Some people prefer to provide help and support directly to those in the local community who need it. Others, however, prefer to give money to national and international charitable organisations. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

“To have enough to share; to know the joy of giving; to thrill with all the sweets of life - is living”. Helping others is a very virtuous thing. There are basically two ways to help. One is by offering support to those around you who need your help and the second is through national and international charitable organisations. In this essay I intend to delve into the benefits of both approaches.

There are many advantages of direct help. Firstly, a person remains directly in touch with the needy. You can see how your money is being used. There are no mediators and so there are no chances of corruption. It has been well said that charity begins at home. Naturally, if you help those around you, the people in your locality love and respect you and you enjoy a better status in life.

There are also many advantages of helping through national and international organisations. You can work on a larger platform and provide help for global issues. A larger platform is a must if you have a lot to offer in charity. Help activities can be better spread through a larger network. You feel part of a global village. Help need not be always in the form of money. It can be in the form of services also. For example, if you are a doctor, you can provide medical aid and if you are a teacher, you can volunteer to teach in the under-developed nations.

Help in any form is good. The condition of one’s country could influence your way of helping. If you belong to a developed country, where even the poorest of the poor has the basic amenities of life, it would be better to help through national and international charitable organisations but if you belong to a developing or underdeveloped country and have the resources to help, then it would be better to help those around you.

To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that it is human nature to help those who need it. Providing direct help and making donations through charitable organisations are just two different ways of achieving the same goal.