In a world of great need there are more ways to donate money than ever. How should you give?

Charity begins at home.

Charity begins at home.

It certainly does in Japan. Lots of people pay money to their neighbourhood to finance kids activities, festivals and the like, and volunteer their time to make such things happen. The money given though is not seen as "charity" and the work done is certainly not viewed as "volunteering". The katakana word "volunteer" in Japanese is almost exclusively used for disaster relief or super high profile events like the Olympics. The guy who runs a little league baseball team for local kids is not a "volunteer" in Japanese eyes.

I've seen UNICEF tv adverts in Japan but only on the BS satellite channels.

How much of the money given actually ends up going to help?

Mr KiplingToday  03:30 pm JST

How much of the money given actually ends up going to help?

There is a charity in Japan that begs for money on the street. It is supposed to be for projects in Asia. Sometimes, I think they are on a gravy train, with nice houses and nice cars, kids go to international schools and throw a few yen to some group in a poor far off country. If you just gave the villagers the money themselves, they would be able to invest in something they need. EG starting their own business to earn that money to reinvest in their own community. The money they get, they can train to build a well, or train a villager to put in a toilet; There is Nothing worse than a Japanese person or a white person going there and doing the work for them and leaving. Give them the money and the village knows how to spend it. Certainly not on a BIG HOUSE, A BIG CAR Orr sending their kids to an international. The evidence is pretty clear now. and the best bit, its cost efficient, and the benefits are better.

There are many religious groups masquerading as charities. Be careful.