Good and Bad

I have had a very mixed week. Part of my job involves helping the poor, and there is more to it than you would think. Firstly, who are the poor? There are the totally down and out who exist from day to day on handouts and who after about two years on the streets will probably die from exposure or, more likely, liver failure from the muck they have taking to dull the pain - methylated spirits, glue etc. Most of them are scraping a living by hawking, part time work, casual labout and the rest. They get by, but need help in the bad patches with food, transport and sometimes, rent. The best way to help them is to provide the food when needed, but also to look at what skills they have and try to improve what they are doing to make it more viable. We have to do this, because in this country the social services are not adequate for all the needs and with 3 million plus refugees from over the border, the situation is untenable. Informal business is the only way for millions of people.

This week I had two of my proteges come to me. They are two itinerant hawkers and were making enough to pay the rent and transport, but what was left over was not enough to be able to buy enough stock to really get things going. We gave them a once-off job to raise capital and then they attended some classes where they learnt to plan their selling route in such a way that they minimised their transport costs and enlarged their market. They came especially to see me to say thank you, and that they have doubled their intake over the last three weeks. Isn't that nice!

We have also had a very difficult one who is bright enough to do very well, but whose personality is such that he gets in everyone's hair. He seems to have got on his feet, but is always being thrown out of wherever he lives because he is so disruptive. He has taken to living on the street because that is easier. It's a matter of time before he is robbed, then who knows what we will do. he begged us for help, but honestly, there is nothing more than we can do. No one will take him any more. The hard part in knowing when to stop. Compassion amongst our volunteer staff is high, and they are not so much willing to go the extra mile, but want to do the travelling for them, and to tell them "hands off, he must go it alone" is very difficult for them.

Very mixed - but very interesting. It beats office work.