 2m that housed 4 people, they were happy and content. I learned from my friends that the poorest of the poor never go hungry because it is in there culture to share, share their food and what little that they have. I think people with so little can get together and help each other imagine what we can do to help out fellow citizens improve. It's endless.

Someone gave me a very good idea, ask 10 of my close friends to donate R100 and get each of them to ask 10 of their close friends to donate R100 and so on and so on. I thought I would go one better by asking people to only donate R10 and instead of them giving me the cash or having to go to a bank to deposit it, all they would have to do is send a simple sms. It was so simple and effortless and I thought "well its only R10". I am always honest, so Im not going to try and hide the fact that the charity sms line has not been a success. The number of sms'es received is nowhere near where I thought it should be or where it ought to be. I punted it everyday on Facebook, i asked people to sms at all my events, I was even interviewed on Lotus FM where I asked people to vote and the DJ's mentioned it on 5FM and Good Hope FM. I could have put in more effort in advertising or marketing it, but I felt I had put in enough and I thought the novelty and simplicity of it would get people smsing. I mean people were smsing for all these "face of" competitions, I thought they would want to sms for charity, for a good cause.

But as with anytime you do something for the 1st time, its never going to be perfect 1st time and you live and learn. I guess R10 is too much, people obviously hear R10 and something says to them "too much!". Or maybe people thought the only reason I was doing the line was purely out of self interest, or that the money wouldn't go to charity. So that being said I have decided to donate the sms line to Ons Huis, so that they can learn from my mistakes and make it more effective. As I still believe it is a very good idea and is virtually hassle free. Honestly what is easier than sending an sms? Through this whole process I feel somehow now connected to Ons Huis and I want them to grow and strengthen. So they will have the charity line and it will always be something to remember me by. Even if I dont win or become a finalist they will still have it, and it will be something that lasts long after the competition has ended.
This will be my lasting contribution to them.
They are a great charity that shines light into the lives of others.
I commend them for making a difference and having the courage to look past their own selfish needs and actually think about others.
They strive to and do make a difference.
And this is their lasting contribution to us.