Recently we addressed the issue of saying "No, I won't/cannot help with this need," even when the person asking for help believes we have the financial wherewithal to say "yes."
Some people will get mad, some people will call you "chich" (stingy) when you say no. Most just accept your reasoning and go away without any grudge. It just takes some kindness and explaining.
Part of the reason that many Haitians will ask you for lots of things is that they cannot comprehend that we are not filthy rich.
In Haiti it is estimated that the "elite," a tiny portion of the population, hold over 60% of the national wealth. There really is no middle class. So, if your only experience is that some people have great wealth and some are living in poverty, there is no way to understand the middle class. You have no frame of reference to go by.
We have no problem with rich people. Be rich. Work hard. Achieve much.
Our time here has just created for us, a problem with wastefulness. What the developed world throws away in a day would sustain the undeveloped world for a week. It is pretty humbling to take your trash out and then watch a Haitian neighbor come take things out of it. If that does not change your view about waste and want, nothing will. -Tara
