Hey I am all for doing good in a world where there is surely a lack of kindness towards worthy causes. But FFS if you really want to do some good in the world - make sure that you research the "cause" before you ump head first into a make believe 'save the world' mindset, because maybe just maybe you end up doing more harm than good.

A short while back in a general discussion in the PAL server on Discord the topic of 'causes' came up, and it all boiled down to how people who really intend to do good get discouraged by the possibility of being scammed out of their good deeds, this in turn leads to many worthy causes not getting the support that they need. Not only is there no concrete way of knowing that your contributions end up where you intended for them to go, it is hard to verify the true intent of any cause as a whole. You might think that you are contributing funds to feed the hungry when in actual fact you are helping to finance std testing for prostitutes - who knows? All the more reason that I choose to get involved directly in a hands on fashion when I choose to get involved in charity or conservation work.

Sadly this concept does not only apply to online causes alone, this even applies to simpler acts of kindness. Lets say you are in town and come across a homeless person in your heart you may feel that you would like to give the person some money, but in reality, pulling out your wallet in order to do so, might very well get you mugged or killed (Or maybe this is just true in Africa?) Or here is another example - you see someone walking out in the rain on a long stretch of road, you would love to help the person by giving them a ride, but fuck - chances are you may end up dead in a ditch. The point is that the risk very often overrides our urge to follow through on a good deed, and at the same time you hear people complaining around every nook that "there is simply not enough kindness in the world!"

So, How do you go about doing good in a world that does not always allow you doing so?

Personally - I think the fist step to really doing good - is to get your hands dirty. And not necessarily in a physical way, but you really need to research the cause that you would like to get involved in, do your homework, get the facts and verify the cause as well as the allocations of contributions received and the impact (long and short term) that the cause may have - you know teach a man to fish and all that shit.

And if you get taken for a ride or get scammed out of your hard earned money or end up contributing to a senseless cause; just bear in mind that it was voluntary and your choice - there will be no-one to blame but yourself, despite the fact that moral and ethical actions was not exactly at play from the opposing side.

Why is this really a venting point for me today?

In order to make my point, I would love to use a practical example that has a very negative impact on many lives as well as the eco-system in my area, and the entire operation is based solely on the stupidity and ignorance of people willing to blindly dive into the cause. MONKEYS!!!

The Vervet Monkey Foundation, situated close to where I live has been in full swing for quite a few years - their aim is to get volunteers who pay a fuck ton of money for the honors - to come and live and work on a farm that focuses on saving and rehabilitating vervet monkeys - Aw How Sweet; Right? I mean, who would not want o go to Africa to do their part for conservation and save endangered primates...

If that was your reaction, I beg you too look a bit deeper into the facts;

Despite Africa (South Africa in specific) having numerous endangered animals standing on the verge of extinction such as the Rhino, African ground hornbil and Pangolin to name but a few, we only have a small amount of primate species that make the red list, such as the Samango monkey, but one thing I can tell you for certain is that the Vervet monkey is NOT on that list.

In fact the Vervit monkey is a highly overpopulated destructive force that spreads disease and ruins crops and gardens as far as their reach allows.

In numerous villages where people are forced to grow their own food in order to survive due to economical struggles and poverty - vervet monkeys that destroy their small but sustainable food gardens can mean the difference between starvation and life. For farmers who supply food to international and local markets, this poses a threat to their livelihood as a troop of monkeys moving through an orchard or field would take a bite of every fruit it encounters before moving on to the next - destroying much more than they need in order to survive, more so they spread diseases that is potentially harmful to humans as well as cross contaminate plant diseased from other crops and fields that may harbor them. But that is not all - these CUTE little creatures are known to scavenge birds nests for eggs and chicks, and pose a threat to the delicate balance of natural bird life, and it doesn't stop there, they are also known to attack small newborn livestock - raid chicken and other poultry coups and even kill and eat house pets such as small cats and dogs!

Still think they are cute?

The shit with conservation is - realizing that we fucked up a great deal of the earth and knowing that we need to conserve and protect animals - while maintaining a healthy balance in the ecosystem. If we allow certain creatures to overpopulate due to an imbalance that we as humans created in the eco-system, we need to recognize the implications that it will have on ourselves, animals that co-exist in the same space and nature as a whole. And then we need to try and restore the balance.

Another good example of this is allowing Elephants to overpopulate, they in turn overgraze much needed food supplies and shelter as well as deplete water sources that other animals need in order to survive. Thus one overpopulated species could lead to the death and endangerment of numerous other species in turn. In a balanced eco-system elephant numbers would stay in check at all times due to natural selection - only because we created an environment where they are able to overpopulate is this becoming a problem. So you can certainly see that conservation is all about creating and maintaining a balanced natural system. Thus protecting animals that is in dire need of our help. It is certainly not about joining a cause that in actual fact contributes to the destruction of a healthy balance as well as the lives and lively-hood of humans while paying with your valuable time and money in order to do so (As is the case with the Vervet Monkey Foundation)

And to think - the volunteers pay a huge sum of money in order to go work and stay on the farm - their weekly rate is over R 20000.00. The minimum wage in South Africa is R 3500.00 and with a very high unemployment rate this means that many families of between one and eight members in total (sometimes more) would be forced to survive off an income of R3500 for an entire month. Indirectly the money that they are paying weekly to contribute to a cause that is ruining lives and nature is enough to sustain more than 5 families per month (Up to 50 people), not even to mention the good that they could have done to actual conservation efforts that HONESTLY could use the help.
[The above figures are based on first hand accounts of people I know living in nearby villages that I have personally reached out too over the years]

I think the point I am trying to get at is think before you do, and if that is not an option for you - consider getting spayed or euthanized - trust me you would be doing the world a favor!!!