麻豆社

Good morning.

A video which has gone viral in social media shows a Palestinian teacher welcoming little children into her classroom at the start of the day. Painted on the wall beside her there鈥檚 a row of images and each child touches one as he or she arrives to show how they want to be greeted. If they touch a hand held up with fingers splayed, she gives them a high five. An image of clasped hands means they want a handshake. A heart tells her the child wants to be hugged. And so on. I鈥檝e watched that video over and over again. It combines so many small but vital aspects of recognition and attentiveness to every individual鈥檚 needs, and it鈥檚 a simple routine which costs nothing.

I thought of it when I read an article this week by the Guardian鈥檚 Jonathan Friedland about a British social entrepreneur called Hilary Cottam who鈥檚 gained international recognition for her work. Cottam discovered that projects to improve health care, education and development often flounder, not because of a lack of funding but because of a lack of attentiveness to what people really need. For example, during a stay in Zambia she discovered that a problem of access to water could be solved by providing easy access to a stand pipe in the village so that women wouldn鈥檛 have to go long distances to collect water in situations which often made them feel threatened. Nearer to home, she discovered that the health and well-being of elderly people could be significantly improved if they had someone to share their memories and pleasures with. The alleviation of loneliness gave them a new lease of life.

These insights seem so obvious that one might wonder why they鈥檙e being hailed as innovative breakthroughs. Perhaps it reveals the extent to which we鈥檙e losing sight of our most basic and simple human needs. As our social institutions become increasingly dominated by technology and bureaucracy, they also become more impersonal. Those of us who work in higher education know how much the personal interaction and creative spontaneity which used to be a vital part of the academic ethos have been corroded by increasing regulation and competition.

Attention to human detail is something we鈥檙e all capable of. In telling the story of Jesus, the Gospels show us a person who was utterly attentive and responsive to the smallest needs and fears of the people around him. A smile, a touch, a word of encouragement may be all we have to offer, but sometimes it can become a miracle of healing and hope.

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