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Author Topic: Villa shirts to poor kids in India  (Read 3727 times)

Offline TheMalandro

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Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« on: September 01, 2013, 08:41:59 AM »
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/indian-team-plays-aston-villa-5822420

Is it unkind to say that perhaps their combined air fares would have been more useful to those kids? After all, the kits are more or less worthless.

If I was orphaned and living in total poverty, I think I'd be pretty annoyed if somebody thought giving me a sports shirt would makes things better.

Offline peter w

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2013, 09:15:38 AM »
No. Because those with nothing appreciate something. It's only us in the consumerist world that differentiate between a good deed and whether we could have given or gotten more.

Online Legion

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2013, 09:19:08 AM »
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/indian-team-plays-aston-villa-5822420

Is it unkind to say that perhaps their combined air fares would have been more useful to those kids? After all, the kits are more or less worthless.

If I was orphaned and living in total poverty, I think I'd be pretty annoyed if somebody thought giving me a sports shirt would makes things better.

You'd then be surprised if you saw for yourself and experienced just how much a gesture like this means to those involved.

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2013, 09:21:59 AM »

Online Legion

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2013, 09:25:23 AM »

Offline peter w

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2013, 09:53:10 AM »
There was someone else who went to Africa on here and the kids loved it. I was at a school in Lagos and gave a kid a Villa shirt despite his professed 'love' of Chelsea. His face couldn't stop beaming with the biggest most genuine smile you could have wanted to see. Would he wanted the the £50 or so? Maybe, but you give a child a gift and they're as genuinely excited and grateful as we are touched.

Offline Jimbo

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2013, 10:48:04 AM »
There was someone else who went to Africa on here and the kids loved it. I was at a school in Lagos and gave a kid a Villa shirt despite his professed 'love' of Chelsea. His face couldn't stop beaming with the biggest most genuine smile you could have wanted to see. Would he wanted the the £50 or so? Maybe, but you give a child a gift and they're as genuinely excited and grateful as we are touched.

Was that the chap who went on a teaching programme, and got the kids to sing Villa songs? There was a great video of it, I recall. Anyone know where it is?

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2013, 10:50:26 AM »
That's the one. I think it was the, "We're by far the greatest team..." song.

Offline Jimbo

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #8 on: September 01, 2013, 10:52:01 AM »
That's it. There was some fine African funk-soul on the video too, if I recall correctly.

Offline TheMalandro

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #9 on: September 01, 2013, 03:00:14 PM »
I'm not saying its not a good deed, but it doesn't seem a very good way to do it. How many shirts could they have sent with say £1000 without flying?
Perhaps I'm too old and cynical.


Offline thick_mike

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #10 on: September 01, 2013, 03:49:48 PM »
I'm not saying its not a good deed, but it doesn't seem a very good way to do it. How many shirts could they have sent with say £1000 without flying?
Perhaps I'm too old and cynical.



I guess the thing is, until you see the poverty/determination/creativity/spirit of the people for yourself, you are unlikely to make the effort. Those blokes saw what was happening first hand and wanted to make a gesture. They wanted to experience the kids excitement for themselves...to make a connection.

I am very charitable and knit my own muesli, but I wouldn't send £1000 abroad to someone I had never met...would you?

Offline TheMalandro

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #11 on: September 01, 2013, 04:35:33 PM »
I'm not saying its not a good deed, but it doesn't seem a very good way to do it. How many shirts could they have sent with say £1000 without flying?
Perhaps I'm too old and cynical.



I guess the thing is, until you see the poverty/determination/creativity/spirit of the people for yourself, you are unlikely to make the effort. Those blokes saw what was happening first hand and wanted to make a gesture. They wanted to experience the kids excitement for themselves...to make a connection.

I am very charitable and knit my own muesli, but I wouldn't send £1000 abroad to someone I had never met...would you?

I guess not, although they must have had some idea that the kids in question needed clothing.
Having lived in South America for a number of years, I've probably seen poverty as bad, but a football shirt wouldn't have been my first choice of help.

I imagine I'm coming across as a bit of a tool questioning charity, so I'll stop here!

Offline Yossarian

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Offline dave shelley

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #13 on: September 01, 2013, 05:49:54 PM »
Malandro, I don't see you as a bit of a tool at all.  It's just as others have posted more eloquently than me that, when you have nothing, and someone gives you something no matter what or how small or insignificant, it seems like everything in the world and is perceived as such.  You, to your credit are viewing it in terms of finance and the utility of that finance, but sometimes we have to look beyond such things.  I repeat, you are not a tool.

Offline TheMalandro

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Re: Villa shirts to poor kids in India
« Reply #14 on: September 01, 2013, 06:55:45 PM »
Malandro, I don't see you as a bit of a tool at all.  It's just as others have posted more eloquently than me that, when you have nothing, and someone gives you something no matter what or how small or insignificant, it seems like everything in the world and is perceived as such.  You, to your credit are viewing it in terms of finance and the utility of that finance, but sometimes we have to look beyond such things.  I repeat, you are not a tool.

sometimes a tool!

 


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