Through My Eyes

This weekend I have been so inspired. It was impossible to contain my emotions. It's a beautiful life. And there is absolutely no question about that.

Yes there are hardships, and there are disappointments and yes there is plenty of pain, but when we put all of that aside we can honestly surmise that we live in paradise and that there are still amazing people in our country who make a difference that counts.

One of these amazing people is Ashok Sewnarain, KZN businessman and visionary, who is changing the laws of good business by giving away and sharing his self made fortune with the less privileged.

Together with his wife Sharona and his children, Yajna and Rahul, the Sewnarain family are changing lives in KZN. At the recent IBV Children's VIP Day, held at the ICC, Ashok and Sharona were awarded the Louis Vlok Humanitarian Award, which is the highest accolade bestowed on a community leader by Lions International.

The Louis Vlok Humanitarian Award is presented to individuals who perform exceptional community service and who have shown deep concern for others in the service of humanity.

The IBV Children's VIP Day is a great example of the Sewnarain's generosity. Each year they entertain 1200 children from previously disadvantage backgrounds, making it all about the children. The day is filled with music concerts, jumping castles, various fun entertainments, delicious treats and goodie bags.

It is just a whole day of fun and indulgence for children whose life is hard and who would normally never experience such opulence.

IBV Children's VIP Day is just one of their events. The annual IBV Supercars parade is another example how the Sewnarain's hearts extends to include less privileged. Each year each Supercar driver is asked to take one orphan into their impressive car and the children are treated not just to the ride of their life but also to a day of fun and adventure.

It was Viktor E. Frankl, Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School who made a comment while based in Auschwitz: "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

The Sewnarain family are sufficient proof that in our world of greed and wealth domination there are angels amongst men, walking the path of love and respect for all humanity.

With Christmas around the corner and with only fifty-five days to go till we can share the bounties of our hard work, why not include a charity on your Christmas stocking. I am certainly researching my options.

Have a fabulous week and stay blessed.