Rich Cambodians

While 12 million Cambodian live on less than $1 a day, a handful of people are extremely rich. There is no middle class in Cambodia – only too many extremely poor and a few extremely rich. The Rich Cambodians are richer than can be explained in words. Prime Minister Hun Sen, who took control over Cambodia by mercilessly removing anyone standing in his path became the youngest and wealthiest premier in the world when he was only 33 years old. After killing more than million people, Hun Sen is right up there with world’s most vicious dictators, second only to Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin.

By privatizing Angkor Archaeological Park to keep near a billion US dollars in direct revenue it generates a year for themselves, and by illigal logging and further exploitation of country’s natural resources to keep billions of dollars these generate for themselves, the corrupt government of Cambodia strips their own people of any share in wealth historical, cultural and natural resources of Cambodia provide. These resources should and do belong to all Cambodians, yet the revenue, even though it’s more than one could fathom ends up in pockets of the rich. In a country of estimated 14 million people, a few dozen are extremely rich and extremely powerful. The rest are either barely scraping it or completely unable to make ends meet. Let’s take a closer look at rich Cambodians:

British “The Sunday Times” recently published an article on children of rich Cambodians and high lifestyles they get to live. Their parents are the senior officials of the world’s most corrupt government with pockets so fat they don’t know what to do with all that money, so their children get to spend it. And as is obvious from the article, they do enjoy the privileges of wealth and are not afraid to flaunt it. You can check out the full article on the following link:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7023700.ece

There are two countries in Cambodia. One is real Cambodia – full of underprivileged and impoverished people whose first thought of the day is the worry about whether they will have enough rice to feed the family with today. In this Cambodia, 8% of children die before the age of 5 deprived of medical care and any real chance to live decent lives.

The other Cambodia is the country of the rich. It houses a handful of people who keep billions of dollars generated by illegal logging, smuggling, land grabbing and corruption for themselves. Through systematic exploitation of historical and natural resources which should benefit all of Cambodians, this handful of people strips the public of any share of the profits their resources generated and finance their super high lifestyles with it. These rich Cambodians made themselves untouchable as military, police and justice system are all controlled by them to do as they are told.

Children of Rich Cambodians are sent to study at prestigious foreign universities and are given all the money in the world to enjoy themselves any way they please. They wear military VIP stickers on their car’s dashboards which gives them complete immunity. The police won’t touch them and if they get involved in an accident or other dispute, it will always be that other party’s fault.

The life of Rich Cambodians is sweet. Living in heavily guarded Tuol Kuok district in Phnom Penh, rich Cambodians have all the money in the world and keep the power tightly among themselves. Meanwhile, foreign governments keep sending more and more funds which Cambodian government relies on when planning their annual budgets. Why would they bother including money generated by Angkor Archaeological Park or extensive deforestation into the budget? Foreign governments blindly send them money, so they can keep profits from Angkor and illegal logging for themselves. Afterall, their children like to drive half million dollar cars and go on exotic vacations countless times a year.

Cambodia has vast gas and oil deposits but has not started exploiting those yet. Oil rich economy could send a wrong signal to foreign governments that the country makes enough money and doesn’t need donations to plan out a budget anymore. Whereas by keeping the majority of its population below the poverty line by stripping them of the profits generated by their historical and cultural resources, Cambodia appears poor with slow economy so leaders of western countries spinelessly send support funds to strengthen the Hun Sen’s iron grip over the country.

Hun Sen doesn’t have any formal education, yet he’s planned this one out well. Khmer Rouge is dead, but his new, modern version of it with complete control over a nation including merciless removal of any and all opponents puts Khmer Rouge to shame. And while Hun Sen’s opponents are being silenced, his loyalists grow richer by the hour. Ordinary Cambodians have no chance at real freedom for as long as this corrupt government is in power. But with their firm grip over country’s military with all generals being close allies of the prime minister, it would take international military intervention to remove this totalitarian government from power. However, seeing how Hun Sen has it all well played out, it’s not gonna happen anytime soon. He keeps 3/4 of his populace extremely poor so foreign countries feel sympathy and instead of coming with force to remove the dictator, they send annual fundings that reached one billion US dollars in 2009.

