to give money to beggars in China?

[Guerrillacrochet]

I'm living in China at the moment, and whilst you don't see loads and loads of beggars here the ones you do see are often very disabled or have kids. Last night I was walking home in a monsoon and there was a poor woman huddled under a bridge holding tightly to her SN son, who must have been about 6, so I gave her what I had in my purse.
I know in the UK you're not supposed to give money to beggars, but I am not sure of the safety net for people in those situations here and whether there is the same link to drugs/alcohol/begging 'rings'. It just seems like some poor people have really shit luck. Still thinking about them now.
Any China experts here? Any recommendations for good, non-corrupt charities I could support?

sorry not a china expert

i travelled around se asia and gave money and food to beggars (many travellers claimed they were poor too which is just insulting) yes some probably gave money to others but seeing a child who really is hungry stuffing food in their mouth so quickly so others can not get it or children fighting for food is one of the saddest things i have ever witnessed it was awful and is something that has stayed with me

maybe some cafes have posters up? i helped out in an orphange for a few weeks the advert was in a cafe (vietnam)

i give money to people here too not all the time but begging on the street is something that people do when they are desperate

Oh Freudian, that's so sad

Im just back from Egypt. I would fill my bag with fruit and pastries when we were going to the beach and hand them out to local children. It was quite heart breaking.

It really depends and you need to educate yourself. In some countries they disable children so that they can earn more. Some countries, these people are essentially slaves who work for criminals. In some, they are just surviving. I used to give in East Africa because children were begging for water

Can you find a local orphanage or charity as well? I know it's hard in Communist countries.

I agree with MrsTerryPratchett. It is bloody awful to see children begging and starving. But you really don't know where this money goes. They might be part of a gang and forced to give the money away to their boss, ending up with very little of their takings at the end of the day.

I second the suggestion to donate to an orphanage or charity that works with street children/homeless people.

I also live in a country where begging is rife and it is so upsetting to see, so definitely feel your pain.

Two charities which support orphans - YMCA and Amity. With Amity you can sponsor a child. The children are not always orphans (usually living with members of extended family) but often both parents are absent (dead/in prison or have gone off to find work and never came back). These families have a very low income (1200 rmb per year) and the sponorship money is used to support the child through school.
YMCA in my area also provides free medicine and free consultations (provided by retired doctors) - donations always welcome.

Thanks for the feedback. I think I am going to go with Morning Tears, who help the children of convicts here. Their work looks amazing and governance looks really sound and transparent.

I think there are genuine beggars in China but, generally, I would avoid giving to ones in known 'hotspots' for domestic and foreign tourists alike. I am sure there are egging gangs who will intentionally disable people and send them out to beg. Like you say though, when we went to China, we were pleasantly surprised by their rarity outside of these knwn hotspots (DH is from India where the gangs used to be rife).

Begging gangs

It's awful isn't it?

I've travelled a lot in SE Asia and seen a lot of begging, usually severely disabled adults adults who couldn't have physically made it to the street without help which makes me think they were being used.