Charity – A Business

The Word Charity has the following meaning according to the Oxford dictionary

1.  An organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need
2. The body of organizations viewed collectively as the object of fundraising or of donations
3.  The voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.

No where it mentions that it is to become a business and that too a Multi Billion pound business, The executives or the board members earning a 6 figure salary.  These well-paid bosses of some good causes are nothing but ‘incompetent or wilfully blind’.

Some of the charities use tactics that are so brutal , an undercover report recently showed how the staff were ordered to be ‘brutal’ and ‘ferocious’ when asking for cash and told even the old and poor ‘have no excuse’ not to give.

The reason for this post is what happened last week although it probably shows how weak a person I am, but still I do blame the pressure tactics used.

Last week I was watching a Tv show and in the break there was a ad on how the children are suffering in Africa because of need for safe Water facilities.   It was a normal ad that they show for various other charities, asking us to Txt a particular number with the word Water.  So they can deduct 3 pounds from the account when the phone bill comes.

I did that and forgot about it , only to be reminded two days later by a txt that how thankful they are for the support blahdy blah..  T0 my surprise I also got a Phone call from some call centre but this time it was a tad bit different, The gentleman first wanted to explain to me what the charity #WATERAID did, how it was helping thanks to the people who were donating, Slowly the conversation changed to how good it would be if people could donate more often.

The person asked me if I would volunteer to pay some money every month Via direct Debit, I said I have donated what I could afford and wanted to since charity is a Voluntary thing, when I had more money I will do that again, But that did not stop the person on the other end to give up, He carried on with the sales pitch, playing on all the emotions that one could .. What if it was My kids or what if it was kids that I know of etc et, How water is so important, How since it is not safe water diseases are coming up.

He started from 12 or 15 pounds a month to start with, I made an excuse that I will think about it after march when I have had my Pay review , to which he was quick to say no issues we can set the direct debit that will start from March and Not January.

From 15 we went to 12 then to 10 and then in the end he came to 6 pounds a month, by this time I was completely made to realise what a SICK HEARTLESS person I am who can’t even pay that much to help in easing the suffering of the little children.

I ended up giving my bank details and setting a Direct debit.. NOW the reason for the post is that IS THIS RIGHT.  I am sort of forced to dish out money, Should these charities be calling like that, The whole Idea of the AD was to txt. a word and voluntarily pay a charity that was working for the good of the people.

This did not end here Since last Monday I have had at least 4 to 5 calls from various charities that are trying to help asking me if I could help, Have had Txt messages asking to reply to them if I wanted to donate 3 pounds or 5 pounds for various needs. How have they got hold of my number is a mystery.

Charity-donation etc is a personal issue why should we be getting cold calls from call centres trying to sell CHARITY.  This has left a bad taste, I have just only managed to get rid of another charity that has been hounding me in-spite of a direct debit set up for some money, now they want me to increase the amount.  I get at least half a dozen brochures, Letters everyday, With pictures of sick children who are suffering.

I mean is that right to have the tragedy that these kids are going through to be used like this to make money. The worst thing is that the whole of the amount that is generated is not used for the good of the people, Why does a CHARITY head or executive have a SIX FIGURE salary, I work 10 to 12 hours a Day, and then on Rest days I work overtime to make more money, My salary still does not add up to QUARTER of what these executives get.

I can also bet my life that these executives don’t even have a direct debit set up for a few pounds to go to charity.  Recently some of the leading charities have been exposed with these WRONG methods, it does put to shame the word CHARITY.  I have a few direct debits set up and Now I am thinking of cancelling all of them, Am I really doing any Good or am I just helping in paying the Salaries of these Executives and other office bearers. 

How to live and Die- My Views – Part 4

Continuing from part one How to live and Die (1) – Sad post and part Two How to live and Die (2 and 3)- My Views on what I think are some of the points that one needs to keep in mind to have a good Life and Die a peaceful death, the first point as I said is health.. as Health is Wealth., Then comes MONEY, I would actually put MONEY on par with Health, as lets be truthful in todays day and age MONEY is very important, Then comes having a place of your own called HOME , especially if you own your own house.

So moving on I think that there is a particular trait in us human beings that we should try to get rid of and that is “ENVY“, we all have it, A BIG FAT LIAR is the person who says he/she does not Envy.

The biggest envy we have is of that particular person who has done better than us, OH YES we all do that sometimes consciously or sometimes sub-consciously. I don’t know why do we do that or how does it concern us But in all these thoughts and in all this time spent in envying them we usually do not see how much hard work they have put in to get where they are.

