During my volunteer with the Coalition for the Homeless on Saturday night, it was so weird to see two tourists waiting in the line to get free food. That day I was assigned to hand out sandwiches. It was so busy that I did not even have a chance to look at those homeless. However, suddenly I saw this nice looking couple with digital camera on their neck waiting in the line. I was surprised and did not know what to say. I asked my team leader but he told us we’d never turned anyone down, so I gave sandwich to them. I have to say, I don’t know how they could do that, it was so shameless of them who could afford to visit New York City but could not buy their own food but steal from the homeless.

Obviously, they created bad karma on that day.

Then we started talking about volunteering. I always admire people who abandon their own comfort to help other people in the third world. One of our team members used to work in the Peace Corp. in Madagascar. She said she did not make a lot of money at all but she did it because she wanted to help those people. When she moved back to New York City, she wanted to work for the Ameri-Corp. She got a job finally but she did not take it because she realized that not in the world she could survive in New York City with $11,000 a year that Ameri-Corp offered her and without any housing subsidy. I wondered who could survive in this city with that amount of money plus the condition of all workers cannot have other jobs.

We agree that it is very hard for someone to try to make the world a better place because the reward they receive is less than they can live on, so most of the people choose to work for job that pay better. I mean I am sure they do not expect $100,000 a year but just something more reasonable.

I think the only thing that they can live on is their pride. But pride is inedible. They need security and money to survive. While some people make millions without trying to help other people, these good people are struggling so hard to live on their idealism.

$11,000 a year is the reward of trying to make this world a better place. Some homeless might make more than that.

Tae