The earthquake in South Asia sent a shockwaves across our community.

It became immediately evident, that even though the quake was thousands of miles away, members of our community here were feeling its effects.

Without delay, mosques and churches, schools and supermarkets, got together to raise money for the victims.

The earthquake hit at a time when I was beginning to wonder if there were any selfless people out there.

We all seem to be caught up in our own little worlds, that sometimes we forget to think about others we simply do not stop for a moment to consider the thoughts and feelings of those around us.

However, after seeing for myself the mass fund raising effort in full flow I was promptly reassured that the majority of people are altruistic. Or are they?

Without meaning to dampen the genuine effort that people made, I wondered if our community would have embarked on the same mass efforts had the earthquake occurred in another country for instance a western country?

Would people still have given as generously as they did, or did they simply give because they were linked to the disaster struck areas through direct blood lines?

At the end of the day, we are all human and we will all save our own first, but is this really what charity is?

When people give selectively, intentions become tarnished, surely this cannot be rendered charity?

Another possible reason why people were digging deeper could have been been due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

As it was essential for Muslims to give zakat (charity) during the month, maybe people thought wise to give to earthquake victims. But then what about the destruction that the mudslide caused in South America, I dont recall seeing charity buckets lingering around for them?

Whilst listening to the radio, I heard meaningless announcements being made, Mr Benny of Old Street has given £100 and Mr Penny of New Street donates £500.

What the relevance of such announcements? These frivolous announcements simply started ego boosting competitions.

The most important thing is certainly not how much you give, but with what intentions you give. If Mrs Little has given the most that she can afford, £5 with the most honourable intentions, Im sure that that would morally count for more that

Mrs Big who gives £5000 as an indication of her large fortune. The need for announcements is easily removed.

However, despite the concerns that Ive voiced in relation to the effort made by everyone, for once it was pleasing to see all the community united as one.

All the mosques merged, all the interfaith schools grouped, all the diverse cultures simply got together to raise money uniformly.

Without giving a second thought our community was united this in itself was a great achievement and one that we should aim to maintain.

If such a unified stance produced such a remarkable result, we should aim to continue to build such links between our communities and tackle issues that are closer to home and affect us all on a more personal level. As they say - charity begins at home.