Meanwhile, ordinary Cambodians are driven from their lands at gunpoint by government controlled soldiers or military police. Rich Cambodians have it all, the rest of the population has nothing at all. I wonder how much will foreign donations grow into by 2010. Yet the saddest part is – chunk of my own taxes will be in it!

Government Corruption in Cambodia

The roots of the political and government corruption in Cambodia go deep. In its purest form, the world’s most corrupt governments exploit country’s natural and historical resources for their private benefits. Resources of each country should be used to benefit all of the country’s citizens but instead they are used to fund exclusive lifestyles and power-grips of the select few while ordinary people are abandoned to living in poverty. The government of Cambodia took the idea of corruption a whole step further and aside from feeding their own bank accounts at the expense of the people, it also uses the poverty instituted and maintained by their own corruption as a store front that attracts donations from developed countries.

Corrupt Cambodian Leader

Dictator Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia and one of the most dangerous criminals on this planet responsible for torture and deaths of thousands of people surrounded himself with personal allies who stuff money that should go to the treasury to provide for the people, into their own, deep pockets. Hun Sen has been murdering people since his young age and has no problem living with blood on his hands. Everyone daring to oppose him is removed, while his closest compatriots reap the benefit of billions of dollars Cambodia generates every year. The economy is purposefully kept stagnant so the people remain poor, while select few enjoy lifestyles beyond imagining, staying completely and entirely untouchable by law.

Millions of Victims

Dictator Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party have more blood on their hands than just blood of those killed directly upon Hun Sen’s command. There are millions of lives lost to Hun Sen’s greed by the extent to which Cambodian corrupt government diverts revenues away from the people. Cambodian public is deprived of health clinics and educational resources keeping them in the dark about the diseases and their possible prevention. As a result, millions of Cambodians who are not part of the elite die way before their time. According to the demographic statistics from the CIA World Factbook, marginal age in Cambodia is 22.1 years (21.4 years for males and 22.8 years for females) based on the data from 2009. CIA World Factbook also ranks the degree of risk of major infectious diseases in Cambodia as “very high”. It is because Cambodian government is the most corrupt in the world and only cares about their own pockets, not public health so people die way too young.

Estimated 12 million Cambodians live below the line of poverty. One by one they will die, indirectly by the hand of their corrupt government that deprives them of basic health care and availability of safe food and water. During the course of my stay in Cambodia I had made valuable friends, but our friendships didn’t even last until my departure. They died before I could move on.

Western Sponsorship of Cambodian Corruption

In 2009, Cambodian government received $1 Billion in donations from western governments. This money which comes from taxes paid by people like you and me was given to the Cambodian government as funds for reconstruction of the country and alleviation of poverty. After decades of such yearly donations, the efforts to alleviate poverty and accelerate the development of Cambodia have failed. Corrupt Cambodian government receives the money, but it is laundered (usually via dubious property purchases) to make it impossible to trace and once safely untraceable, it ends up in the bank accounts of corrupt senior officials close to Hun Sen. All efforts to alleviate poverty in Cambodia are thus hindered, completely wasting tax-payers money.

Exploitation of Resources

Through its cultural and historical heritage at Angkor Archaeological Park Cambodia attracts millions of dollars in easy revenue. Through the use of country’s natural resources, billions more are earned. If there were no corruption in Cambodian government, and if the government utilized the monies it collects through tax programs, customs and its historical and natural resources, reforms could be implemented that would vastly improve country’s economy and alleviate much poverty even without foreign monetary assistance. For now, deforestation continues at a rate not seen anywhere else in the world while all of the proceeds are kept by the corrupt Cambodian elite.