It is not easy to reach high, takes a lot of hard work, heartaches, we lose a lot of people in that race to reach the top, seldom do we stand still to think is it WORTH it, reaching that particular position, or in trying to earn more money is it worth losing a good friend. By the time we stand still to think it is already too late what is lost is gone, I have a few friends who are doing just that, to become a manager or to get that extra pay grade they forget that their 4 years kid does not see them all day long, by the time they reach home the kid is asleep. Just spending a SUNDAY with the kid is not good enough, the Sunday too is spent most of time on phone calls or getting to grips what was missed in the week, paying of bills, renewing of this or that.

I have seem some very rich people not being able to enjoy a full meal in peace, YES they are a managing director of a company but having their dinner with the phone glued to the ear is not what I see as ideal situation. Thankfully I am pleased that I have stopped getting into this rat race, I am happy with what every I have, its enough to feed me all my life and maybe half the life of my next generation to.

Due to work and all there is only one meal in a day that I get to eat at home and I enjoy having it because I make sure I switch off my phone or put it on silent once I come back home.

I think it is this ENVY that makes us do all that, because we are envious of someone making so much money or reaching a particular position it makes us think about ourself , which in turn then makes us more frustrated WHY Can I Not have that, WHY cant I get that.. WELL you can but do give a thought at all the hard work put in and what all have these rich people lost on the way, Are you willing to give up all that!!!

So if we can get rid of this ENVY, I am sure we can have a smooth life.

What do you think people.. ?????

How to live and Die (2 and 3)- My Views

Continuing from part one How to live and Die (1) – Sad post on what I think are some of the points that one needs to keep in mind to have a good Life and Die a peaceful death, the first point as I said is health.. as Health is Wealth..

The next point that is equally important is MONEY.. I don’t like beating around the bush and I am sure a lot of people will be shaking their heads but believe you me that I do think after Health the next most important is a healthy bank balance: OH Yes this is a must, and If you owe some money to someone then you need enough to pay off that debt and as soon as possible. We humans have this tendency that if we owe someone and even though we have enough money we try to keep it closer to us as much as possible and for as long as possible, I don’t know why we don’t just pay our debts off at the earliest.

I recently found this out, that I do owe money to someone, I hope I am able to pay it off as soon. Over the time I have also realised that expensive gifts taking-giving need to be stopped, because when relations go sour suddenly that money spent cuts into an already sour relation.

Anyway I am deviating from the point .. One needs to have a healthy bank balance enough to provide a few comforts, and most importantly One should have enough for fun time, small little things like going for movies, eating out, holidays etc etc. Holidays May not be luxury holidays but some that can release all that pressure that builds up, somewhere that relaxes you.. I have a perfect place where I get relaxed the most .. My Village house.. That’s one place where I feel happy even when everything around me is falling down. Although saying that I had not been there for so long, so this year when I spent 2 weeks it felt like heaven, I have made my self promise ME.. that I am going to spend at least ONE week each year at home, That definitely means I need that MONEY – a healthy bank balance to do just that, as coming to India is becoming more and more expensive each passing day.

Not having enough money to just have basic recreation is very demoralizing. I was talking to a friend on this , he mentioned that he has a mortgage and some credit card bills, But I would not advice anyone to Live on credit or borrow , as that is far worse , it is demeaning and lowers one in one’s own eyes, especially if you are unable to pay the installments.

Now that we are talking about Money PLEASE don’t lend money especially to friends, I know I am being horrible but it is truth, you lose friendship and the Money.

As I said we humans have this tendency that we like to hold on to that money for as long, even if we owe. If you ask your friend for the money back, you are suddenly not that good a friend, so friendship lost with that money too,

After Health — Money is the most important thing in life no matter what people say.. even the billionaires need the money..

The Next important fact after Health-Money is Having your own home, and by that I mean the one which you may buy yourself, I am strong believer that if you buy your own with your own hard-earned money you feel more Happy.I know in today’s economy it’s a big task to buy one’s own home and many many of us live in the house that we have got from our parents they probably from their’s, It is yours but it is not yours .. If you know what I mean.

Many people these days live on rent , Renting a place never gives you the comfort or security that you get because somewhere in the back of your mind it’s always something that you will have to vacate. BUT saying that these days especially in india No one vacates.. If you give your property on rent it seems you have done one of the worst things ever.. this brings added tensions to the owner.. I have burnt my fingers in that too. Use to have a Shop in Chandigarh the normal rent in the sector is at least 60 to 70000, but the gentleman who rented ours paid a measly 2200/- , yeah just 2200Rs. My father was a very soft man, the guy would come and cry how difficult the situation is and my dad would say ok next year we will increase , this carried on for 40+ years. So Last year I sold it off to a friends Uncle at 30% less than the market price, he has enough clout to throw this tenant out on the road, and then I got phone calls every day from him telling me he is ready to up the rent to whatever price I said, but too late for that.

