By Carole Dennett
As we embark on 2023 and look back on 2022, we will all undoubtedly be hoping for a better year. Last year was tough but we did regain all our freedoms lost in the lockdowns of 2020/21. We saw the sad death of our late Queen, after a reign of 70 years, but we look forward to celebrating the Coronation of our new King.
Looking forward we have many reasons to be optimistic and we should never let the things we want make us forget the things that we have or the hardships that others suffer. When the late Queen ascended to the throne in 1952, food rationing and austerity were still in place in the UK, almost 10 years after the end of the Second World War. Food rationing did not end until 1954.
If we look at what our friends in Ukraine are suffering now it is reminiscent of those wartime years. Yes, it is tough here in the UK at the moment but in Ukraine they are fighting and dying for their freedom. More than six million Ukrainians are left without heating and electricity and are being plunged into extreme hardship and lengthy periods of blackouts. Many have no running water and there are severe food shortages. Hundreds of thousands of homes in Ukraine have been destroyed or partially damaged by the Russians. It was still possible to live in some damaged houses during the summer and the early autumn, but with the onset of winter it is impossible. And they live in constant fear of missile attacks, while family members are putting their lives at risk on the front line.
It is hard to imagine this happening in 2022/23. We all take for granted that we live in a secure democracy with no threat of war. We have access to free healthcare, we have running water, we have a benefits system that provides a safety net, we have freedom of thought and religion, we have protection of minorities, we have freedom to travel, we have access to education for our children, we have a wonderful natural environment and a temperate climate. And we have a society that cares.
Here, in the UK, we should be proud of our ethos of giving, not just to Ukraine but to our own communities. By the end of December 2022, the UK government had delivered, to Ukraine, 12,000 sleeping kits, 150 heated tents, more than 25,000 sets of extreme cold-weather clothing and 7,000 sets of normal cold-weather kits. And the work of voluntary organisations will more than double that.
In our own community on the Island we have volunteers running youth activities, managing foodbanks, supporting mental health services, providing rescue services, giving social and educational support, operating community transport systems, running community hubs, community advice services, giving family support, housing refugees, providing library services, looking after our environment and many other vital services. The will to help and the volunteer hours that are given are enormous and are testament to the strength of our communities. Despite the many problems and conflicts in communities, it is important that we continue to recognise, encourage, and value the ability and willingness of people to care for others.
Seven voluntary organisations on the Island have won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in the last three years and many individual Islanders have been recognised for their voluntary work through the national honours system.
Looking forward to 2023, I encourage everyone to look around for opportunities to give to our communities, be it time, expertise, or money. It is easy to despair at the tales of conflict and hatred that fill our press and social media but there is so much kindness and goodwill out there. We should hold fast to it. As my three-year-old granddaughter reminds me, “Caring is sharing, Granny.”
