IT is not rare to find reports and articles in the media about the trend of charity in Pakistan and some fantastic numbers are always quoted in this regard about the volume spent under the said head. In this regard, I find the following excerpts from the Creating A World Without Poverty by Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus:

“The importance of charity cannot be denied. It is appropriate in disaster situations and when helping those who are so seriously disabled they can do nothing to help themselves. But sometimes we tend to overdo our reliance on charity. In general, I am opposed to giveaways and handouts. They take away initiatives and responsibility from people. If people know that things can be received ‘free’, they tend to spend their energy and skill chasing the ‘free’ things rather than using the same energy and skills to accomplish things on their own. Handouts encourage dependence rather than self-help and self-confidence.”

These words must be considered food for thought by charitable organisations both in public and private sectors that are distributing free food etc.

Kausar A Jafri

Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2021