Quote Originally Posted by Westenders View Post
Bnewb- thanks for the reply. Good to know.

Dash - don't you get it? Look at what you said with some empathy, could these children have been desperate? Not all children go to school in JA if their parents can't afford to send them. They were trying to sell something, even if it was tatty. They didn't straight ask you for money, that in my view would be begging. We don't know what these individual kids are experiencing. The beggar label just reinforces stereotypical thinking.
Brill that you donate to st. Anthony,s but they have limited capacity and can't help everyone unfortunately.
West, I get it. The scam is to use the tattered bracelet as an approach to beg. As few would buy these items the kids demand money. They are not subtle and don't give up. If more people gave to St Anthony's instead of beggars, more could be done. As you suggested you may have helped only one out of ten children. St Anthony's batting percentage is much much better. This is not stereotypical. The great majority of Jamaican children do not beg. I had not seen this behaviour from kids on the beach before and certainly not in groups.