BCAM- SCAM!

My last post was about illuminating people about Breast cancer and spreading its awareness but while posting it and giving it the title I did, another though came across my mind, and I decided to write about it before it left me. So here I am, writing 2 posts on the same day. And there I was calling myself lazy in my older scripts.

IF on the virtual front I am bombarded with news and information about breast cancer, its causes, symptoms and more then in the real world I am made to pay (literally) and contribute towards its so called research and “life saving technology” development.

There are lots of stored and restaurants which out up a donation box featuring a picture of the most under-nourished child and asking us to drop in some money just while we are paying for some frivolous stuff picked from the same store.

 

These days, being the days of October- also known as the PINK MONTH, stores world over are flooded with pinky pink stuff, be it ribbons, scarf, bags, caps, cufflinks, car magnets even shoes anything in the name of charity! I even came across a pink diet, beat it!

I saw this article where to spread breast cancer awareness a footballer is wearing PINK SHOES! Then there is this site who wants to make it all fun, so they have organized a pink walk, kind of a marathon, where you have to donate, under the guise of buying a lantern and walking with it till the end. Here I was wondering where the fun part is. All these marketing charades I just can't digest.

Just last week while checking my Pizza bill I came across an item called charity, I was “charged” Rs.10, a petty amount per person, but without consent. Here let me clarify I am not complaining about being charged, but about the fact that no one is calculating what percentage or what share of the amount thus collected is going where, weather it is benefiting anyone other than the pizza joint or not.

On asking the attend there, I was informed that even they don’t have a clue, in the manager’s words, “they were asked to charge and were just doing their job.” They thought I was making a scene for a mere couple of bucks, conveniently forgetting and ignoring my line of reasoning and questioning. On an average, even if the joint is billing 250 tables, a petty sum of Rs.10 accumulates to Rs.2500 per day, assuming this has been going on for even a month, the amount escalates to astounding Rs.75,000. Here I have not taken into consideration the fact that on Sundays and Holidays these joints cater to more than 500 tables.

Is there a system or technology which shows us in whose pockets this collection is going? If I’m donating to some cause I should be made aware of its beneficiaries in the least.

Charity is not something that you pay for and get away with a feel good factor; it is something you have to do. You could start being generous to people around you, who work for you in your office, in your homes and do your bit.

Taking it a bit further you could spread out in your neighborhood, your area, your city. Take a step one by one, there are a lot too many companies already spending more than billions on research, they all want to crack the code and hit jackpot, there are very few people who are actually wanting to do some good.