How can travelers help when money is clearly not the answer? Here’s 10 alternative ideas for helping street children.
A traveler walks down the red-light district of Manila City, Philippines. Carrying a backpack, a distressed expression and a pack of eager street children at his heels, he is left at a crossroads — to give or not to give?
Some yield to the desperate pleas, guilt ridden for the clean beds they know are waiting for them; others stare into space, hoping that their polite dismissal really is for the best.
This is not an uncommon sight in countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil and India, wherein the divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is extreme. Though poverty is a global issue, the evidence of such despair is most blatantly displayed in developing nations.
There is no avoiding a child’s eyes looking up at you, an amputee holding out an empty McDonald’s cup or a mother and infant sitting in the blazing heat hoping to look “pathetic” enough to warrant the charity of a few coins.
It is an anxiety-ridden dilemma.
Knowing that these kids have not only been damaged by their homeless state, but also by the constant sexual, physical and emotional abuse, makes saying “no” a tortuous task. However, handing out a few coins results in sense of helplessness as this donation often goes to their “beggar masters,” drugs or to parents who often spend it on alcohol or illegal substances.
Therefore, how can travelers help when money is clearly not the answer? Here’s 10 things you can do…
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