Wrong!
Chances are your money won't be helping the very street beggars who need it the most.
More harm than good?
In many developing countries, travelers report an increase in the number of street beggars as a destination becomes more popular. When countries first openws up for tourism, as did Burma in the 1980s, few beggars were to be seen. As it became more popular and more crowded, beggars proliferated.
And with good reason: they knew that where Western travelers went, money followed. In poverty-stricken countries, that lesson is quickly learned.
The problem, though, is that in many cases, the money does more harm than good. At times, it doesn't even stay in the hands of street beggars but goes to nourish gangs of traffickers and organized crime.
On busy streets in Asia, street beggars - many of them young children - abound. It's not uncommon to see them picked up in the evening by gangmasters, who keep them hidden in often slavelike conditions and trot them out the next day for more.
It's one of the more insidious forms of child labour, with children used as chattel by their own families, or by 'owners' who have bought them from their parents and trafficked them, often across national borders.
While handing money to a poor person would appear relatively straightforward, it often is not a simple transaction, especially where children are involved. Here are some possible negative fallouts:
- when children beg, they're not in school, so they're not getting an education, which could someday help them get ahead
- if begging brings in money, there's little incentive to work, whether for the children themselves or for their parents
- you may be contributing to crimes such as child trafficking
... and you won't be providing any long-term benefit the the recipient of your largesse.
There is another way
Money might provide the giver with some satisfaction, but it won't do as much for the street beggar. Also, it isn't the only way of giving something to poor people on the street - nor it is it the best way. Some of these other alternatives might not be as instantly gratifying as handing over money to a needy person, but they will please and distract, without doing any long-term damage:
- bring postcards with you and show people where you live
- spend a bit of time teaching them a word or two of English
- teach children a song or game from your country
- sit and draw a picture together
- buy a child some fruit or other food
If you feel you really must give something, the first rule is never to give anything to a child directly but to his or her parents. Why not something they can use at home or for their children in school, like pens or notepads?
Better yet, if you really want to make a difference, you could volunteer in a young people's home or in an orphanage when you travel. You'll be making a difference, which is more than can be said by placing a few coins in someone's hands.
