How a Discussion in TOK Class Led to a Touching Story About Giving

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Currently, we are studying and exploring different ethical theories in our TOK lessons with Mr. Robertson. Having been in many of his classes, it is safe to say that Mr. Robertson is the king of storytelling who never fails to tell a story that perfectly ties in with every class discussion. Of course, today's lesson was no exception.

This was his story:

“I have sometimes given spare change to people begging in Bangkok but have read a number of articles saying that they don't get the money and it ends up with gangsters. The advice has often been to make the effort to buy some food and drink instead because they will be able to consume that immediately. It is always hard to really know the truth of these stories but after an incident on Monday I am now convinced that in some cases, these people are indeed being exploited by criminal gangs.

I was at Bearing Station when I saw a blind woman singing and begging. I noticed that when people dropped spare change into her cup she performed a polite wai and then continued singing; however, when I brought over some snacks and explained what they were she was in tears of gratitude. She could tell from my clumsy Thai that I was foreign and said 'Thank you! Thank you!' in English whilst quickly opening the food. The emotional response was in sharp contrast to the perfunctory wai given to people dropping in a few Baht. It was a very humbling and moving experience but also extremely revealing: I will now no longer give spare change but rather spend that money on a bit of food and a soft drink.”

While he told his story, Sean and I realized that not only was the story an example to help us understand Altruism (Mr. Robertson went on to talk about the potential consequences of his actions and that, despite them possibly being bad, his motives were good), it was a real-life experience that really demonstrated the power of helping as well as its touching outcome. He didn't only teach us a lesson about Altruism- he taught us a lesson about the importance of giving. Although it could not be told whether the woman was homeless or not, we both felt an even stronger motivation than before to make sure our project can create an impact like Mr. Robertson did for the woman. However, in our case, we would be focusing on creating an impact in both raising awareness about the neglected homeless community and in helping improve the individual lives of the homeless themselves.

Since providing money directly to the homeless has become increasingly controversial due to the awful possibilities of them being part of a mafia/gangster organisation, Help A Buddy focuses more on providing essential items- such as food or clean clothing in order to directly improve their way of living. Currently, we are also in the process of contacting homeless shelters in Bangkok in order to provide support, donations and equipments to them.

Though the possibility of the homeless people being apart of an organisation is threatening, the very fact that there are still those who are genuinely homeless roaming the streets should never be ignored.

A special thank you to Mr. Robertson for telling us a great story (as usual)!

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