12 Feb 2013

Give to an orphan and he will remember your act of kindness when he is fully grown. This is the story of health minister, Dr John Seakgosing. 

 

“I lost both my parents at a tender age and today I am someone in the society because of the love and comfort I received from the church and members of the society that built me,” he said in appreciation of Thamaga’s Saint Mathews Anglican Church, which donated food hampers to orphans, the elderly and people with disabilities. 

 

In particular, Dr Seakgosing, also Thamaga MP, said he was touched by the church’s work towards orphans.

 

“Being an orphan is not easy so what you are doing as a church is really a blessing. We are known to be a people of love so what we are doing is love and we know that it is blessed to give than to receive and we know that giving builds the giver,” he noted.

 

The minister also appreciated the church’s partnership with government in eradicating poverty. Government could not alone win the battle against poverty and the civil society was therefore an important partner, he said. 

 

He said the church was setting an example by caring for the elderly. He said there were some elders who were too old to care for themselves yet stayed alone. 

 

It behoved the society to take care of these people and ensure they did not remain isolated from the society. Such care should not only be material, but should also be emotional, he said. 

Dr Seakgosing also called on the society to change its attitude towards people with disabilities. 

 

He said some people were often embarrassed by the disability of family members, so much that they hid them from the public eye, often locking them up in inhumane conditions. 

 

“Once I received a case of a girl who was kept in a kraal. The girl was pregnant and had to endure the smell of the manure and was constantly in danger of being attacked by misfits,” he said. ENDS