How can we help the poor? Who should be in charge?

     Figure 1: The picture showing many hands to depict who should give. Photo by Netivist

No one in the entire world has everything they need in life. Everyone has got at least one thing they lack for their own good use. For example, I don’t have a soccer ball and I wish I had it because I like to play soccer. Now, consider someone else who does not have even one piece of bread for a day; the person who walks barefooted because he/she does not have shoes; the person who does not have health insurance and when he/she falls sick, she is in a very difficult situation. Just take few seconds and think about that person who does not have some basic needs to survive. People who need our help are always there because we live with them; we always see them in the morning when they are desperate and in the evening when they struggle to find places to sleep from. We always see them on the street begging daily bread. There are different ways we can use in order to help those poor people. Helping the poor is the responsibility of everyone. Everyone can help! However, we help on different magnitude based on what we have. For instance, I might give a coin of 100 Rwandan francs to a street beggar while there is another person who can give 1,000 Rwandan francs.  

Helping does not require us to offer so many things or all of our richness. It just requires this loving and caring heart. Even spending some time with the poor person is enough to make a difference in his/her life. The picture below shows me taking the initiative to approach a poor and disabled child, Robert Ndicunguye. You can see that the boy is happy to be with me, just being with him means a lot and make him smile. That is a proof which shows that spending the time with someone can tremendously help him/her. Time is the best gift that anyone can donate to the poor.

Figure 2: Robert Ndicunguye (left) and Jean Paul Nayiti (right). Photo by Daniel Ntawukuriryayo

Although someone might be poor, they have many constructive ideas to share. And most importantly, the poor need people who can listen to them. That brings them more energy and make their lives better. Money is another thing that people can donate to the poor. Money can be used to get basic needs as well as other different materials. Money can be used to cover for all living expenses such as paying for the school fees, getting health insurance, buying food, clothes, and other necessary materials and resources. Moreover, physical items can also be given to the poor. For instance, I might take packaged food or clothes to a poor family. Moreover, people can give different items/materials to the poor. This is the most usable way to help the poor where people buy different items and take them to the poor families. For instance, I can buy a mattress and give it to a poor person.

Having said all the above, it is clear that there are different means that we can use to help the poor. And, helping the poor is the responsibility for all of us. Therefore, I encourage you to take a part in helping at least one poor person you know in your hometown. Help at least one person. If you cannot find any directly, you can ask the local leader in your hometown or simply reach out to me.