RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31070, 27 May 1966, Page 22

RANDOM REMINDER

FOR THE YOUNG

Know you what it i« to be a child? ... It is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief: it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother in its own soul.—Shelley.

Some, however, are stripped of their illusions rather too soon.

It is in the nature of man to cherish children, and there is little more distressing than children in distress. But there are, even in a comparatively small city such as Christchurch, far more children in difficulties than the average person would imagine. Without a firsthand knowledge of the circumstances, it is hard to appreciate the tremendous and often terrible

impact on a child of the loss of a parent, through death or through desertion. And there are many more misfortunes occurring each day to substantiate an ancient proverb that to a child, all weather is cold. There have been instances of small children returning from school to find an empty house; sometimes doctors order mothers to rest to prevent serious breakdown and hospitalisation; there are, sadly, dozens of ways in which youngsters are deprived of the comfort and assurance of a home, and the love it should hold for them. And that is why today’s street appeal for the Cholmondeley Memorial Children’s Home at Governor’s Bay is of vital importance. It is a voluntary, undenominational home, the work of which can continue only

through the support of the public. Each year, the home cares for scores of children who are suffering because of broken homes or one of a dozen other unhappy circumstances. Looking after them is a magnificent work, an effoz-. sustained for many years only because the public has seen the need for its help. It is hardly a matter even for debate: conscience should dictate. The work of the Cholmondeley Home must continue; today’s appeal may remind the workers that their efforts are appreciated. John Masefield is a little out of date today. But these lines may be worth recalling: And hr who gives a child a treat Makes joy-bells ring in Heaven’s street And he who gives a child a home Builds palaces In Kingdom come.