Giving to the needy in India will not give you the warm feeling for which you are hoping because no matter what or how much you give, a beggar in India will ask for more, they will keep begging to the point where you might regret your original offering. Begging in India is a family affair, parents teach their children how to beg. I have been approached by children as young as three years old with the traditional "I am hungry" gesture which is the reach out their hand, then put their fingers to their mouth.
Back home, my main or even my only charitable giving is Food Banks. I give money to school children going Door to Door selling chocolate or to the Scouts or Girl Guides but mostly I focus on feeding people. I simply believe that everyone deserves to eat and I follow it up at any opportunity. I like grocery shopping but sometimes overbuy so I box up food from our overstuffed larder and drop it at the Food Bank. I keep extra canned goods in the cupboard especially for the children to take for Food Drives. If I am approached on the street for money for food, I will usually give them food that I might be carrying or I walk them into the closest fast food place and buy them a burger or a bagel. Sometimes, I do not get the gratitude I would expect but at least they have to eat what I buy them and I know the money is properly spent.
I am using a similar strategy here, I purchase local goods, usually to try them out, and discover I do not
generally like them. For example, a Chocolate Chip Cookie in NA looks and tastes about the same on the West Coast as the East Coast as the Midwest. A Chocolate Chip Cookie in India will neither look like nor taste like your expectation. This is true for almost everything even Brand Names like Oreo's. So I usually have a stockpile of snacks that I did not like which I carry with me when I am in a larger center. When approached, I offer food. One time I had bought these "cream horns" but they were a disappointment so when I was asked for some money by a mother and child, I gave the child the cream horns. He was thrilled, he sat down and started eating them and every time he looked my way he gave me a 'white frosted' thumbs up. His mother, however, was relentless. I gave her a package of crackers but this was still not enough, she would not leave me alone and finally my hosts had to shoo her away.
This type of behaviour has become typical. Someone asks for money, I give food, they take the food and ask for more (probably still want money), I try to be polite but sooner or later one of my hosts will have to shoo the beggars away. I rarely give money but when I do, it will be in a secluded area so that I am not seen giving money. My hosts do not think I should give anything, even food, but this is too hard-hearted for me. Essentially everyone says to not give to beggars which makes me wonder how this can be a successful method to earn money and it can't be just Westerners giving money because there are not enough of us to support the number of beggars.
My hosts will argue that beggars could be working if they wanted to be but I am not so sure. From what I have seen it is difficult to find a steady job in India and nearly impossible to find a good job without being well-educated and education costs money starting at Junior Kindergarten. There are supposed to be funds for children to go to school up to 7th standard (Grade 7) but it is clear that many children of the poor are not being educated. Even if you can get educated to 7th standard, (12 years old) it is not enough to get a good job. While I believe that is possible that beggars are choosing to not work, I am not prepared to make that judgement call on the spot.
The adage that "Charity begins at home" is meant to suggest that one should be generous to one's family before being generous to others. I like to think that "Charity begins at home" should mean that if I am a charitable person, this will be passed on to my children. I hope I am right.
How about some sweets for my Sweetie?
Back home, my main or even my only charitable giving is Food Banks. I give money to school children going Door to Door selling chocolate or to the Scouts or Girl Guides but mostly I focus on feeding people. I simply believe that everyone deserves to eat and I follow it up at any opportunity. I like grocery shopping but sometimes overbuy so I box up food from our overstuffed larder and drop it at the Food Bank. I keep extra canned goods in the cupboard especially for the children to take for Food Drives. If I am approached on the street for money for food, I will usually give them food that I might be carrying or I walk them into the closest fast food place and buy them a burger or a bagel. Sometimes, I do not get the gratitude I would expect but at least they have to eat what I buy them and I know the money is properly spent.
I am using a similar strategy here, I purchase local goods, usually to try them out, and discover I do not
generally like them. For example, a Chocolate Chip Cookie in NA looks and tastes about the same on the West Coast as the East Coast as the Midwest. A Chocolate Chip Cookie in India will neither look like nor taste like your expectation. This is true for almost everything even Brand Names like Oreo's. So I usually have a stockpile of snacks that I did not like which I carry with me when I am in a larger center. When approached, I offer food. One time I had bought these "cream horns" but they were a disappointment so when I was asked for some money by a mother and child, I gave the child the cream horns. He was thrilled, he sat down and started eating them and every time he looked my way he gave me a 'white frosted' thumbs up. His mother, however, was relentless. I gave her a package of crackers but this was still not enough, she would not leave me alone and finally my hosts had to shoo her away.This type of behaviour has become typical. Someone asks for money, I give food, they take the food and ask for more (probably still want money), I try to be polite but sooner or later one of my hosts will have to shoo the beggars away. I rarely give money but when I do, it will be in a secluded area so that I am not seen giving money. My hosts do not think I should give anything, even food, but this is too hard-hearted for me. Essentially everyone says to not give to beggars which makes me wonder how this can be a successful method to earn money and it can't be just Westerners giving money because there are not enough of us to support the number of beggars.
My hosts will argue that beggars could be working if they wanted to be but I am not so sure. From what I have seen it is difficult to find a steady job in India and nearly impossible to find a good job without being well-educated and education costs money starting at Junior Kindergarten. There are supposed to be funds for children to go to school up to 7th standard (Grade 7) but it is clear that many children of the poor are not being educated. Even if you can get educated to 7th standard, (12 years old) it is not enough to get a good job. While I believe that is possible that beggars are choosing to not work, I am not prepared to make that judgement call on the spot.
The adage that "Charity begins at home" is meant to suggest that one should be generous to one's family before being generous to others. I like to think that "Charity begins at home" should mean that if I am a charitable person, this will be passed on to my children. I hope I am right.
How about some sweets for my Sweetie?
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