Question answered by Ahmed Roushdy, Middle East & Africa Coordinator at PTPI.
8. “If everyone gave 10%, we wouldn’t need to give asylum.” (Page 208.) What are ways that citizens can be involved in serving one another outside of governments?
I personally believe that with the global economy and all of the strains on governments worldwide, the civil society is much more needed than ever before. Mother Theresa said “Let everyone sweep in front of his door and the whole world will be clean.” The same concept applies to what was mentioned in Little Bee. If each person in the world gave to NGOs, or even gave 10% of their annual income to the poor in their countries or to others who need it around the world, there would be no poor or communities in need whatsoever. In addition, many religions do have the same concept of charitable donations monthly or yearly. In Islam, for example, we must give a minimum of 2.5% of our income as charity. A greater percentage is encouraged but it all depends on the financial background of each person. I think it would be really interesting to hear from different cultures and religions about what they do in their own communities.
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