HELLO MI neighbour! If you were passing our home on National Heroes Day, you would have heard fervent prayers going up by a group of neighbours for another who is not well.

Knowing there is much power in prayer, we all gathered to register our desire to see this valuable member of our community get well soon. Could I invite you to join us as we continue to pray for her and all the other neighbours who are sick at this time? Health and life are precious to us all and we believe these prayers will bear fruit. 'You need me, I need you. We are all a part of one family'.

If you have been facing a challenge of any sort, don't sit there and try to sweat it out by yourself. Call for help. We live in a world where things happen to people. Whatever happens to one, can easily happen to the other. If we insulate and isolate ourselves from others, we are taking a big risk.

Sooner or later, we will discover that there are really no substitutes for neighbourliness. Fame, riches, materialism and power, for which people hurt others to gain, will show us no sympathy in the face of life's hard knocks.

SEEK A FRIEND

The old adage 'seek a friend before you need a friend' is wise counsel. Let a friendly disposition take you through life. A friendly disposition means showing kindness to others under all circumstances.

How is this possible? To be kind does not mean saying yes to all requests. It is helping where we can and empathising where we can't help. Kindness meted out to others will always come back to us when we need it most. So 'seek a friend before you need a friend'.

Note that friendliness should also extend to those we may never meet. And I am sure that Mr Fong and friends would agree with me. These friends, who are regular readers of this column, are driven by a passion to see fellow Jamaicans enjoy a good quality of life. Through their instrumentality, many neighbours (strangers) who could not afford beds are now sleeping in brand new ones.

Some children, whose schooling hung in the balance, are now attending school. I have a feeling that these generous neighbours will be handsomely rewarded.

If we are really honest with ourselves, we will agree that our survival and acts of neighbourliness are inseparable. Let's be neighbourly today by connecting with a neighbour from the list below even in a small way. Where you cannot plant a tree, sow a seed.

Thanks for helping:

Mr Maxwell and Mr Gregg, St Andrew, for assisting Marie, St Catherine, with her child's school fee and other back-to-school supplies.

Dr W. Sinclair and Mr N Seaton for purchasing badly needed bed for Barbara and family, St Andrew.

Ms Francis, St Catherine, for offering to assist a neighbour financially.

Mr J. Burnett, St Andrew, for donation of clothing to male neighbours.

Annette, St Ann, for donating Oxford Dictionary to needy student.

Latoya, for helping unemployed father, Michael, to start a small business.

Great opportunities to help neighbours:

Phyllis, 87, has cataract and needs financial assistance to purchase eye drops.

Neighbour, mother of five, asking neighbours for a second-hand settee.

Neighbour, St Andrew, needs a large-print Bible.

Mr Grant, St Andrew, needs a wheelchair to assist with his mobility.

Karen, St Catherine, unemployed, asking neighbours for a sewing machine to assist with income generation.

Akeliah, St Andrew, asking neighbours for a small table for family.

Mr Morgan, St Andrew, unemployed and unable to find a job … asking neighbours for baking ingredients and an oven as income earner.

Nora, St Catherine - two sons were killed. Asking neighbours for cement for flooring of a little dwelling she is trying to construct.

To help, please call 334-8165, 884-3866, 299-3412 or deposit to acct # 351 044 276 NCB. (Bank routing #: JNCBJMKX) or send donations to Hello Neighbour C/o 53 Half Way Tree Road, Kingston 10; email helloneighbour@yahoo.com.