No More Alms

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In every corner of streets, in random benches, in busy streets, there will always be someone who restlessly extends their hands, expecting for some spare coins. Some may shout at them and tell them to back off, while there are some that would be generous enough to give them their spare change. But, can our spare coins save them from poverty? Will it help them in the long run?

Research says that there are approximately 150 million homeless people, with 719 people living in poverty in the whole world.

As they beg for spare coins, some may argue that we should give them coins out of kindness, some gives money because they want to feel better, some may say not to because they believe that by donating some coins it would disable them from thriving and that they will just depend their life to begging for some coins, or that they might use the money in inappropriate things.

As Gustavo Gutierrez quoted, “The poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order”.

Poverty is not something that we can blame on one person who is suffering from it, it is not destiny nor because he or she is not working hard enough. The system should be held accountable for it has produced the impoverished as a byproduct. Poverty is a clear illustration of injustice. They were robbed, they were not given the same opportunity compared to other people.

As charity is highly appreciated on their part, let us take a look at the bigger picture. Doing charity works, donating food packs, or giving them our spare change will only have micro effects and is not a long term solution. After we gave them our spare change, they will still face the ugly facade of poverty, they will still have a tomorrow to think of, tomorrow that will still be the same as yesterday. How many tomorrows will they still have to endure in extending their arms? And with the rising cost of necessities due to inflation, can our spare change be enough for people like them?

We should dig down and find the root of poverty, and only then can we know the solution for it. Instead of encouraging people to help these kinds of people, we should seek the government’s response. We should start holding the people that are responsible for it accountable.

Once we understand that beggars, asking for alms does not merely mean they are asking for spare change, if we want to end poverty, whether or not we donate money is irrelevant. What we need to do is a big shift in the system, a huge switch in governments’ priorities. Only then, none of us will suffer being a product of a broken system.

As charitable endeavors are strongly encouraged, this wouldn't be a long-term solution if the government refused to participate.

“The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice.”
-Bryan Stevenson