There is a saying I am fond of:
If you choose to give, do it well.
📝 By justola1
This post is a response to Hive learners community discussion for this week #A Little Charity
These days, people care more about optics. Meaning, they prefer looking good (posting donations online, showing off kindness) than actually helping people genuinely. For example, someone could decide to give #5,000 naira to a beggar and then bring out his phone to record and then post on social media, that's optics and personally I find that unnecessary.
I could understand that public giving could be preferred by a lot of people because they're able to keep the public informed of their benevolence and to make the public aware that funds were given to a certain sector for accountability. But still, I believe it could still be done right.
I'm not a big philanthropist nor a rich guy but in my own way, I am charitable. When you give, give well and forget about trying to look kind or good on social media. Even my family sometimes is broke and I give them but I don't need to share the information with my other siblings or even social media to prove a point or to show how kind of a son I could be. My friends call sometimes to ask for favors but it's unnecessary to now post screenshots on social media or even tell a second friend just to prove I'm kind.
Charity, to me, loses its meaning the moment it becomes a tool for validation.
There are lots of scammer these days.
A big issue is that there are fake charity pages, middlemen, and even people who exaggerate their needs. There has even been cases of people using NGO money to fund their own personal needs. To avoid my kindness being wasted, I prefer to give directly. If possible, I would meet directly to confirm the claim or confirm through mutual friends before sending money.
When it comes to online donations, I am even extra careful. I donate only through verified platforms or people I personally trust. I'd rather help one person directly than give a big donation that ends up in the wrong hands. I hate to see resources being wasted or exploited.
In todays world, empathy is often being staged but lets not be cynical and put in at the back of our minds that real kindness still stands out. I am not against showing good deeds but the heart and intention behind it matters a lot.
Give to people and maybe let it be public for accountability but do it because you care and because you want to trend on social media.
Charity isn't measured by how loud it's announced or displayed, but by how it changes someone's life positively that the heart will forever be grateful for the deed done.
So yes, if you choose to give, do it well. Don't just make it look good; make it mean something.
Thank You for Reading 🧙🏼♂️♥💯💏
[ Images Generated using Googles NanoBanana ]
