Acts of kindness that made a difference during COVID-19 pandemic

The national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has left thousands jobless, homeless and some in a serious state of depression. As the economy recovers, many are still reeling from this shocking impact of the virus and are taking stock of what they’ve lost. However, it’s through simple acts of kindness that many have been able to recover, eat, and get back on their feet again.

South Africans, like all other people across the world,  have been living under strict lockdown conditions for the past six months. While regulations have eased somewhat, the devastating impact on the economy is still being felt by many individuals and households. However – in a true South African spirit – there’s been a number of good Samaritans who’ve come forth to help those in need.

Senior Corporate Executive and PHD graduate, Prevlen Rambalee, who runs an online course to teach young professionals soft skills says, “It was more than financial. It was more about being around and finding ways to elevate humans and to help them progress over the lockdown. We have a choice to uplift people.”

The temporary shutdown of many sectors of the economy rendered many people including young professionals jobless and unstimulated. Rambalee set out to change this in an effort to reignite their passion once again.

“As a country we needed young motivated professionals. An online approach is the best way to extend learning experiences for those who don’t necessarily have them. I loaded a course on Udemy that was available to everyone – which included skill sets that one could incorporate into their career. The lockdown was very difficult, many people were facing challenges in their working environment, unemployment etc. It was a way to motivate people to say, you are in this lockdown – you have an opportunity to develop some of your soft skills for your career so when you do go back, you can use these skills to develop yourself. It’s a way to motivate people and say, all is not lost.”

Not only has the coronavirus pandemic led to financial difficulties as a result of people losing their jobs, but also triggered high levels of anxiety and depression, often leading to abuse and crime.

In the video below, loss of jobs during COVID-19 pandemic: 

Johannesburg mother, Namritha Sivsanker, saw a need to make available  psychological services to those struggling and could not access to such help.

“During the start of lockdown, I had several inbox messages from people requesting help for food, job losses, people where in a state of anxiety and depression. I put together a list of psychologists, where they could offer telephonic counselling. I just wish psychologists would make themselves available in more a feasible manner, lots of people can’t afford it but they need it. We have people walking around in a state of depression and the moment someone commits suicide, then we say depression is huge.”

She teamed up with a Johannesburg based restaurant – to feed those who would have otherwise gone hungry as a result of the coronavirus effects.

She also campaigned to donate PPE to the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital and provided support to women in abusive relationships.

“We started cooking food daily and feeding communities, that has been happening since April. We fed in 14 different communities of Johannesburg, over 30 000 meals. The effects of lockdown will take a long time for people to get through.”

It’s simple acts of kindness by selfless souls that helped cushion the impact of the coronavirus that will see the world weather this pandemic storm.

In the video below, Psychological effects of dealing with COVID-19: