HEARTLINES PATRON REV DR MVUME DANDALA TALKS ABOUT THE KIND OF COMPASSION THAT REQUIRES SELF-SACRIFICE

and a decision to move out of one’s comfort zone as South Africans engage in a public conversation on values.

During the dark days of apartheid, a colleague who was leading the Central Methodist Mission Church in Johannesburg, was approached by two women members who, saddened at the way black people were being treated, asked in what way they could help.

Having thanked them he said he would link them up with two families in Soweto and would ask only three things of them. Firstly they were to visit the families every day, secondly they were not to give them money, and thirdly they were not to use their cars to drive them around.

For the first few days everything went well. One day one of them arrived to find a seriously ill child and the mother distraught with worry. The benefactor’s first reaction was to get the child to the doctor immediately, but she remembered that she was not to use her car. Neither could she summon a taxi for she had been explicitly instructed not to use her money. Having no other option, she walked with them to the nearest hospital, went through the “humiliation” of having to rely on State charity, and waited for hours before being attended to.

Having gone through that experience, the woman was so repulsed by the degradation that she had experienced first-hand, that she was compelled to do more than merely offer the crumbs from her own laden table.

To genuinely understand the depth of the pain suffered by another one must walk in that person’s shoes. That is compassion.

An article in The Star recently graphically described the Central Methodist Church - that very same church in downtown Johannesburg - as a den of iniquity, a place were people were sleeping in the aisles and corridors and babies were being changed on the pews.

From 1991 to 1996 I had the privilege of ministering there. I have a sense of the excruciating pain that homeless people in the inner city have to face day in and day out – their only hope that the church will reach out and do something to lift the burden off their shoulders.

I also remember how the deteriorating condition of the inner city at that time drove away many of those members who had the means to do something about it. The challenge was to assist with resources where there were none and to create viable responses in the face of desperate need.

When I read that article I asked myself to what extent have we tried to understand the depth of compassion that has allowed the ministers of that church to open that house of God as a shelter to those who have been discarded by humanity. This is no excuse for the excesses that were purported to have taken place, but how sad it would be if those issues cloud our minds, blocking out any sense of compassion and invoking instead, a sense of outrage and disgust.

While Jesus would not have allowed any immoral behaviour in the house of God, He nonetheless would not have thought twice about giving a bed to those who would otherwise have to sleep in the cold.
Compassion is not nice, orderly and safe. It is never the easy option and always involves self sacrifice. The Good Samaritan exposed himself to danger, but in that moment of reaching out to the needs of another, he was in the grip of compassion rather than in the grip of fearing for his own safety. That is the depth to which compassion must plumb.

Rev Mvume H Dandala is the General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and is the recipient of the Presidential Order of the Baobab (Silver) for his peace-making role in South Africa.

SHOWING COMPASSION IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS

Stuart Graham examines how compassion impacts on the bottom line.

More than a century ago the Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, said: "If you don't like people, do something else."
Tolstoy's words are a call for compassion and could hold meaning for anyone. But they are especially pertinent for business which is often in a position to show compassion.

For years businesses have donated fortunes to goodwill projects. A classic case was earlier this year when Warren Buffet, the world's second wealthiest man, said that he would give two thirds of his 40 billion dollar fortune to charity. His gesture was hailed as the single largest act of corporate philanthropy in history.

In the past decade South African companies have had to deal with unique issues such as the spread of Aids and tuberculosis, an enormous crime rate, poverty and cultural diversity in the workplace.

These issues, which businesses in developed countries do not usually have to face, have required enormous understanding and compassion. Most South African corporations have stood up to the challenge.

Millions have been given to social investment projects. Companies now compete with each other for the top spot on the stock exchange's social investment index.

Brand Pretorius, the chief executive officer of McCarthy Motor Holdings, says leadership “is in a new paradigm”, where ideals and humanity are playing more of a role.

"In the new world, the soft issues are really the hard issues," Pretorius says.

"In terms of the new paradigm of leadership, influence comes from something deeper and more enduring than hard power. It comes from the power of your ideals, the strength of your spirit, your humanity and ability to capture the hearts and minds of people."

But managers say compassion in business should extend beyond philanthropy and social investment projects.

Ashley Leibowitz, a director in the human resources department at Standard Bank, says corporations have to respond to the social needs of the country not only because it is the right thing to do, but because social investment will result in a more sustainable and profitable business environment.

"No organisation exists in a vacuum," he says. "Companies have to respond to the needs of the country. It is healthy people and healthy societies that ultimately drive a healthy economy."

Leibowitz says a company has to understand customers in order to satisfy their needs. Individuals in the organisation need to have compassion and empathy to help develop this understanding.

"Organisations have changed dramatically in recent years. They can no longer function successfully as command-and-control machines, and people cannot be thought of as replaceable cogs.

"People in an organisation are a major source of competitive advantage. Standard Bank, for instance, could buy a computer system to improve its processes, but what would stop Absa from going out and getting the same system? It's the people who make the difference."

A company has to create a culture where staff feel as though they are doing something that matters.
"A business has to see a person as a whole person. It needs to be genuinely concerned about their welfare, their careers and where they are going.

"If a company is successful in engaging its employees, then employees will be more committed and that will drive profitability.

Even employee expectations and workplace experiences have changed substantially in the past few years.
“People want to work for a company with a heart,” First National Bank's chief executive Michael Jordaan says.
His sentiments are evident in Deloitte and Touche's “Best Company to Work For” survey which is published annually.

The most recent survey found that Aids, the importance of striking a work/life balance, corporate social upliftment, corporate culture and values, and transformation had all increased in significance for employees.
“Recognition of the HIV/Aids problem and addressing it with appropriate policies and education programmes have now become a prerequisite for being an employer of choice," says David Conradie, the senior manager of human capital at Deloitte.

“Employees need to feel that they will be cared for in the event of a positive diagnosis and also that they will not have to experience discrimination in the workplace.”

Corporate social investment (CSI) and social upliftment have also become a key issue for employers.
“Employees need to feel they are part of a bigger community, so it is no longer sufficient to donate money to a good cause. We have noticed a trend towards employees engaging with the people they help, becoming involved in CSI projects on a personal level,” Conradie says.

The culture and values of the organisation have become increasingly important to employees. The more they identify with the culture and values and live by their organisation's ethics, the more satisfied employees will be.
“These 'soft' issues relating to employment have taken on a vital role in assessing whether employees are satisfied in their jobs. Our survey findings show that the top four most important criteria include job satisfaction, leadership, relationships and trust and communication," Conradie says.

“Naturally, communication underpins all these elements; employees' perceptions form the basis for their opinions. Our experience also shows that it is the 'soft' issues which are the most difficult to get right."
Some economists argue that a company does enough by providing jobs to society. There is no need for it to be compassionate.

India's Tata group of companies, however, has proven that compassion can have a very positive effect on the business environment.

Corporate responsibility at Tata, one of the largest companies in India, started long before companies in the western world. Founded by Jamsetji Tata in the 1870s, it introduced the eight-hour shift in 1912 when steel workers in England were working a 12-hour shift.

Ratan Tata, who chairs the group and is also a member of President Thabo Mbeki's investment council, says Tata's way of doing business has helped create industrial harmony, something the company describes as capitalistic by definition and socialist by nature.

The company provides universal health coverage, childcare and free schooling, rewards for worker loyalty and various other initiatives. The philosophy is that social responsibility is good for a company's bottom line.

Since 1977, Tata Motors has been adopting poverty stricken villages, solving basic problems such as water scarcity and unemployment, and contributing to the upliftment of women and the provision of recreation facilities. These efforts are carried out irrespective of losses. Their blue-collar force also takes active interest and their efforts have helped develop 400 acres of barren India into plush recreational environments.

In the past decade, however, steel prices dropped around the world and Tata has had to cut its operating costs to remain profitable. This has meant downsizing its work force and outsourcing many of its non-core services, such as electricity and water provision. Sceptics have questioned Tata's ability to remain true to its original values.

