Charity Steward (June 2007)

A Disturbed Generation

Some days I reflect on what a sad world we live in. Listen to the radio or television, read the newspapers, and there will always be a distressing account of a child, or children, in distress. A recent survey has identified that over a million children have mental health problems ranging from depression, anxiety and anorexia to violent delinquency. Many of these are blamed on a mix of family breakdown, junk food diets, marketing, binge-drinking, drugs and the pressures of modern day life. Look further around the globe and you read, or hear, of the tragic circumstances surrounding the children of Darfur, the Sudan, South Africa, India, and other Continents. War and disease are the normal way of life among children around the world. As individuals we expect respective governments and politicians to address the issues and sort out the problems, while we as individuals can continue our daily lives without a care in the world, because if it doesn’t effect us directly it can be somebody else’s problem to resolve.

Such was the view of many at the commencement of the 2010 Festival when the Province was invited to raise £2m towards the children of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys (RMTGB). There were many misconceptions about the Trust that became apparent as the festival unfolded. As I have reflected on previous occasions that although the vast majority of beneficiaries attend schools, colleges or universities, in the first instance the Trust is a poverty charity and not an educational charity as many think. Only families with an assessable income of less than £5,000 per annum will gain maximum support. That is an income of less than £420 per calendar month, or £96 per week!

Each case brought to the attention of the Petitions Committee of the Trust is different and I recently attended one such meeting. Although I consider myself hardened to the distresses of the 21st century I was not prepared for the stream of heartbreak and tragedy encountered at this meeting. Children having to look after disabled parents, one or both parents suffering with cancer, mental illnesses, dysfunctional families, the death of a father or mother, marriage breakdowns, the reasons were endless.

Our Masonic family is not helped by governments and politicians, as are the children in war-torn countries, or those living where disease is pandemic. It is our responsibility as Freemasons to look after our own ‘family’ to which the Trust plays a vital role. In order to meet the needs of over 2000 beneficiary’s expenditure exceeds £9 million each year. On average investment income provides about half of the annual expenditure with the balance being made up from income from festivals and legacies. The continued support of the Provinces through the festival system is vital to the Trust’s long-term strategy, which is where we as Freemasons become involved.

We may not give a second thought to the children across the other side of the globe that live in abject poverty, lack any means of an education, or will ever experience a quality of life that we come to expect as standard. We can at least, though, demonstrate our Masonic beliefs of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth at home.

The festival is about to reach the halfway mark and on paper we remain on target to meet our objective. However, a high proportion of the income is derived from the Gift Aid declarations, albeit many Brethren have yet to adopt this route. The majority of lodges are releasing funds from their respective Relief Chests, organising social functions, and have individuals undertaking endurance events to raise funds. All are to be commended for their efforts and I can only hope that the 20 lodges yet to achieve £3k will double their efforts to attain Subscriber patronage.

I believe we have a moral duty to look after our children to ensure they receive the right education, to have a quality of life we ourselves have come to expect as the norm, and to demonstrate that love and compassion we profess to adopt. In a society that will have more pensioners than children in the year 2020 we need to know that tomorrow’s doctors, nurses, scientists, hairdressers, plumbers, politicians, carers and all other trades and professions are available to us, also.

Give to the 2010 festival today and invest for the future tomorrow.