Beggarship

Over here, there is 1 at every corner.

Just where I stay, there is
- this old man with a plaster on his temple.
- this young lady with a baby girl who is never awake
- this old lady with a 4-5 year old girl with dirty hands and feet
- this man who sits on a floor with a 2-3 year old girl playing nearby

And along the way to work, there is
- this very lost looking man who tries to give me the newspapers he has recycled from the bins, in exchange for a coin..

In the area where the boy has his violin lessons,
- there is this skin and bones girl who crawls on the floor
- a boy without arms

And there's always old ladies who sell jasmine flowers that they've carefully strung ... actually they aren't really beggars ...

Occasionally, you'd see
- lady with a note placed on the floor seeking for money to pay for bus fare / meal
- blind man playing the flute with old lady leading the way
- 3 young people in a group, kneeling with heads bowed, with a bowl in front of them.

The worst or most determined beggar I've ever seen - is a man, covered with 'self-inflicted' wounds that are oozing blood, half-naked on an overhead bridge, ... and there was blood on his shorts, the steps, the floor, everywhere...

My mother gave some money to a man without a limb. 5 others approached her in quick succession.

I wanted to buy a piece of melon from a peddler on the road, an old lady approached me with outstretched hands and I ended up putting the money in her palm.

A colleague gave RMB100 to an old man in a wheelchair who had an old lady beside him - thinking they were a couple and ended up being chased 2 blocks by the lady who demanded to be given as much.

Everyday, amidst the bright lights of a modern day city, the hardship of living pulses along with it. Faceless people in my face, telling me how fortunate I am.

Every year, at this time, we choose a charity to support. Last year, it was NKF. This year, the Big One suggested Community Chest.

But I'm thinking maybe if I can pluck 1 kid off the street and put him/her in school and be committed to doing that for at least 10 years. How will the picture change for the world?

Nothing.

But the world will open up for this 1 kid.