Remember those that fought tooth and nail to get back up again!
As I’m preparing for the Forces March 2011 with Team Warrior I am inspired very much by what we’re doing but I’m also deeply saddened. The beneficiary of our efforts is a charity that we’ve become very close to during the campaign called Project 65 – The Veterans Charity who support serving, retired and related members of our armed services.
Now I wasn’t under any illusion about how hard fundraising was. I’ve been involved with projects enough times before to realise how fickle people are and how tough it is to get their support. But still we push on because we know how much of a difference we can make.
The title of this blog is ‘Don’t just remember the fallen….’ We have many monuments and memorials paying tribute to brave servicemen and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for what they believed in. And rightly so. We made a commitment to never forget them and indeed I believe as a nation we honour that well. However, I don’t feel like we remember those that fought tooth and nail to get back up again anywhere near enough.
The death toll from the Afghanistan War is only telling a fraction of the story. For every soldier that pays the ultimate price many more are severely injured and even disabled. These soldiers are now having to come home and face a new life. A life where many people have no understanding of why they even served their country let alone have any understanding of what they are now going through. The best we can often say is ‘I’m sorry to hear about that’ But how lame is that?
Around 6% of the Armies personnel are injured to the point that they will never be deployed again. And with budgets being tightened up it looks like these soldiers will be removed from the Army to free up finances and resources to recruit more fighting fit soldiers. I’m saddened by the fact that these guys quite often get forgotten about. There are a few that get good coverage and are thought of often, but there are many many more who barely get mentioned let alone noticed. There are injured personnel now looking towards a life outside of the military with nothing but fear and no idea where they are going to go. They paid the ultimate price and now they feel alone.
This saddens me which is why I want to help. So I set up a fundraising team and selected a charity which I admired the ethos of. They were thinking about these soldiers and wanted to provide the support they need. I instantly wanted to back it and I have. I then preceded to organise events, run raffles, take on physical challenges and do anything and everything to get peoples attention and make a difference.
But guess what? It more often than not falls on deaf ears. I’m currently running a raffle where you can Win a £1000 holiday for £1.50 but people still look at me as if I’m ripping them off? They argue about the details and the dates but forget one important thing. This is a raffle to support those that need us RIGHT NOW! Is that not worth £1.50 in itself? Well from experience I know the majority of people think it isn’t.
Now I know we can’t support every cause going. I have to say No sometimes as well and I do find it difficult but that is a sad fact of life. We have to ensure we are taking care of ourselves before we have anything to give to others. After all that is what I preach as a Coach.
However as soon as there is a natural disaster we do have this money. When the Tsunami hit Thailand we raised millions, and the same when the Earthquake hit Haiti. Now we have a similar devestating disaster in Japan and no doubt the British public will jump to the rescue texting donations as we speak. And I think it is great that we live in a country that has that compassion. Though if you are drawn to helping the poor people of Japan then please think of the brave people here on your doorstep who really need your support. They won’t need the huge injection of money that Japan need but they still need quite a lot.
Don’t just remember the fallen, remember those that fought tooth and nail to get back up again!
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teamwarrior2011
Matt Wang
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