Saturday, December 30, 2006
overseas community service?
its something i've never really believed in. i mean, if you're a doctor, or a dentist, or some other skilled professional that offer your services for free, then it's a different story. i even applaud you for going to the far reaches of india and cambodia to help those poor kids. but when an average joe decides to go all the way there just to what? build a school? to teach A, B, C. or to just "play with the kids and show them love" i am left with no choice but to roll my eyes. you go down there for what, 10 days? 20 days? take leave off work, fly off to another country, all righteous and "oh, i am going to help the poor children in india" what about all the poor children right here. there are orphanages here too. people abandon their kids in singapore as well. just because singapore is more advanced does not mean the kids are any more or less loved. and the cost for one of these trips is normally $2000 - $3000. does no one bother thinking how long a poor kid in india can survive on money like that? money can't buy love. but is 10 days enough to show how much you love these poor kids? after 10 days, and you're gone, wouldn't they be left even MORE bereft than before you came along. The money you spend on your trip will last them a whole lot longer. Plus they will get love from the Doctors or Dentists or whoever else is skilled and is coming along. There are volunteers in every country. The thing they are most short of are funds cos they're just that. Volunteers. Rather than flying all the way down there with a plane and staying in a one-star hotel, would it not then make more sense to give the volunteers more money to spend on the kids? I say volunteers cos there are also all these admin places that take all the money leaving the kids for nothing. Make a difference by volunteering and spending time where you live. Not halfway across the world. It isn't how far you go or how much you spend. It's the reasons behind why you do it, and how much you really want to make a difference.
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