Unfortunately, at present time, funds from international donors are not used to help the people in Cambodia, but are instead diverted to the pockets of the Cambodian elite close to the prime minister Hun Sen. Cambodian leaders are plain and simple stealing from the people of Cambodia and even though most ordinary people are well aware of it, the riches accumulated by the senior officials as well as their firm grip of Cambodian military forces makes any real chance of change nonexistent. All opposition, people who dared to point fingers at Hun Sen or any of his close men were silenced, imprisoned, assassinated or simply disappeared without a trace. Uprisings are suppressed with military force to send a clear message that the power is firmly in the hands of Hun Sen and anyone looking to take it away from him will face the barrel of a gun.

Corrupt Cambodian Judges

The corrupt government of Cambodia likes how untouchable they are and enjoys their unlimited and undisputed power their positions provide. Judiciary system of Cambodia is not independent. It is owned and controlled by the government. Judges are appointed based on their political affiliations. Corruption can be found in all walks of life in Cambodia, but with the justice being part of the corrupt government, nobody has any real chance at freedom or justice and no signed contracts or land titles have any value as it’s always and only he who has better connections that wins the case.

Corruption Office

To add insult to injury, there is an anti corruption office on Monivong Boulevard in Phnom Penh, nation’s capital city. I can only imagine what the purpose of an anti corruption office would be – to decide who is going to be fined and who will not be touched, based again on connections of the person who is complained against. Fighting corruption with corruption must be the biggest joke and the biggest insult ever. People running the anti-corruption office are appointed by the government based on their political affiliations. They are owned and controlled by the corrupt Cambodian government and are clearly there only to ensure that there appears to be an institution that fights corruption, but their decisions are the decisions of the government. Would you dare to report corrupt senior elite member to such anti-corruption office?

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index

According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, Cambodia remains one of the world’s most corrupt countries yet over the last few years, the ratings of the country rose a little bit. People behind the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index must have missed something or got bewildered by skewed statistics or sweet talking of the Cambodian government. Nothing has changed about Cambodia. The government here is as corrupt as ever – actually no! It’s more corrupt. It’s stronghold gets mightier every day as does its grip of the military and its accumulated riches. This government is so corrupt, thinking that after all the murders and abuse they would magically turn around and become nice officials willing to give the power to the people is laughable.

Corruption Law

One more thing about the government corruption in Cambodia. Due to international pressure, the government has approved what they call the “corruption law”. This came 15 years after it was first proposed, but if you ask any Cambodian who’s not a member of the ruling elite, they will tell you that there is a reason why it is called the “corruption law” – it is because it’s not meant to be an “anti-corruption law”. As something that could be expected from the world’s most corrupt government, the Cambodian corruption law is intended to iron net and protect corruption, not fight or eliminate it. Just as is the case with already existing anti corruption office in Phnom Penh, since it’s not an independent institution, but rather a government controlled body, the effectiveness of their actions is bound to be a joke. And so is the “corruption law”. After 15 years of building up the world’s most corrupt government but facing international pressure for it, Hun Sen came with an idea of introducing a law that will buy him extra time, while changing nothing about the way he manipulates the country. The corruption law will not address corruption in Cambodia, it will only make it more difficult to pinpoint and fight.

Apsara Authority Cambodia

The Apsara Authority is a government sponsored agency in Cambodia responsible for management and protection of Angkor Archaeological Park. That sounds like a fair and noble cause and to some point it is, however being part of the most corrupt government in the world, it comes as no surprise that Apsara Authority would be as corrupt and twisted as the people who created it.

On their website autoriteapsara.org, the Apsara Authority describes its purpose and agenda as follows:

The government has created APSARA, the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap, in charge of research, protection and conservation of cultural heritage, as well as urban and tourist development. This legislative and institutional framework marks the beginning of a new active role Cambodia will take, responding to the call of her own people in the voice of her King, as well as to that of the international community, in managing Angkor as a national and world heritage for the generations to come.

