What gifts can i take for children?
Replies: 10 - Last Post: Oct 18, 2012 5:45 AM Last Post By: miemie
jump to
1
Do not under any circumstances give anything to kids on the street or outside temples.Until recently "begging" was most uncommon but with the increase in visitors it is now common place.
Take school requisites-pens,rulers,setsquares,protractors,colouring books etc and seek out a local school and give them to the head teacher-they will also appreciate $'s.
Your hotel can recommend a local school.
3
Absolutely not worth giving up Inle for Mandalay, IMO. I echo the above, please don't bring things to give to children. It does much more harm than good.4
Please do not bring gifts to children. In the countryside families do appreciate empty water bottles, they use them as tupperware. You will find kids pointing at your water bottle, now you know why. Enjoy Myanmar, it is wonderful, just came back yesterday. And go to Inle lake in stead of Mandalay, for sure!5
After all the political correct tourists changed from sweets to pens, the children now are begging for pens instead.In Morocco, they will, in some instances throw rocks after cars and cyclists, that don't stop to give them gifts, which they feel entitled to.
Anything of any value, will be delivered to an adult that controls and instructs the children.
In Lhasa i saw a woman send out four small girls 6-10 years old. They were sent to passing middle aged male tourist, holding their hands and begging for gifts.
Cute children can beg for more, than their parents can earn, so the children loose respect for their parents and when they're not so cute any longer, they turn to criminal activities, to maintain their lifestyle.
Don't give anything to children.
6
Can only echo what everyone else has said, and add that parents are keeping kids out of school so they can beg. Don't do it!But OP talks about educational gifts.
Pencils and notebooks will be highly appreciated, but give them to a schoolteacher or monk to distribute.
For older kids, english burmese dictionaries are also good.
Buy all these things in a local market rather than bringing from home,thus putting money into the local economy
Just remembered, another fun thing I did one year was to bring decorative postage stamps from various countries. Then I sat with the class and we did a lesson on finding the countries the stamps came from on a map.Small and light to carry, the kids got to keep a few stamps each and seemed genuinely pleased, and there was an interaction, rather than just handing them over.
8
Thankyou so much for this info. Absolutely, I will buy books, pencils from there and will either give to the monks personally or to the teachers. Yes i agree, in not giving to the children, only promotes more begging. Seen too much of lives/families affected throughout Asia. Such a shame, and us tourists do have a responsibility to not encourage this!Thanks heaps, and yes will probable go to Inle Lake instead of Mandalay
Wendy
