2020 was dominated by the global Covid-19 pandemic – and although it caused chaos across the world, it also taught us some valuable lessons.

It reminded us of our capacity for human love, as we witnessed the amazing heroism of our doctors and health care workers, who put their own lives at risk to help others. And perhaps the pandemic has forced us all to take a step back and change the self centred path that we have been on for so long.

The virus showed us that we are connected to every person in the world … that the actions of people elsewhere could affect us too. The most obvious example is travellers from abroad carrying the virus into our country. But we also learned that we could benefit from successful strategies developed elsewhere in the world. The virus brought us together, as we united to fight a common enemy.

We were forced to consider how our own selfish actions could impact on others, in particular the aged. Finally, a sector of the population that is often sidelined and virtually invisible, became what it should always have been: worthy of consideration and protection. We wore masks not to protect ourselves, but to protect them.

During lockdown, shops and restaurants were closed and we bought only those items that are essential to health and wellbeing. By the time restrictions, many of us had realised that we could manage on a lot less. And, as we learned to appreciate what we have, and “do without”, we were able to relate more closely to those who have to do without everything – including enough food to sustain life.

This year in particular, I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and generosity towards the poor and suffering people we serve on the Zulu Missions. And I want to thank you sincerely for supporting us as never before.

Your gifts have not only made a huge impact, they also show your willingness to acknowledge that those who are poor and marginalised are just as valuable, and have the same right to human dignity as anyone else.

Could this be the start of building a global fraternity where we support and help one another, as Pope Francis envisages in his Encyclical letter on fraternity and social friendship, Fratelli Tutti? Where everyone matters and where the needs and aspirations of all people are met, and no one’s life is less important than another.

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