Many readers will remember that I have shared that one of my long term goals has been to visit India. Well some things take longer than others, and twice this year I have been able to travel to India and now we are in an advanced stage of starting our businesses in that amazing country.

When people ask me what India is like I answer: India is all you have ever heard about it and more. It has more wealth than you can possibly imagine. It has more poverty than you can comprehend. And it has more people than you can bring yourself to comprehend.

One of the confronting things about India is the beggars. On our visit to Mumbai in March I asked my host how I should handle the situation and he answered that I should ignore them. He told me that they were better off begging in the streets of Mumbai than they were in their villages. As much as I tried I could not ignore the beggars.

On the latest trip to India we visited the city of Pune which is part of the transformation happening in India. There is a constant clash of the 21st century with ancient ways of India. After meeting with our hosts for 2 full days of meetings, we retired with them to a nearby restaurant. I asked one of my hosts did he think they would live to see the end of poverty in India and he answered that it was his dream that it would happen.

After our meal, we stood as a group outside the restaurant waiting for the car to arrive to take us to the airport. We were a group of 8... our 6 hosts who were obviously of Indian appearance and my son Matthew, who takes his dark colouring from his Italian mother and myself. I was the obvious "odd one out" and the beggars descended on me. Our hosts said that we should ignore the beggars as this was their job, and they could beg or they could work with their hands. I was told that I shouldn't feel sorry for them as they had made the choice to be a beggar as their employment.

I can tell you it was a very difficult 15 minutes, until our car arrived, ignoring very skilled emotional sales techniques waged against me. As I closed the door of the car, a woman with her baby in her arms pressed against the glass imploring me to give her money for food. Whilst all the advice is to ignore what had just happened it seemed to me to be amazingly heartless to do so.

One The Joy of Sharing by Masami Sato of www.b1g1.com

Just last Monday I joined my great friend Paul Dunn who was visiting Perth and I related my experiences in India and he said that I should read a book by Masami Sato called One.

Paul said that it would reaffirm the need for everyone to consider those who are less fortunate than ourselves but more importantly be aware of what was needed to assist people in need. Paul said that often the obvious way to help was in fact the least effective. Along with Masami Sato, Paul is involved in a revolutionary organisation called B1G1 who are making a difference in many parts of the world.

I went to Masami Sato's website and downloaded One The Joy of Sharing the book Paul recommended and after reading it my whole perspective of what I had experienced in India was changed. Here is what Masami wrote:

When we go to a country like India as a tourist, it’s easy to get swamped by a crowd of beggars very quickly. And it’s easy for us to feel eager to give.

Especially when we see the skinny children in rags asking for money. They say they are hungry and they even carry babies. They follow us everywhere no matter how many times we say no.

One day, I was in the outskirts of Mumbai surrounded by many begging children. I didn’t want to just reject them, so I thought, “Oh, then I can give them food. They are hungry.”

I tried to give them some food and they said no.

I was puzzled. Why not? They said they were hungry? I then offered something to the baby. The young girls eventually walked away. I was disappointed; I was just feeling better about the thought of finally being able to give and share something. We already decided that we wouldn’t give money to beggars because other tourists who did so were swamped by even more persistent beggars.

This time, I was determined to carry more food, if that was what they wanted. I felt like eating with them on the street until we were all full. Later on we found out that most beggars actually
didn’t want food. They’re doing it to earn their wages.

In many cases, they even have a boss to give their earnings to. The girls were probably sent by their fathers to earn some money.

So I stopped any giving on the street. I ignored the beggars for a while. And then I started feeling really uncomfortable because I didn’t like ignoring people. So instead, I spoke with them or I looked into their eyes and smiled. I started attracting less begging people.

My recommendation is that you go to the B1G1 website and download a copy of One The Joy of Sharing by Masami Sato and see how it is possible to really help people in desperate need to build their future. You will probably have to trade your email and name to get your free copy One but Masami message is profound and will change forever how you see what can be achieved with imagination and goodwill. At anytime after downloading Masami's book you can stop receiving the newsletters from B1G1 but somehow I think you will enjoy getting them.

Let me know what you think about the message and how small actions are making a big difference.