On the History and Organization page, the text on the website states that Apsara Authority is responsible for:

  • Protecting, maintaining, conserving and improving the value of the archaeological park, the culture, the environment and the history of the Angkor region as defined on the World Heritage List.
  • Refining and applying the master plan on tourist development according to the five zones, defined in 1994 in the Royal Decree on the protection and management of Siemreap-Angkor and taking action against deforestation, illegal territory occupation as well as anarchy activities in Siemreap-Angkor.
  • Finding financial sources and investments.
  • Participating in the policy of cutting down poverty of the Royal Government in Siemreap-Angkor.
  • Cooperating with the Cambodian Development Council on the investments of all the projects that are involved with APSARA Authority’s mission.
  • Cooperating with ministries, institutions, funds, national and international communities as well as international governmental institutions and non-governmental organization on all projects related to APSARA Authority.

There are some truly dubious statements in the description of their responsibilities and by looking at past actions of Apsara Authority throughout the Siem Reap area one can come to conclusions what they likely mean.

Photo: Apsara Authority Inspector at an Entrance to One of Angkor Temples
Photo: Apsara Authority Inspector at an Entrance to One of Angkor Temples

The first alarming statement can be seen in the introductory sentence where it is mentioned that Apsara Authority was created “for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap” – and the region of Siem Reap? Why does Apsara Authority want to spread their jurisdiction outside of the Angkor Archaeological Park? If their purpose is to preserve and protect the ancient temples of Angkor, than why stick fingers in villages outside of Angkor?

Another even more dubious statement is one you have certainly already noticed – anarchy activities. What in the name of Buddha are anarchy activities? Has this phrase purposefully been forced into the list of Apsarta Authority responsibilities so they have their asses covered no matter what they do? Past actions of the agency show us that it truly could be so.

Photo: Apsara Authority Logo on an Information Panel at Banteay Kdei Temple
Photo: Apsara Authority Logo on an Information Panel at Banteay Kdei Temple

From the reports of people living in touristy areas as well as from articles published in the Phnom Penh Post it is evident that large groups of Apsara Authority officials have been going around villages in the Siem Reap province, threatening the villagers at gunpoint that if they modernize their houses or build something new on their land, they will be evicted without recourse. If any of the villagers voices against unlawful eviction, they are simply told that their actions are perceived as “anarchy activities” and are henceforth removed from the land that their predecessors lived on for centuries. They are subsequently moved to a tiny piece of land that was assigned to them in lieu of their coveted location. Their new land is in the middle of nowhere, in the district where they have no friends or family to rely on. That is what Apsara Authority refers to when they say “anarchy activities”.

Apparently, for as long as the villagers keep their original, “traditional” houses – aka wooden, thatched barns on stilts – and don’t try to modernize them, they should be fine. I have my own theory why they insist on people living in prehistoric houses that are falling apart:

It has everything to do with foreign donations coming in massive chunks to Cambodia. In order for the financial support from abroad to continuously grow, foreigner must be exposed to villagers who look poor, live in atrocious conditions with houses falling apart around them. If there were any signs of improvement of conditions in which regular folk live, foreign donations could diminish. Given lack of transparency throughout Cambodia along with the most corrupt government in the world, any money coming to Cambodia, regardless of who it is intended for, eventually ends up in the hands of the ruling elite while impoverished, underprivileged citizens get nothing. However they are a good bait for foreign donations so it is absolutely essential for the government to ensure that people remain poor and look poor. At least those who live in the areas where foreigners go.

Why I Never Give to the Beggars and Why Neither Should You

As you travel through the third world countries, you will encounter beggars a lot. As a budget traveller who’s on the tour around the world, I have to spend wisely and giving away may in return put me in a position of a hungry and a lost. Furthermore, beggars who sell trinkets of no value on a pretense of working so they don’t have to beg are a no no for someone like me as well. If you move from place to place and none is your long stay home, you carry all you have with you. In such cases there is simply no room for anything that’s not essential. But none of these are main reasons why I never give to the beggars and why neither should you.

Who Are the Beggars?

When you set foot in third world countries, you will notice that beggars are always people who are intensely difficult to say no to: children, old people, visibly disabled, etc. It is not unusual to see a 7 year old boy carrying his 2 year old little sister with big, beaming eyes locked on your food in his arms. He would gently tap you while you’re lavishing on your breakfast and would make a movement with his available hand to simulate the food putting in his mouth. He will bear a very sad face, often with cheeks visibly marked with tears and his little sister will add to it by delivering the look of a completely innocent, yet hungry child. How do you say no to that?

