I WAS at a loss for words on hearing that the Jersey Democratic Alliance had started a fund to pay the fines and legal costs of Deputies Geoff Southern and Shona Pitman.

Those who don’t wish to fall foul of the law should not break the law, no matter how unfair it may be. There are appropriate channels and methods in which laws can be altered, if the public and political will supports change, so those who choose ‘martyrdom’ have to face the consequences of their actions.

No doubt there are Islanders who will donate their hard-earned cash to the JDA’s fund, including many who in the current recession cannot really afford to do so. They will give because they believe Deputies Southern and Pitman to be champions of the oppressed and the needy who persistently snap at the heels of the establishment and an ‘out-of-touch’ Council of Ministers.

To describe their punishment as ‘punitive and disproportionate’ is a gross exaggeration. What appals me more is that they have yet to be disciplined by their peers in the Laughter Factory – though for some among our band of beloved politicians it could well be a case of ‘There but for the grace of God go I’.

I can think of a million more deserving causes to give money to than two politicians who chose to ignore the rules governing the democratic voting system and got caught. A far better example of serving the community and putting the interest of the less fortunate before self came last week – not from any of the politicians paid a princely sum to rule over us mere mortals, but from a nine-year-old girl.

Exhibiting altruism far beyond her years, Kristina Sokic told her family and friends that instead of buying her gifts or slipping a tenner in a greetings card for her birthday, they should make a donation to a charity of her choice.

Kristina chose Autism Jersey because she has a cousin in Canada who suffers from the condition, and she wanted to help other sufferers. Her selflessness raised £140 and reinforced the ideal that it is better to give than to receive.

This Island has a long and strong tradition of service to the community and supporting charitable causes. Most people give what they can afford to deserving causes in donations to appeals, monthly standing orders or the benefit of their labour if they believe in a cause.

Never has the proverb ‘Charity begins at home’ ever stopped this little yet ever expanding Island raising money for any number of worthy and charitable causes, and in a variety of ways.
We respond immediately to natural disasters such as the Boxing Day tsunami in 2005 and the recent Italian earthquake, and year in, year out hundreds of Islanders undertake projects in the Third World.

In addition we regularly walk, run, cycle, push beds and even jump out of planes (securely attached to a parachute, of course) to raise funds. If there’s a worthwhile cause, Jersey folk will support it tirelessly and in good cheer.

Notwithstanding human nature’s selfless desire to help those in need, the success of charities does relieve governments of the necessity to provide essential public services – hospices being a prime example. While charities such as Jersey Hospice Care exist thanks to public donations and the generosity of society, there is no need for local health authorities to provide specialist palliative nursing services out of the public purse. This is no bad thing for the taxpayer and governments already overburdened with bureaucracy.

While the well-known national and local charities put their resources to good effect to maintain the necessary income stream, it is the lesser-known but equally worthwhile charities that get overshadowed by the sheer scale of numbers. How many of us who queue in the Royal Square every December at the annual soup kitchen in aid of the Shelter Trust give that charity a second thought throughout the year? Probably not a lot, unless helping the homeless and those who have fallen off society’s radar is a cause true to their heart.

I do not want to criticise those who give no more than the price of a cup of soup to the Shelter Trust, because that is enough, and it is better than giving nothing at all. We give what we can, when we can and to causes that touch us as individuals.

A glance down the extensive list of more than 200 members of the Association of Jersey Charities reveals an amazing variety of good causes for a rock the dimension of just 45 square miles or so. All are non-profit organisations whose purpose is to raise funds for the good of the community. A fortunate few have a head start by being grant-aided, but in the main local charities rely on the generosity of us Islanders and the business community and each person’s own ingenuity to generate income.

Whether we choose to support an African or a Jersey child rather than adults whose lives have been changed for the worse by a head injury or a stroke, or spend weekends removing non-indigenous plants from headlands instead of buying a new slate for the roof of the Société Jersiaise’s chapel at La Hougue Bie, each to their own personal choice.

When it comes to parting with hard-earned cash, there is a limit to salving even the most generous conscience. Making a donation and seeing how that money is put to good effect – and, moreover, knowing that that gift is making a real difference to someone’s life – is reason enough to dig deep into our pockets.

We can’t all be as truly selfless and altruistic as Kristina Sokic, but this Island is a much richer place because of her and others who lead by example. Contributing to the JDA’s fund to help errant politicians to pay for their misdemeanors doesn’t even register on most people’s radar.