Simply Citified!

Another experience she has is a more recent one. There is a Hindu temple along Marsiling Rise, and there is an old Chinese man who is always near the temple, asking for money saying it's for food. My mom felt bad when this man once asked her for some money in front of the temple. He seemed to be in such a dire condition, that she thought he was really in need of food. She was about to give him some money when one of the men from the temple stopped her and told her to invite him into the temple if he was so desperate for some food.

Hindu temples hand out food to devotees and the general public in the morning, noon and evening. So my mom invited the old man into the temple to have dinner, but he refused and walked away. Since then she ignored the man whenever he approached her asking for money. The temple management has also been notified of this situation. They have tried to make him stop, but he can still be seen roaming around that area, trying to con someone into giving him money.

I bet everyone would have had some similar experiences, to the extend where you do not know when a person is genuinely in need. We can't blame ourselves if we don't trust random people who come up to us on the streets asking for money, can we?

Nowadays even charities are being looked down on, thanks to the big gaffe orchestrated years ago by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).

But at the same time, we have been taught since young, through religion, in school and in society that the right thing to do is to donate, or help the needy / less fortunate, in whichever small way we can.

So.. to help or not to help? That is the question here.

I would say we should help, but help in such a way that we know for sure that we are not being conned.

The best way to avoid being cheated of your money, is to help someone in need in a practical way. For example, if they approach you asking for money to eat, then rather than handing over money, just invite them over to the nearest coffee shop and buy them some food.

If they were truthful, they'd be grateful. If they were just lazy asses trying their luck with you, they'd give excuses and maybe run off. This is the best way to identify if a random person who approaches you on the street is genuinely in need of the money.

Then there are others who walk around holding photos of loved ones and saying they're in need of medical care and they need money for that. Honestly, I do not donate to any of them. Call me heartless or prejudiced, but I feel like there are many many other ways they can earn money for their needs.

This so-called begging is not the best option. How much would people donate to them anyway? $1, $2, $5? The medical procedures would cost a fortune and if they set out to beg like this, they can beg for their whole lifetime and still not be able to come up with sufficient funds.

Especially in a place like Singapore, with modern facilities, and at least one organization around every corner to help needy people from all walks of life. These people can approach such organizations for help and ask for advices on how to overcome their problem. 

But no, they prefer to take the easy way out and play on kind people's emotions to make money. It might have been easy in the past but people are getting very wary about this now. 

These are the somewhat negative examples of being kind. Of course there are two sides to every coin. 

We would have come across some people who are really nice as well. Like this Bangladeshi worker who helped to return a Singaporean man's wallet, complete with all the cash and cards in it. This has been circulating around Facebook. 

"This is a true story. I lost my wallet late (last) night (around) 2am . I just went to 7-11 @ verge before headin back home after work. In my wallet, I had about over $400 cash, IC, License (and) many other important cards. I only realize(d) tat my wallet was missing (the) next morning (at) 9am. I was lost n totally upset. (I Knew) it (was) too late to search for it in the morning, but still went to look for it at the 7-11 and the road routes that I took but (there was) no sign of hope. This Bangladeshi man really made my day. He found my wallet along the roadside near verge. After seeing (the) address (on) my IC,he travelled all the (way) to my house and waited about 2 hours outside my house because no one was home. When my mum came home (at) about 5pm, he passed my wallet to my mum . All the cards n money were in my wallet. This guy (has a) really good soul in him. 

Thank you bhaiya. God bless this guy. 

After work, (at) 8pm, I went to his place to meet him (and) thank him personally and took this pic of him."

I do not know who this person is who lost his wallet, but this has touched the hearts of many people in Facebook. It was nice of him to share this message in Facebook. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Now I can end my post on a more positive note. Don't lose your faith in humanity yet. Kindness is making it's rounds around the world in different ways. Just be careful who you're being kind to.