And that’s exactly it – “how do you say no to that?” People who send those kids after tourists to beg them out of money realize that it is near impossible to say no to children like that. That’s why they send them and don’t go begging themselves. Children are easy to exploit and so are old and visibly disabled people. When you see an old person who should be enjoying their retirement after whole life of hard work, but instead looks in bad shape, underfed, dirty wearing worn out clothes, you can’t help but feel sorry and willing to help. But sadly, more often than not, they are out there because their looks are so striking, they are more likely to succeed. And are easy to force into begging.

It is the same with visibly disabled people. When you see a person with both arms missing and a sign hung on his neck stating that he has no chance at getting a job being disabled in a country with extremely high unemployment, you can easily relate and feel sorry for the person. Fact is, they scarcely have easy lives no matter where they live, but their custom tailored “sales copy” with which they appeal to you clearly shows how well they are prepared for begging and how well polished their begging methods are.

Fact of a matter is, it’s always people who are strikingly difficult to resist because their looks will touch the soft spot of even the toughest of persons who go out begging. That fact itself should raise alarms and say a lot about how easy these people could be potentially exploited or abused to benefit from their misfortunes.

Things Beggars Say

There are certain things beggars like to say. They are in it for one and only reason – to get as much money out of other people as possible. This is their sole purpose and they are ready and willing to do/say whatever it takes to ensure maximum efficiency of their “performance”. They know darn well that if they said that they are only begging because their parents told them they would not buy them new bicycle unless they bring in $20 a day, it may not tarnish desired results. Hence they will say whatever appears to work the best, whatever appears to deliver results (make most people give most money). To say what they want to hear, instead of what you want to say is a known and safe method to achieve a goal not only among beggars, but also among many other professions.

When a lawyer makes closing speech before the members of jury, he/she will focus on highlighting things he/she believes will have the strongest impact on this particular set up of jurors. Picking up right lines to say is the key between winning or losing the case. And it’s no different with begging. Whether and how much is a beggar going to get from any particular person depends on what he/she says and how well he/she presents him/herself. Similarly, when hamburger company chooses the lines for their TV advertising, they will say what is most likely to get people to buy their hamburgers. They won’t base their sales pitch on how much MSG is stuffed in each patty or that occasional rats make it to the grinder where their patties are mass produced. No. They will say whatever is most likely to make your fat ass to get off the chair and buy one.

It is no different with beggars. Polished from talking to hundreds, maybe thousands of people each month, they already know what works the best and can even assess what would work best with which person. Believing that a sob story presented to you is true would be rather foolish. While some may be based on the truth, always keep in mind that beggars solely and strictly say what is most likely to yield best results (aka make you give them cash).

Why Giving to the Beggars Causes More Harm Than Good

The more easy money the beggars get, the more encouraged they will be to continue begging. If begging remains a profitable venture, why would they even consider trying something else? Parents will continue forcing their children onto the streets and pimps will continue exploiting the weak and disabled onto the same.

What To Do If You DO Have Money to Spare and Wish to Help Regardless?

The best thing to do is to take your funds to a charity with good track record of helping people in need. Local charities should have it down and know the people who really need help and also know those who just exploit children and disabled. This would distribute your contributions effectively and would target those you intend to target.

If you can’t help the urge and feel sincere need to help a beggar on the spot, buy them food or give them the rest of what you were eating when they approached you. Avoid giving them money or anything that has monetary value and can be taken to a pawn shop to sell. If you truly believe they are poor and need help, then there is nothing more important for them than good meal. Even inexpensive fruit would do the trick as it’s a tasty and nutritious snack. If you do give them money, they may not even get food as a result. Pimps could be watching from a car nearby and beggars would know it.

Don’t encourage begging and abuse by the pimps and parents. Don’t give beggars any money. You best not give anything to get these people off the streets because when there is no money to be made begging, no one will beg.

