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Its even worst for the tourist who visit india, but you haven’t really experienced india if u have not been chased by a begger or cheated, as in India we believe that white skin equates being rich.

But all is not so bad as the few good people you meet make you foget all the other experiences u had here.

There are many agencies like the Big Bus, CRY, AKANSHA , that are genuine and always need people to volunteer.

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In markets and other tourist destinations, you might be confronted by beggars, many of them children or adults with infants. By giving these beggars money, you encourage them to stay on the streets and prevent local social workers from promoting alternatives to street life. Giving them food/milk has the same results as it maintains children on the streets, where they are exposed to various dangerous situations.

Additionally many of the begging children you see in poor countries have been trafficked from elsewhere and held as virtual slaves. Any money you give them goes straight into the pocket of the child’s owner.

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Locally (Canada), I won’t give money to panhandlers. Full stop. Buskers yes, but beggars, no. But it’s happened a few times now that I’ve been approached after leaving a restaurant… the first request is for money (which gets turned down) and the second is for my leftovers/doggy bag. I don’t have a doggy, so am happy to share what would have been the next day’s lunch. As one much-tattoed and pierced requestor put it as I handed her what was left of my south Indian meal: “Score! I’m never sure what I’m going to get, but I like food and I like surprises. Every meal is different.”

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What really works for me is taking my local giving and volunteering activities “on the road”. I am a passionate volunteer at our local women’s shelter – which I’m sad to say is often way overfull – my thinking is that if this is true in a fully “civilized” country – then the issue is likely monstrous in countries I visit so this is what I search out.

My goal is to help those women and children who are in trouble because of the abuse they have endured. If my time and support (not always $$) helps keep one young girl in school then I have made a small difference. This small difference comes back home with me and keeps my commitment up in tough times.

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There are several reasons I won’t give to children:
- it provides them with an incentive to continue to beg rather than doing something else, like going to school
- parents may see that using their children as beggars is lucrative – again, incentive
- some parents may indeed be trying to keep their children from begging but by giving to children you may be undermining their parents’ authority
- it encourages the image of Westerners as people who give out money
- whatever you give won’t have any lasting value
- you’ll be giving the example to the next generation of beggars: if they see it works, why shouldn’t they beg too?
- you could be supporting criminal activity
- you could be helping support gangs, who are often involved in trafficking of women and children

If I feel children in a particular village are destitute enough, I will do something. I can volunteer locally – I’ve taught an English or geography class to more students than I can count. A single class can make a difference by exposing children to a new kind of teaching, or a new kind of person. Or I’ll give the children something of value – a song, or a postcard, but no money.

I apply the same rules to adult beggars, with one notable exception. If the person appears unable to work – very old, disabled – then I will gladly part with some money if it can make a difference. In some countries though, giving to one beggar will attract hundreds. So I’ve imposed a rule on myself, arbitrary but useful: I only give to one beggar a day. Otherwise I may not know where to draw the line.

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I think you can make a distinction between street beggars in the US and those in other countries. I firmly believe that those in the US are not at all helped by handouts, and so I won’t give them. People in other countries, like the children in the photo above, are much more problematic.

I tithe to my church. They have people whose job it is to take that money and do good with it. Last year, they bought a portable drill rig in Africa, and started a project of putting in new water wells in remote villages.

My money contributed to that project. People I will never see will benefit from that. It doesn’t make easier to say “no” to a child who is presenting a specific plea directly to you. But in the big picture, I am helping. So I can sleep at night.

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Do I give them money – yes, every time

Why?

A buck isn’t anything to me – but for someone that is living in poverty (by no fault of their own) it’s a meal for their family. I am rich compared to these good people, I don’t mind it one bit if they ask me for .30 cents after they see me drive up in my brand new car

If I am going to take advantage of the economy prices and cheap travel in the 3rd and developing world (because of the poverty) then I can spare a few bucks for the locals, its no big deal

If poverty annoys you – then go on vacation in London rich man

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I know that most likely they will buy booze or drugs, but what a person does with money they actually earn is not my concern.

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