Don’t Panic! Launched in Hyde Park

May 30th, 2008 by Tracey

It all started with an email to “Zoe” on January 25th this year. Rolling blackouts and interest rate hikes had thrown a mood of despondency over the young woman who was in tears with anxiety and frustration.

The email, sent to her by Managing Director of iBurst, Alan Knott-Craig, spread rapidly, becoming a “viral wave of light that fired up hope in the hearts of those on whose computer screens it flickered,” said Talk Radio 702’s David O’Sullivan at the launch of the book inspired by the email, Don’t Panic!, at Summer Place in Sandton last night.

The original message, penned on a plane in just 20 minutes, made a terrific difference to thousands of South Africans edging toward despair.

A deluge of support arrived by way of emails and letters, text messages and phone calls. It was picked up by 702 and Carte Blanche, You and Huisgenoot. The moment it popped up in the inbox of Louise Grantham at Penguin, it was obvious to the publisher what the market was yearning for.

The idea for the book was born and then the contributions rolled in – from the likes of John Robbie, Andile Ngcaba, Sam Cowen, Branko Brkic, Noelene Maholwana-Sangqu, Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Dr. D (Dorianne Weil), David Bullard and others – and from ordinary South Africans sending their own expressions of faith in the future.

Just four months after the instigating email, a crowd gathered to celebrate the launch of the physical object, the book. Serenaded by a string quartet, a group of young musicians from The Orchestra Company, and Jean-Michel Byron (originally from the band Toto) that came to entertain the guests, the festivities were fabulous to behold.

Alison Lowry, CEO of Penguin, paid tribute to Grantham, whose idea it was to approach Alan, asking what we could do to take the message to a broader public. “How do you put a book like this together?” she asked.

“This is the first time that a book has been compiled entirely by contributions online. We had no idea whether the experiment would work but as soon as the word went out contributions flooded in – not from expats in New Zealand promising that all will be well, but from ordinary folk like you and me.”

Lowry spoke of South Africans’ remarkable character in the face of adversity, about the outpourings of concern in the wake of the recent xenophobic thuggery.

“We’ve seen this kind of thing before. We have an extraordinary sense of spirit and sense of humour, and we love our country. We’re not going to disappear. We’re going to stay to contribute, to fix and to help.”

The book was put together with phenomenal speed. “The Penguin team rolled up their sleeves and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ They got the book out, and this week it entered the charts at number three!” The book retails for just R50, and proceeds go to the Tomorrow Trust.

“Not only are people supporting the principal and ideology of the book, but they’re putting money on the counter,” said Lowry.

Kim Feinberg, CEO and founder of the Tomorrow Trust said that statistics reveal that there will be 25 million AIDS orphans in the world by 2010. “That’s 25 million children without parents, the majority in Africa, China and India. At this stage, SA has the worst stats.”

The Tomorrow Trust was founded four years ago in an attempt to encourage South Africans to nurture and protect society’s most vulnerable children. “For us, it is about educating children in order to help make them self-empowered,” said Feinberg.

She said that holistic training that developed self-awareness and self-mastery was vital. Workshops on morals and ethics, woman abuse and self-care teach vulnerable children about protecting themselves physically and emotionally. The greatest reward for her was seeing transformation in the children.

“Eventually you see the lights turning on in children’s eyes and what better gift than that? They are saying to themselves, ‘Now I can be powerful; I can create a life. I can trust again in a safe and loving environment.’

“You see a shattered life slowly mould and become a being that is. You watch as the barriers and walls crumble down leaving a shining spirit. You see the dreams of these individuals start to form and a light within them shine for all the world to see. You wake up every morning to face the day, praying that today they feel the love that the Tomorrow Trust tries to give them on a daily basis.”

Co-founder of The Trust, Tracey Cohen, spoke about a new e-commerce venture initiated in conjunction with the book. “The Trust aims to streamline the act of giving by creating a single access point for a range of causes. The idea is to boost the fundraising ability of charities by consolidating marketing efforts under one umbrella,” she said.

“By focusing on international celebrity endorsement, through its many high-level contacts, The Trust will marshal significant support for various causes from animals in distress to woman and child abuse.

“Affiliated charities will be expected to adhere to strict reporting and accountability guidelines in order to continue receiving support. Every cent donated is tracked, accounted for and distributed to charities with maximum efficiency and transparency. Additionally, The Trust has the support of many South African business leaders, benefiting from decades of cumulative business expertise. The result is a charity run on business principals for maximum effect.

“The objectives of the trust are simple: to provide a simple means of donating from as little as R5 to as much as R1 million to worthy causes. The Trust aims to ensure that donations reach their destinations, to increase donations world-wide to needy South Africans – and to make a difference.”

You can help now by buying a copy of the inspirational Don’t Panic!.

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