Thursday 3 July 2014

Making a Difference... A Fool's Errand?

The more I study the more I realise how big the world is and how big its problems are. The problems can almost make you feel hopeless, unhelpful, and lower your self-esteem. In many ways I see myself fortunate, as had I not become homeless and had my back not become problematic, I would never have discovered how much difference one person actually can make.

What difference can I make?- is the kind of question a lot of people ask. The majority of people have this answered by their cynical side, which replies- 'nothing', or 'very little'. So, these people just move on, not doing anything, and you know, it's not really their fault. There are also another group of people to whom making a difference means having a job somewhere in an important organisation in Brussels. Even I'm guilty of thinking that.

Making a difference is like a reflection in the mirror. In the UK, and these days, most places on this Earth, we are unlucky enough to say that we live somewhere that needs some kind of help. Now, some places need more help than others but, it's all relative. A lot people think that going away to help people in their countries is the only way to help people who really need it when this is not true. It's like watching the news in a far away country and them showing a news piece on an organisations helping build schools. In the same way we can also do things where we help our community by doing projects to make it better, whether it's a soup kitchen or visiting patients. Just imagine that showing on a news channel, and someone else feeling inspired by your actions to do something too.

But really, no matter where you decide to make a difference, the one important question we have to ask ourselves is this: Why do we keep on, every year, raising millions of pounds for charities across the world, that every year are just as desperate as the were the year before and the year before that. So, far, as far as I know, it's because of their corrupt governments. So, no matter how much you help, it'll never be enough.
This brings me to the next question: Why should we abandon our country to help those in other countries when we have children living in country living in poverty too?
Is it because these people who are focusing all their energies in helping people in those far away countries really believe that they can make a difference despite the evidence.

I don't mean to sound cynical, but the evidence is right there. Instead of doing that much ground work, people should be pressuring those countries' governments to straighten up! Then and only then will your money mean anything, then and only then will that money actually reach those who need it rather than line up the wallets of those fatcats! And then and only then will poverty lower in those countries. Of course it will take some time, but eventually they won't need our money.

I don't think people should stop helping people in those countries; a lot of people probably rely on them. But instead of accepting that those people will always be poor and will probably always need help, we should instead be pressuring their governments to stop their corrupt ways. The reason they are helpless is because that is what poverty does to you. It cripples your mind, leaving you helpless both mentally and physically.

I wasn't sure where this post was going to end up, I actually didn't imagine it would be here.
Making a difference isn't so hard. There are always places looking for volunteers, but no matter where you live in the world, always ask yourself why things are they way there are, even if they don't work. It may seem easier to go with the flow, but we don't have it as good because people before us just wandered around quietly.

Sen x