Donating a Car to the Kidney Foundation of Canada

I had one last item I needed to donate – my car. I didn’t want to sweat over how to go about donating my car too much, so I contacted the charity I knew accepted car donations – The Kidney Foundation of Canada. I’ve never had any dealings with the Kidney Foundation of Canada before, but they advertise the fact that they accept car donations on the radio all the time so any driver in Edmonton would have heard of them. Plus I was well aware of how painful and debilitating kidney disease is so donating a car to the kidney foundation seemed like the right path to go. Hopefully my contribution helped someone suffering from kidney problems.

Photo: 1997 Chrysler Cirrus, The Car I Have Donated to the Kidney Foundation of Canada
Photo: 1997 Chrysler Cirrus, The Car I Have Donated to the Kidney Foundation of Canada

The process of Donating a Car to the Kidney Foundation of Canada was fairly simple. I’ve looked up their website address on the internet and checked out the means to contact them about car donations. Since they advertise the fact that they seek car donations all over the radio, there was a hotlink right on their front page where anyone interested in making a car donation could go for further details. This page is located on http://www.kidney.ca/Page.aspx?pid=419.

The “Donate a Car” page contained a hotlink to a Kidney Car Hotline page where I looked up the phone number to call in Edmonton. I called the number (1-780-453-2288) and told them I had a 1997 Chrysler Cirrus in decent shape I wanted to donate but had no means of towing so, I told them where it was parked, provided them with my cell phone number and advised them on what the best time of day was to get a hold of me. The agent on the other end of the line took all the info and said a tow truck would come tonight to get the car.

Stupidly enough, the tow truck never showed up. This was a really low blow on behalf of the Kidney Foundation of Canada but since it was late afternoon, I figured that perhaps something got in the way and they were not able to secure a tow truck for the day. They knew I worked until 4pm and would get home by about 4.30 so I thought they were gonna make solid arrangements and will come to get it the day after. But it never happened again. At that time I was only a few days away from my departure to Siem Reap so I didn’t find this mess very cool. First of all, I was donating my car to them so I thought they would be more appreciative and would meet me half way with efforts to try to accommodate my schedule and work around it. But most of all, I didn’t make any other arrangements, should the donation to the Kidney Foundation of Canada fail, so if they didn’t pick it up before my departure, I’d be screwed.

The car was parked at the parking spot behind the apartment building where I was staying, but because I left the notice that I was gonna leave at the end of August, it automatically meant that I would also have to remove my automobile from the parking lot as well. Apartment buildings often provide you with parking space for your car if you live there and pay rent (sometimes parking is extra, in my case it wasn’t). But as soon as you move out, you have to take your car with you as you are no longer a resident on the premises and have no right to continue using their private parking space.

I really needed the Kidney Foundation of Canada to quit acting up and start being more responsible with people’s donations. I phoned them up again and sounding a bit frustrated, I wanted to know why after two days they still have not sent the tow truck like they promised. I think I’ve heated up enough water for the agent I spoke with to take the matter in firm hands, put me on hold, make solid arrangements and get back to me confirming that the truck will be there tonight for sure.

Luckily, the truck did show up. Once the truck was there, it was just a matter of minutes to get my car hooked up and before I could blink, my old wheels that kept me reliably mobile for almost a decade were gone out of my life for good. It was an old car. Trying to sell it would be way more a headache that it’s worth so donating it was definitely a good idea. I’d probably get a couple of hundred bucks at best if I were to sell it, but would waste tons of my precious time and the hassle might not be over after ownership has been transferred. Some people think that cars they paid $300 for should run like new ones worth $20,000. I could already imagine new owner calling me to ask why the air conditioning doesn’t cool the cabin down fast enough… Do I have the time and nerve to deal with that type of crap? Hell no. Donating a Car to the Kidney Foundation of Canada was definitely the best decision I could have made. Once I had it off my back, I was free from the biggest material thing I had owned. The real freedom was just around the corner.

