KidsCan/Supplied Some children were so embarrassed about being hungry or not having proper uniforms, shoes or stationery they are simply stayed away from school. We have proven to ourselves, and to the world, that we are very good at handling emergencies when we all pull together for a common cause. An example is our covid-19 response which has been one of the most effective in the world. We also know that when we don’t pull together for the common good emergencies can become catastrophic for the most vulnerable in the community. We learned that in the mid-1980s when an economic downturn hit business and employment very hard. Jobs were lost, private enterprise was severely mauled and big corporates closed down to survival mode. Making matters worse were banks and other lending institutions who, instead of pulling their belts in a notch with everyone else and helping the nation weather the storm, charged in like starving hyenas on a wounded buffalo, increasing interest rates almost weekly to unsurvivable levels.