The Lost Girls

In a post earlier this month, we wrote about how the angel-faced children of Peru had the power to melt both our hearts and our resolve: Quite often Hol, Jen and I often would save our spare change just so we could distribute it among the palms of little ones who wanted to buy candy. While my conscience told me that this might not be the most effective way to help, it was my know-it-all ex boyfriend who gave me the download in no uncertain terms. After hearing about my daily "contributions," he wrote to tell me that simply handing over cash is probably the worst thing I could do for these kids. As he put it, the ones begging on the streets are usually are forced to do so by their parents, who either keep the money to feed themselves or worse, use it to buy booze or drugs. Another group of travelers working in a local Peruvian school told us that some young kids are made to sell trinkets and cigarettes so late into the night that by the time school rolls around, they're too exhausted to do much more than sleep and drool at their desks. This line of reasoning gave me major pause. I understood that providing handouts might not be the best way to improve these kids' lives...but I still wrestled with the idea of doing something cool for the hungry ones without causing trouble. The Ex, a purist, believes that you shouldn't even give a skinny kid a candy bar (and I thought his not paying for dates was stingy!) because it perpetuates begging. Jen and Hol are still believers in doing something, even if its giving a child a box of crayons or a pack of crackers. As for me--I've got one hand in my pocket, but have no idea if I should keep digging for change. I'd love to know what you think...is charity abroad a bad thing? Is there a time and a place to be generous? Whether you're a traveler, a parent or just have an opinion, drop us a post below. --AP