The Two Extremes

[#1]

Hi,

This is just my observation of life & an effort to encourage people to have more human centric society. Many extremes exist in this world. On one side there is joy, luxury and on the other we have just the opposites.

We enjoy winters, take out our sweaters, jackets & love to wear them. What about those who are not even sure whether they will survive this winter or not? Forget about sweaters & jackets, they don't even have a piece of cloth to cover their bare bodies.

We enjoy different foods. Indian, Italian, English, Spanish & many more, I guess I will be short of space if I list all the categories. And there are people who don't even know whether they will have their next meal. What they really need is just a piece of bread. These Indian, Italian, English, Spanish etc are of no significance to them. For us getting three meals is a need but for them it is a luxury.

We enjoy going to international schools, reputed colleges, get exposure to latest of technologies. What about those who have never seen the classroom? It is not that they do not want to study or they don't want to enjoy the latest technologies, it is just that they don't have the option. It is just that, they did a crime, the crime of taking birth on the roads, on footpaths.

And I don't know who to blame for all this? Why there are two extremes? Why not everyone is at same level? Why not equal opportunities for all? Why not everyone who has the luxury come forward & fulfil the needs of the others? Why the difference? Why people get punishment for the crime they didn't even do?

I don't know the answers to all these questions, but I can just ask those who get three meals to share at least a slice with those who are striving even to get one. Help others study if you have the privilege of being educated. We cannot balance out these two extremes completely  but at least we can make an effort to lessen the distance between the two end points. Just give a try. Our small effort can change the lives of many. We can make this world a better place to live for those who always question their existence.

~ Neeraj

[matt · Accepted solution]

I recommend sponsoring a disadvantaged child - e.g. via Worldvision. There are of course other groups that offer this.

[neeraj_sharma02 · Accepted solution]

Hi Matthew,

Nice thought. I already sponsor one girl child through Worldvision & hopefully will sponsor few more in future. And it doesn't take much bucks out of our pockets, we can easily afford this & help those in need. It really gives a sense of satisfaction.

Regards,

Neeraj Sharma

[neeraj_sharma02]

I am in a confusion now. I was thinking of sponsoring one more child through World Vision next month. World Vision claims that 80% of the money donated reaches the needy & 20 % is used for their admin costs & marketing etc. I don't know the exact reality, but even if 80% reaches to the needy that is good (specially for people who want to donate but do not generally get time to go to streets & distribute food or any other option which asks for physical involvement).

Regards,

Neeraj Sharma

[matt]

80% is good. Some money must go on admin. It doesn't  come from nowhere. Organisations like World Vision can funnel help from all over the world. If we only help local charities then the poorer countries would suffer from lack of help from richer countries. You can of course give both locally and globally.

What's important is:

a) Give

b) Check out the efficiency of your donee before giving.

[neeraj_sharma02]

Thank you guys for all the ideas.

Yes there are other costs involved when it comes to the charity organizations. Only a part of the amount we donate reaches to the needful and in some cases not even that. Going yourself and distributing needful things seems a good idea.

If anyone knows more effective ways of charity please let us know. 

Regards,

Neeraj Sharma

[stephenjohannes]

In general the most effective way is giving or participating in a local charity that targets your neighborhood and if you want to go beyond your neighborhood then research/lookup admin etc on efforts that are global.

In terms of local I volunteered for a while as a case worker for a group that was focused on my local area and the admin costs of the group were no more than 1% of money received(no paid employees).  My time dried up so I still contribute via monetary donation, but IMHO that's as effective as you can get.

Anything else on a larger scale should show their admin costs and those should be less than 20% of contributions. In addition I really dislike any charity-marketing efforts where a company will base a donation on some sales gimmick instead of just providing a flat amount especially when the dontation based on goals is capped.  You either donate or you don't, the need doesn't go away because your game goals werent' met.

Take care,

Stephen

[Former Member]

I agree with Julius and share similar distrust over 'organized' charity where admin & publicity costs are high. They also waste lot of paper sending fliers to just about anyone.

I prefer to give away  food to street kids.

In India today, there are ample opportunities to work and fulfil basic necessities including education for one's children; but for apathy & ignorance of parents of the 'poor kids' There is also much violence towards kids so that they will 'earn' money by begging.

[matt]

This is why I think we need some organised charities - it can be more effective to give money to a food distribution charity than to distribute food yourself (economies of scale). What we should do, I think, is carry out due diligence. Check out the kind of charity we want to support, and ensure that it is efficient.

I never give to street collectors or beggars -though I might well buy food for them, nonetheless.

I was shopping in the supermarket in France a couple of weeks ago. There was a food bank charity there, asking people to buy a few extra items in their weekly shop, to give to the food bank, which then distributes the items to disadvantaged families in the region. I think this is a great idea.

[Former Member]

Food bank seems a good idea! There are also corporates which run campaigns where part of proceeds per unit sold are used for charitable activities towards the underprivileged.

[Former Member]

I am a bit (instinctively paranoid) distrustful of organizations which collect money for causes far away. All to often you can find information about them administrating themselves with the funds and here in Switzerland there are a whole bunch of them which have been uncovered as scams.

I prefer the option of rather going out there and giving someone a hand who needs it without any admin costs being funded in between. In winter we sponsor kids ski sport teams. In summer we sponsor a farm school in Africa. In both cases we also go there ourselves.

ps: "we" = our company (myself, Otto Gold, Matthew Billingham, and a few other friends)

Cheers,

Julius

[Former Member]

You should always be wary of the big organizations.

Look at pink ribbon for instance, that organization spends around 99.9 percent of their revenues on awareness and not on breast cancer research.

In that specific case, just bother your local university and ask them to supply you with a list of cancer research facilities along with their bank account information.

[matt]

But what if pink ribbon's raising of awareness means that cancer research collect far more than they otherwise would have done? The general public aren't going to bother to go to the local university. You have to make it easy for people to give, and create a desire for them to give.

[Former Member]

That's a fair point.

Albeit speculative (as is the following point, mind you).

People who want to donate money have limited resources. If an organization, focused solely on raising awareness takes a large piece of the limited pie then organizations/research centers focused primarily on finding solutions will, in all probability, get less.

In any given time individuals are able to donate a total of twelve apples yearly to various organizations.

If the awareness organizations are given eight of those then only four apples remain for the others.

not really QED yet, but you get my point.

[matt]

Sure - just playing devil's advocate.