Making Merchandise Donations to Charities

I was only a week away from my departure to Siem Reap, but still had a lot of possessions I didn’t get rid of during my mass disposal. Everything I didn’t touch within last two years went to the garbage bin, along with everything I saw no immediate need for. However I still had a bunch of items I thought were very usable and could improve someone’s quality of life. I was out of time and wouldn’t be able to take care of it myself, so I started contacting one Edmonton based charity to see whether any accepted Merchandise Donations.

As it turned out, making monetary donations to charities is easy and vast majority of charities will have some mechanism in place to make it fast and convenient, however when it came to merchandise donations, things were vastly different. Most responses I got said that they did not have the manpower and/or the facilities to store merchandise donations and wouldn’t be able to accept them. However with each such response, I was provided more contacts on additional local charitable organizations which the person responding believed may be accepting merchandise donations. So I kept relentlessly sending emails or making phone calls until I got the first positive response stating that a person could come to my place with a van tonight to pick up just about everything from the list as it seemed I had a whole pile of usable items.

This was exactly the type of response I wanted to hear. A person who knows what they are doing and is able and willing to take immediate action. I formerly thought I would split the donations among several charities so people from various walks of life could benefit, but as I thought about it further, I came to realize that this type of thinking made no sense. All I wanted at this time was to make sure that my donations will make someone’s day. If just one person could feel like it’s their lucky day today because they got a pile of stuff from me, then it would be all worth it.

I had an estimated $8,000 worth of merchandise to give away. It included the following:

  • Kitchen Ware – utensils, pots, frying pans, toasters, knives, etc.
  • Books – all sorts from expensive photography tutorials, through dictionaries, all the way to fantasy tales
  • Toys for Kids – I used to use those as photography props in the studio
  • Electronics – TV sets, DVD players, stereos, etc.
  • Leisure Items – skates, roller blades, backpacks, etc.
  • Home Decor – curtains, lamps, chairs, bedding sheets, etc.
  • Clothing – all sort of summer and winter clothing for all occasions
  • Household Items – various pieces from toilet paper through screwdrivers to power drill sets, etc.
  • …and a whole pile more

I realized that when you are donating, all you care about is to make sure that someone in need benefits. That’s why trying to split the donations would be contra-productive. How would I decide which items go where? It simply made no sense as a person here as well as a person there could benefit from it just the same. Great thing about charities is that there is no rivalry. There is no competition. There is only sincere desire to help those in need. At the end of the day, if person’s life is improved thanks to my donations, then it all made sense and was worth, regardless of where this person is form or how they got to the situation that they are in need of donations. Hence any attempt to try to find “the right charity” is contra-productive. There are only two types of charities – ones that truly give to those in need, or the corrupt ones that keep donations for themselves and only use people in need as store front to trick potential donors into donating for them believing the donation will go to those in need.

After I got an email back from Todd from One Child’s Village, I knew he was the right person to give all of my merchandise to. Their website speaks heaps about the work they do and I’ve been hinted by other charities that were no able to accept merchandise donations that One Child’s Village was a good charity to look into. On top of that – I like dealing with people who know what they want and are able to make decisions. Todd responded to my email promptly and got right to the point. He said: “It looks like your whole lot is full of useful items. I could take all of it. When is the best time for me to come with the van?”

How can you not love dealing with someone who doesn’t beat around the bush. There was no time to bounce emails back and forth. I needed to make this merchandise donation as soon as possible as I only had a few extra days left for everything else. Todd was at my place right after I got back from work and we loaded his van up full. This whole deal got taken care of within one day and without much hassle. But most of all – I knew my merchandise donations were in good hands.

One Child’s Village operates in Africa and these items would make their way to impoverished people in need and as I have said – if any of it could make the life of any person in need better, or even the day, then it was all worth it. For me personally – I no longer had any use for any of this. I was gonna leave the life dedicated to work and accumulation of possessions for the life of travel and volunteerism to find my place on Earth and do something I’d be proud to talk about when I get old.

After I have finalized my merchandise donation to the One Child’s Village charity, I was left with near empty apartment. Just the way I wanted it to be. With only a few days left until my departure, I only had a few things to take care of and one more big merchandise donation – my car.