I generally as a rule do not give to beggars on the street and the only charity work I am involved with is meals on wheels which I have been doing for the last 6 years. The main reason behind my thinking comes from past experiences. I have lost my faith in humanity and why I ignore beggars of any kind. I am not religious by any means, but that does not make me a bad person and will do the right thing normally. My pet peeve is being bugged in supermarkets by people shopping asking you to pay for their groceries. This happens daily and is always foreigners. I would rather help fund a return ticket than give them food as there is zero work prospects in South Africa.
Many years ago a beggar asked for food so I bought him some food and when I was sitting in my car I watched him in my rear view mirror place the food I just bought into the rubbish bin. He wanted money to buy either drugs or drink and was not interested in food and why I would not give him money.
A scam we had for many years in Johannesburg was bachelor party events at the traffic lights where the so called "groom" would be dressed up in a dress with make up and would make a small fortune. He would have a group of guys who you would presume would be going out later drinking on the town. I recall giving R100 which s a decent amount as a gift for someone you don't know. Roughly 6 months later I saw the same group with the same "groom" doing exactly the same thing in a different area. Easy money and obviously this cam does very well, but you have to keep moving areas.
I Johannesburg we have many traffic light not working and some of the busier intersections beggars have taken charge by controlling the traffic flow. This is unique and is also appreciated by the motorists and they get tipped very well. An entrepreneur beggar seeing the need and fulfilling a wanted service leaves you with a smile and hopefully someone will see his initiative and offer him employment.
This is the reason why I wrote this article as something touched me 2 weeks ago whilst with my grandson in hospital I was in the cafeteria having a cup of coffee when a lady in her 30's came up to me. She mentioned she was spending the night as she had a sick relative in the hospital. I was not paying much attention to the story as I was waiting for the punchline which did eventually come.
She had no money for food and drink and the food in the hospital cafeteria was very expensive roughly 3 x that of the shops outside. I told her to go outside and find cheaper food so I gave her R50 and thought I am too soft and thought that is the last I will see of her. About an hour later she returned carrying a pizza and sat down in the waiting area. I was starting to feel bad or more guilty I guess for judging her and not believing her story. Who would have guessed she needed the money and her story was exactly what she had said.
Most beggars are scam artists in SA with groups even importing disabled individuals from Zimbabwe to beg at traffic lights. We have a blind man who has an aid and he has been around for the last 10 years so he must be earning his keep. Nothing is what it seems and why you have to understand how the system works.
Any way my guilt got the better of me and I went and gave the lady some extra money to help her get through the night and it was the right thing to do. People in need I have no problem helping and with her it could be you or me in the same situation. She was a little taken back with the extra money, but you could see the instant relief and after all it is only money and would do it again if someone needed it. I tend to judge very quickly, but with her I was very wrong
I will not give to charities because 99% the money does not end up at the intended target and is diluted paying for staff and directors. An individual though who is telling the truth in a unique circumstance like in the hospital I have no issue helping. I think this experience gave me some faith back in humanity as this s the first time someone told the truth when asking for money.