Giving gifts to the kids on my bday

So on my brithday this year I decided to do something a little different... We live in such a materialistic and superficial world, but lately material possessions have become so meaningless to me. In the past ive always received really nice and sometimes extravagant gifts, but ive always wondered about those less fortunate who get nothing.

So the day before my bday I went to Toys R Us to get some gifts. The next day with my Bollywood actress friend, Angina Harry, I went to the Reds Cross Childrens Hospital in Cape Town. They have a swine flu scare there so i wasnt allowed to take photos or my friend with me into the wards.

The 1st ward i went into was the oncology ward, these are kids who are being treated for cancer. This issue is close to my heart as my mother passed away from cancer 3 years ago. It was really sad to see their frail little bodies under such strain from the chemicals(chemotherapy) being pumped into them. I have always been into holistic healing so i dont agree with any of these treatments, but thats a can of worms for another time!

The nurse said that the children have a better success rate than adults, and that about 50% of the children will survive the cancer(or the cancer treatment)...Enough said.

The other ward I went into was the trauma ward. This is for kids who have had serious accidents...although from my judgement(and the nurse verifying this) alot of the kids had been beaten badly by older kids or adults. What kind of sick individual would seriously beat a little child you have to ask yourself, but I dont blame them, as most of the abusers have grown up never experiencing bodily respect or love so how can they be expected to behave in a way in which they dont know? But thats another can of worms for another time!

In both wards alot of the kids were asleep, and it warmed my heart knowing that when they awoke they would see a colourful pony, barbie, toy car or figurine there in front of them...and it would a bring a smile to their face. Some light through the gloom. Every child deserves the chance to be able to flourish, like all of us "the fortunate" have had.

This is part of my mission.