Different Ways of Helping
I discovered that while people may genuinely agree that there are people living in poverty that desperately need our help, there are very different ways that they can go about giving that help. When we give, we do what we think needs to be done to ‘fix’ a situation. I think it is a difficult thing indeed to overlook what is pleasing to us, and makes us feel good, to doing what is actually needed. This involves looking outside our own cultural and personal values and really accepting those of another person.
I admit that I am guilty of this time and time again. I frequently send Kantet letters and parcels, and often find myself sending him things that I think he should have, that make me feel better about his life. I think that if he has this game, or this toy, his life will be better by my standards, and that helps me to sleep at night. It is a very difficult thing, one that I have yet to master, to really think about what this child needs to make his life better. He needs an education, and he needs training in skills that will help his family. He needs an ongoing source of food, and access to clean water and medical care.
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