I dont know why we have this mentality if we are having something good we over do it , this guy had all his business , everyone knew him and now when he would have had to set up his work at a different place , at a higher price he realises he was wrong, I remember 4 years ago when i had gone to india I had a chat with him and had told him that , he was wrong, He did the usual sob story and said can afford to increase the rent to 3000Rs. only , I just turned back and said leave it , he can have the 800rs. it will help his family more.. But serves him right.

I got so scared of this tenant business that , the house I had bought a year and half ago , we had given it on rent but now I have got it vacated and I plan to have it like that , we have a care taker who lives in it , the guy who worked our fields has a second wife 🙂 , yeah I know 🙂 .. and one kid, so the other family live in that taking care of the house , it helps both of us he doesn’t have to pay for rent , he was paying previously and we have someone looking after the house.

London Dreams….

I have been living in the UK for quite a few years now, over the years I have seen a lot of changes take place both with the attitude of the people living here and those who want to come abroad. I am sure a few of you reading will disagree with me over the issue that loads of people are doing their utmost legal, illegal or whatever means to get out of India, be it educated , uneducated or whosoever. You find all sorts of people spending all their life savings to get out of the country. I am not going to argue or start writing here about the reasons why they are doing so, cause there are umpteen reasons and NO these people are not traitors or otherwise that they are leaving the country.

 Anyway the reason for this note is the terrible conditions of our people out here , I did write a note earlier too the living conditions and work conditions being faced by majority of the people coming, I had told the story of my cousins who have come over, well let’s say it does not look very good for them. One of my cousins did get a job as FARM HELP, now then I have to have a little laugh here, the reason why he came to this country was to get away from working on the farm back home, they have land and all but NA can’t do that, perfectly happy to work in a farm as a HELP here cause he gets about 4 -5 pounds.. How sad is that…

 But then none of the people back home want to listen to this, I go to the gurudwara sahib here and see all these young people coming in for food , god knows how they are managing the roof on their head, the situation of girls is really pathetic won’t go into details on that ..

Anyone who wants to get some work done at home can go and ask these people to work for them for anything between 10-20 pounds A DAY. Yes people you heard it right, A DAY and they will come and do anything for the day from gardening to cleaning to ironing… The reason I am saying is because I got asked by a lovely girl and a guy if I had work at home that they could do, I said no since I am rarely at home with my job and extra work, they started to plead explaining how good they are and how trustworthy they are .. I felt quiet bad but there is nothing that I could do for them other then politely refuse, but this is happening.

I was reading some news about the pathetic situation of people in London especially Southall, where a vast majority of population is Asian, no wonder it’s called Little India, It the same story as when India was known to be the GOLDEN BIRD, how every other nation came to plunder it of its prosperity, in the new era England was supposed to have  ‘streets paved with gold’ , but not anymore … one needs to see the ques in front of local gurudwaras to see the situation, one good thing though everyone is friendly no talk of being a hindu-muslim or sikh .. All are equal standing in the queue for the free langar.

People are sleeping in BINS, or even phone booths Yet the mass influx or the want to come to LONDON one of the richest cities in the world is increasing day by day, I also remember telling one of the friends in India about the situation, there reply was “I am jealous, I don’t want them to do good as I did”.. 

A few months back there was some sort of pity or what you call sympathy for these people who had come to pastures green, but over time I have seen this sympathy going down… as a few localites here feel that they dont have any compassion for these people as this is SELF-INFLICTED,

1. Why is there such an urge to come here…?

2. Why can’t people work as hard as they work here back home

3. Why can’t they work with same respect?

4. Why can’t you work in your OWN FIELD?

With the opening of borders for Euro union it has become very hard for outsiders to get a job, as the job has to be advertised to Europeans and then to others, with current economic scenarios, lots of jobs have been lost, thousands have been made redundant.

Please please All who read this, Please make sure before you or anyone you know who are contemplating to come abroad, you have the facts right, Do your spade work, find out if it is really any worthwhile coming all this way, Wasting the hard earned money of your parents or even putting them under Debt.

Everybody hopes to live in a better environment socially and economically. But it’s not possible for people to get that without struggle. It is the responsibility of the person to determine how much struggle is justified for the cause. The cause can’t be worth it, if the existence occurs merely from hand to mouth.