Dignity In Giving

If I help somebody, should I consider this an obligation, a favor, or a responsibility?

One day, I went to a processing center of an NGO which collects and utilizes old clothes and turn them into useful products. It was a great initiative but there was always a sense of discomfort among the employees of the processing center because of the kind of stuff donated by people. There were torn-out clothes, underwear with stains, totally useless electronic equipment, utensils in the worst condition, etc. They told me that this is the daily site at the processing center because people do not think twice before putting any object in donation boxes.

When we plan any gift for our loved ones, we ensure that it is worthy, neat, and nicely gift-wrapped. It makes us feel good that the receiver will enjoy the gift and cherish the relationship forever. Why do we not feel the same level of compassion for the beneficiaries to whom we are donating something? In Mahabharat, Karna supported Kauravas but one thing which makes him stand out was dignity in giving. Daan is not something given out of obligation, just to get some applause but it is also a gesture to show that we all live in the same world and this compassion is the driving force of humanity. Items totally futile for you, maybe very useful for others and this is the reason that donating items for causes is greatly appreciated. If we go back in time, we may see that donating to needy people has been there since ancient times. Sometimes, kings used to donate to poor people to celebrate, yogis used to live on donations by people and there were traditions to ask for Bhiksha during school/gurukul days to survive. So, it has always been something highly respected with a lot of significance. To some people, donation means satisfaction, for some others, it is another way to serve the nation, share happiness, get some good vibes, and serve the almighty, for some people it may be required to save taxes, and for some, it may be a routine habit. Whatever the intentions or the purpose, we need to ensure the dignity of giving is maintained every time. It means that we should not consider the person at the receiving end inferior to us, who can accept anything. If you are not interested to donate or help, it is a personal choice and highly respected, but whenever we are giving, we need to ensure that the beneficiary does not feel disrespected.

I, as a volunteer of a social organization, have witnessed so many cases of people donating electronic items which are of no use or require heavy repairing. In such cases, the beneficiary gets really disheartened because it can neither use it nor repair it due to a lack of resources.  

The beneficiary may not be privileged as us, but it cannot be considered that he is not a dignified person. It may be due to some hostile circumstances that a person is looking for food, shelter, clothing, or other materials to survive. In a number of western countries, there is a concept of sponsoring someone’s meal as a gesture of humanity and done secretly for e.g. a person capable to buy an extra meal will buy it but does not consume it. The hotel will put a note at the gate that 1 meal is available, any hungry person can take that slip and consume that meal. This is a wonderful example to maintain dignity in giving. Another example that was shared by someone on social media a few days back is about a tradition in one European country where people leave their unused or old materials at a place voluntarily. People who need those items can take the materials without any interaction with the donor.

There is a very thin line between encouraging begging and creating a culture where privileged individuals help marginalized communities through the act of giving. The responsibility of keeping this relationship of donor and beneficiary dignified also lies with the social organization or implementation partner who is coordinating the activity. Several organizations sometimes cross the line and publish more details than required to garner the attention of potential donors. On one hand, it becomes inevitable to post updates, and details of the beneficiary or the requirement, on the other hand, social organizations can define a protocol for themselves for social media campaigns to retain the dignity of the beneficiary.

As much as we enjoy the joy of giving, we should also enjoy keeping the dignity of giving.

Regards
Live For The Nation