Yesterday I was walking out of restaurant and I saw an elderly lady with her adult paraplegic child on her lap. I decided to give her something. When I gave her the money I was curious to know and asked her “why was she sitting there and isn’t it uncomfortable for the child to be sitting like that there on her lap?” She was so insulted by my enquiry. Why am I asking her this question, I don’t know what she is going through. She is homeless etc. I further enquired if she knew about the disability grants? She made at first as if she didn’t know but eventually corrected me that it is R900 and asked if I will survive on that every month. When I went home this whole incident was still playing in my head. Was my action judged by my intention? I reexamined my intention. Did I ask this question because I wanted to assist, was I concerned about the child’s uncomfortablness OR was I concerned about how uncomfortable this scene made me feel. I think it was a mixture of all, so maybe that why I was received with such hostility. It really makes you wonder what goes on in the heads of all the mother’s sitting with their toddlers at the robots in the hot sun. It also makes you wonder how many blind beggars are found at nearly every intersection. I watched something very disturbing on TV once, it showed how someone broke a child’s arms and legs so that he can become a beggar. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Tags: Beggar, BlogActionDay, Poverty