Charity as industry

 
In my view, charitable feelings are God given gifts, embedded in ourselves. Humanity cannot exist without some form of charitable activity. Philanthropy is as old on this Earth as human beings, as it started when one human helped another human in need.

I see charity in the form of a pyramid. At its base, there is the individual, who does humanitarian work in a seasonal way, reacting to natural disasters and conflict as and when these occur. One example of seasonal giving is when people share their wealth with others during harvest festivals.

However, we must not stop at seasonal giving and we must go beyond charity in times of natural disasters. With the development of our society, our individual seasonal response becomes traditional and ineffective in the longer run.

Society is reluctant to change and very few people consider charity as professional work that could be subject to structural framework, like any other work. Professionalization, in my opinion, happens when an individual specialises in a role that could be useful to serve the community or sector. Structured professional humanitarian activities can only be performed in an organisation environment, in order to cope with the diversity of the needs of beneficiaries.

We need to start seeing charity as an industry, in order to serve more people in need. Why an industry? I think it’s because of the money we take, the money we spend... The tears we wipe and the smiles we bring... The nakedness we cover and the shelter we provide... The despair we eliminate and the hope we plant.

Let us all work together for the success of this industry!