Wonderful Human Beings
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
As the crow flies it is 6,700 miles from New Orleans to the western African nation of Cameroon. But somehow five villages found the Big Easy and were moved by stories of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. How they found out is a good question.
Cameroon has only one TV station and fewer internet users than a single neighborhood in Manhattan. Yet in this troubled former French colony, where the average wage is just 45 cents a day, villagers raised $868 for Katrina victims.
Five chiefs traveled to Shreveport and presented the money at a Baptist church. So moved by the 25 cent donation of one 9-year-old villager saving for his education, Louisiana military personnel passed the hat raising $300 dollars to pay for his college back home.
This news zipped by, under the radar of lobbying scandals, global violence, and seemingly endless political caterwauling. Sometimes human beings can be wonderful.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on manyCBS Radio News affiliates across the country.
By Harry Smith