"Just tell me a country,
any country, it can be anywhere in the world." I get a broad smile with
this question. "Maybe you want to buy a book from me? It has many pictures
and you may have it for only 10 dollars. Look. Come on, please name a country.
You know, I know the capitals of every country in the world."
"Really, that is true my
brother knows them all, no joke. Come on, name a country and he tells you the
capital," the sister gives me an even wider smile. "Please, come on,
give my brother a country and if he gives you the right capital, you will have
to buy the book." Despite that the two are pretty dirty and barefoot they
seem to be in the very best mood. I get lots of laughter from the boy with radiant big
brown eyes and a cheeky smile.
How to overcome the struggle with a life in poverty
"Bosnia
Herzegovina," I hear me say and instantly know I promised to buy the book.
Yet I so don't want to do that. I believed I made up my mind not to buy
anything from street children. With every purchase I am going to push them
deeper into their destiny. Children should go to school and learn how to read
and write in order to have a future. An education is important and will help
them overcome their struggle with a life in poverty.
Cambodia, a kingdom in Southeast Asia
I am in Cambodia, a kingdom in
Southeast Asia. What a country, exciting, colorful, turbulent, noisy, chaotic,
friendly, impressive. The landscape with lush green rice fields looks like
straight from an exotic fairytale. I simply can’t get enough of it. I have the
feeling that most people smile all the time. 20.5% of Cambodians live below the
poverty line, and so many more live close to it, yet they smile.
"Sarajevo" shouts
the little boy seemingly out of sheer joy. "Sarajevo is the capital of
Bosnia Herzegovina. I get 10 dollars for the book." I get the biggest
smile I have ever seen in my life. My question "Don’t you have to go to
school today?" is answered with a rather reluctant and small smile.
"No, school was out early today," the big sister jumps in.
Children sell beverages or souvenirs
To contribute to the family income,
children sell beverages or souvenirs at the temples around Angkor Wat. They are
taught to do so by their parents, who know their children soften the hearts of
tourists. If we buy something from them, hoping that they won’t have to go to
sleep hungry, we help halfheartedly... It certainly helps us to silence the
nagging uneasiness, we experience, when confronted with poverty on such a large
scale. The children will be dragged deeper and deeper into the vortex of
poverty. They skip school to sell goods, they are successful, they can support
their family and they will get praised for it by their parents. And so, it goes
on day after day, a normal life becomes less and less attainable.
I hand over the 10 dollars - a massive mistake
"Sarajevo" what a
clever little guy the boy is. Totally against my initial plan I hand over the
10 dollars. It is his charm and I know what a massive mistake I just made. I
know that if I want to help street children, I have to donate to organizations
that support the local community. Charities that help the children get off the
streets to offer them protection and inform parents how important a school
education is. Street children and their families often desperately need medical
care, food and help to re-enter society. My 10 dollars, even if they are
well-intentioned, make the situation of the siblings’ worse in the long
run.
Support big aid organizations in the fight against poverty
Whenever I travel, I hold on
to my strategy to not give money directly to street children. I take the time
to talk with the children, offer them a smile but I do not buy anything from
them. "Do you go to school? Since when? How do you like school? What is your
favourite colour?" I usually exchange a zillion of smiles with an infinite
number of people.
I want to travel and gather
lots of experiences. I want to discover the world and see something great every
day and I want to always have fun. That's what I want. But still I'll never
forget how awesome my life is and help those who cannot live as carefree.
Before I go on a trip, I research the flight, accommodation, and the hottest
sights and I also try to find out as much as I can about living conditions of
locals. I support big aid organizations in the fight against poverty. It sounds
utterly pretentious I know, but it is easy: People let me visit their country
and I give something back.
Life isn't easy... as always. What do you think about all this? Looking forward to hear from you.
From Berlin with love