But when Tata Steel reduced its workforce from 78,000 to 48,800 between 1992 and 2001, it was done without a strike. The company had offered each worker the equivalent of what they were earning at retrenchment until their date of retirement.

Workers remained loyal, even though they were being retrenched. This was an example of industrial harmony, Ratan Tata said.

Compassion is a value that has to be practiced by individuals, says the Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman. Corporates are not responsible for looking after society. Individuals have that responsibility.

It is the manager who has to decide whether to let a person leave work early so that they can be with their sick child. It is a director in his personal capacity who has to decide whether to allocate money to a charity or whether to sacrifice a bonus in order to contribute towards worker retrenchment packages. Individuals, not companies, have to decide to like people. – Heartlines Features

BURNING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

By Karien Jonckheere

Many know her as the face of SABC’s sports coverage. But there’s more to Cynthia Tshaka that her flashy earrings and glossy smile.

She has a burning desire to make a difference in South Africa. And the country has Oprah to thank for her fervour. Having been inspired by the American talk show host, Tshaka set up the Sports Heroes Walk against Aids, which over the last four years has raised around R2,5 million for Aids orphans.

“What happened was that I was watching Oprah one day – I am a big fan – and the topic was ‘using your life to help other people’,” explained Tshaka. “That was right up my alley. But then I thought ‘what can I do because I’m not Bill Gates and I don’t have a lot of money.’ But Oprah was saying that you need to look at who you are and use that to make a difference in every day life.

“Then I realised I am fortunate to be in the position as a broadcaster where I rub shoulders with very influential people and I am in a position of influence. I could use the profile I have to influence this thing called Aids, which I didn’t even know very much about at the time.”

Tshaka thought of the idea of walking to raise money and then used her contacts in the sports world to include stars such as multiple world title holding boxer Baby Jake Matlala and Olympic gold medallist Josiah Thugwane. A nine-year project was launched in 2002 with the idea of walking from Gauteng to each of the country’s nine provinces, raising money and also educating people along the way with regards to HIV-Aids.

“The whole idea is to use sport to change lives which is in line with the philosophy of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation for which I am an ambassador in South Africa,” explained Tshaka. “I am just so grateful for the support that I have been given, especially from Gwen Ramakgopa who gave money towards the project because a lot of people have loved the concept but haven’t put money behind it.

“It’s all in line with what president Mbeki has said about normal South Africans coming up with projects to work with government to help communities.”

This year will see the team of Tshaka, Matlala, Willie Mtolo (South African marathon runner), Khaya Malotana (former Springbok), Desree Ellis (former South African women’s soccer team captain), Arturu Ballosini (world karate champion), Daleen Terblanche (South African women’s cricket team member) and Lihlohonolo Ledwaba (four-time boxing world champion) walking the 384km from Tshwane to Mafikeng in the North West, starting at the end of November and reaching their destination on December 1 – World Aids Day.

Each year brings with it more sponsors and this year even deputy president Pumzile Mlambo Ngcuka has pledged her support, also promising to walk part of the way with the team. The main aim, along with conducting sports clinics en route and raising awareness, is to raise as much money as possible, which will be donated to Aids charities.

“What is amazing is the amount of work that we have been able to do. This is our fifth year. We have managed to help so many homes and in the process we have made many friends and been able to deal with the stigma around HIV-Aids.

“It is so pleasing to know that we are changing people’s lives. This is a nine-year project and we will keep updating our message as we go along. We have recently started doing sports clinics along the way which is something we didn’t start out doing and that draws so many kids who then ask us questions and get the information about prevention of Aids.

“We have raised about R2,5 million and every year more donors want to come on board. We are hoping to get close to R1million this year.”

While she is doing her bit, Tshaka believes it is everyone in the country’s responsibility to make a difference in the lives of others, no matter how insignificant their efforts might seem.

“Someone like Baby Jake is mobbed by the public wherever he goes,” she explained. “And you have to utilise that and use it in a positive manner. You have to use your celebrity status to give back to the community.
“Each and every individual is responsible to give something back but that responsibility is doubled if you’re a national sports hero because then you are a symbol of perseverance and triumph and determination and that gives you the platform to make a difference.” – Heartlines Features