Comic Relief - 18th March 2011

It’s rather heart-warming to know that during times of recession, war and natural disasters, there are people who are still willing to give up their time, who will put their hands into their pockets and give to help relieve the suffering of others.

Last night the BBC broadcast their annual fundraising event Comic Relief, a night where celebrities from the world of  TV, sport, music and comedy got together to do “something funny for money” . The sum raised on the evening was over £74 million, no small feat in light of the recession we are currently facing here in the UK. All of this seemed forgotten though as interspersed amongst the comedy moments, we watched heart-wrenching footage of children and adults living in extreme poverty in parts of Africa.

It was extremely hard to watch at times as you saw children of 9yrs old looking after younger siblings, orphaned because their parents had died of HIV. Children suffering from Malaria or Cataracts and in need of basic medication or an operation – I think there would have been few who could have watched the reports without being moved to do something and donate to help these people.

The footage along with the entertainment from the celebrities did what it was meant to do and raised a huge sum of money whilst we watched from the comforts of our own homes, grateful now for the simplest of things we used to take for granted; running water, beds, clothing, food and medicine.

There were some brilliant sketches throughout the evening, my favourites being the “Fake That” sketch of comedians auditioning to be part of a Take That tribute band and also the Smithy Sketch where he steps in to help save Comic Relief – admittedly it wasn’t as funny as the sketch he did for Sports Relief but I’m sure he and the many other celebrities that featured in it, helped to raise a great deal of money.

I thoroughly support this cause and did my part in buying the t-shirt and donating money to the charity but still felt that it wasn’t enough and indeed I felt guilty for sometimes moaning about minor things when I am so much better off than the people I watched on TV.


Other friends of mine have also responded to recent events and have leapt into action to do their part to help relieve the suffering of others. Touched by the news reports of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, some of my friends in Utah today are sat making quilts in their local church to send to Japan. The Humanitarian Aid supplied by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) helps so many people all over the world including those who are not of their faith. In 2010 the Church provided relief to people affected by 119 disasters in 58 countries and is still working hard within many of the communities it has previously helped.

It reminded me of a story I once heard about who dies and upon reaching Heaven says to the Lord “Have you seen what’s going on down there? There’s wars, famines, death and disease, why didn’t you send help?”  The Lord replies “I did, I sent you!”. We may not think that our little donation can make a difference, but it can. We are so blessed in our lives to have what many others may consider to be a luxury and it is when we see others suffering that we ought to give what we can to help them.


It is not too late to give to Comic Relief, you can pay money in at any major bank or building society, you can donate clothing and other good through Oxfam and other charities –You can still make a difference.

For more information on Comic Relief see: http://www.comicrelief.com/


For more information on the Humanitarian Aid projects by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints see: http://lds.org/service/humanitarian/church?lang=eng