“Give and don’t bother” is a phrase I was fond of when it comes to donations, giving of alms, and even as far as giving in church.
“Is the church necessary? Why are you dragging religion into this?”
In case those are your questions, just take a chill first and read on.
Actually, the best way to give or donate to someone or a group is to give and turn your back on however they’re going to utilize the money. Yes, we were taught that when we give to the needy, we’ll be blessed in return in ways we never imagined. The idea sounds cool until you find out that the money you donated to a group to build a house for orphans is being embezzled by the leader of that group and used to build his own house. You’ll have a change of mind when the money you donated to build a church is embezzled by the church leader to build his personal house. You’ll also have a change of mind when you find out that the beggars on your street, whom you’ve been giving alms to, are actually deceivers or scammers. Yeah, your mindset or idea of giving won’t remain the same once you discover these things.
I’m bold to say that I don’t give carelessly, not even as little as alms on the street. Most of those people are scammers!
How do I ensure that the money I donate is used for the right purpose?
Making sure that the money one donates is used for the right purpose is difficult because it’s rare to get accountability from the person or group you donate to. That’s why I don’t bother doing that anymore. The only thing I do is to donate only when I’m genuinely moved, and once I give, I turn my back. But once, by any means, I hear something fishy about the usage of the money I donated, I block that channel for life.
Currently, I was assigned to join a committee in my church to plan a program, and during the process of checking what was needed to determine what to buy and the amount required, we found out that some sections, which consume a huge amount of money every year, are being attended to repeatedly, even though materials worth millions of naira could have been reused for many years. But none of those materials are seen the following year. “What could be the issue?” This was the question, and our findings revealed that either some individuals are selling off the materials after one-time usage or the materials are kept so carelessly that within a year, they get damaged and discarded.
Mehn, the whole issue was frowned upon, and most of the people said they were not going to donate money to that section again since people were not being held accountable. It sucks to see that after donating to facilitate a project or to be of help, some people go behind and squander the money. Sometimes, I wish God could make me in charge of judgment on earth before the final Judgment Day.
Thanks for reading.
*This is my entry to Week 191, Edition 02 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community*
True talk. It’s really painful when people misuse donations meant to help others, that’s why I also believe in giving from the heart and leaving the rest to God. Accountability should always matter though.
Yeah, it's very bad.
I'm giving from the heart and also not giving carelessly 😎