APA Insurance has over the past week held a new innovative online campaign dubbed #ASANTE which is Swahili for Thank You. The campaign offers the public an opportunity to express gratitude to their family and friends. Their vision as a firm is to put smiles on the faces of all their stakeholders. You can also make a heartfelt thank you message or postcard at http://www.apainsurance.org/asante/ and send it to a person you really care about. We forget to show gratitude to other people sometimes because we are too busy. We may thank them on the inside but not let them know while other times we may just take the gesture as something we deserve and hence not do anything to thank them in return.
1. Taking care of your parents
Parents have been there for us since childhood and they keep checking up on us every day regardless of our age. They provide you with everything before your first job. They give you advice all through your life. They are generally people we can depend on and they require our utmost gratitude. Sending them some money for a little shopping, taking them out on holiday, buying them gifts and talking to them on the phone regularly are some of the ways you can thank them.
2. Buying of presents
You can buy a person a gift and put it in a gift bag. It does not need to be a special day like a birthday or an anniversary, it can just be a normal day. Make them feel appreciated and loved.
3. Leaving them heartfelt messages
You can also send people you love and care about simple heartfelt thank you messages on SMS, WhatsApp or in a form of an email. These messages will change their whole day and they will be sure that you think about them and appreciate them every day.
4. Leaving them notes
You can leave little notes around the house or on their night stands. This can be one of the first things they come across in the morning or when they come back home after a long day. The messages should be tailored to what you thank them for and should not be generic messages from the internet.
5. Writing poems or stories about them
If you are a poet or like writing stories, you can write one about them or about your friendship together and give them. This should not only be done once, you can do this more than once building up on the previous poem or story you wrote.
6. Being there when they need you
The most significant show of gratitude is having a person beside you when you need them and when you don’t. It would be corny for you to send them these messages and poems but when they need you, you do not show up. Make time for your friends and loved ones. Listen to them and offer advice when they need it. Offer them a shoulder in times of hardship too.
7. Telling and reminding them that you care about them
You can call them or just have a meeting where you just show your gratitude face to face. This will be more sincere than when you write a message. You can actually see that they appreciate the message and they will also see the genuine care and love you have for them.
8. Make them a video or a collage
You can make a video collage that shows the great times you have been together. The fun times you have had, the hard times you have been together and how you bounced back. This will be good to show that you have been together through thick and thin and it will give them a perspective of what you are ready to give back to them.
9. Invite them to something fun
If you hear your friend or relative always talking of something they would like to do, save up and make their wish come true. It might be something small like going to see a movie to something like a 3 day trip to the Mara.
10. Giving them a warm hug
A warm slightly tight hug that goes for one second too long is something we treasure from our friends and family. You can just hug them whenever while telling them how thankful you are for having them in your life. Don’t make hugs a kind or greeting only that lasts a second and has no thought put into it. Have a special hug that will make them feel the gratitude you have for them.
When was the last time you showed gratitude to a friend or family member? Call them or do any of the above. You can also go to http://www.apainsurance.org/asante/ and submit a message for them.
Find out more about the #Asante campaign on twitter by following @APAInsurance.
