The custom of cleaning houses before Diwali is well accepted. It leads to the discovery of unused and useless items. People prefer to give away all their unwanted items to poor and homeless people in India. Old clothes, books, and toys top the list. It is a common practice in India to pass on these items to the domestic help and staff. In other cases, they are distributed to poor and homeless people in Jaipur. I have witnessed the old clothes donation in Jaipur near Diwali a couple of times. In winter, many people distribute blankets to the homeless and deprived people living on the streets in Jaipur. While some consider it a benevolent act, others contest the benefits of such acts of charity. Why so? Some recipients sell off new blankets for a few bucks and use that money for drugs and alcohol.

Poor & Homeless People in Jaipur

Not too long ago, I experienced a brief interaction with an impecunious man on the streets of Jaipur. A group of people distributes free food and tea every morning to the destitute and deprived people living on the streets.

Me: What’s your name?

Suresh

Me: What do you do?

I work as a laborer assisting Rickshaw pullers, pushing the bulky load when needed.

Me: How much do you earn from such work?

Rs. 20 per trip

Me: How much does that translate per day?

Enough for me to sustain for the day

Me: How much does total to?

Rs 70-80 per day (USD 1)

(This is appalling as it is not enough to eat one full meal.)

Me: Where do you stay?

Here (pointing to the street pavement)

Suresh has no place to live and has spent all his life on the streets of Jaipur.

Me: Do you possess any other skills? Where else have you worked?

I have worked at a tea shop.

Me: Wouldn’t it be nice if you set up a tea shop?

Before he could answer, one of his friends, another poor man called him out as the food was being served by the group of volunteers. He left in a jiffy requesting me to find employment for him. This entire interaction prompted many questions.

There are substantial homeless people in Jaipur like other cities in India. Many are daily wage workers and rickshaw pullers, while some are beggars. A few destitute are drug or alcohol addicts.

Free Shelters For Homeless People in Jaipur

The local authorities built temporary free shelters at the onset of winter for poor and homeless people in Jaipur. I’m sure such free shelters are being arranged for homeless people in other cities in India. The shelters are available for the poor and homeless people along with bedding in many places in Jaipur so they don’t have to sleep on the streets in the cold weather. These are called “Rein Basera” by the local authorities.

Where To Donate Old Clothes For Homeless People in Jaipur?

Following the trend from other cities, some citizens in Jaipur developed spaces across the city where one can place old or unused clothes and the person who needs them can pick them up. The first one to start was called “Neki Ki Deewar” or the wall of kindness in Bajaj Nagar and Malviya Nagar.

Some people from associations placed collection boxes in malls where one could deposit unused clothes, books, and toys. The collection is then distributed to institutions and NGOs working with kids and orphanages. Lamentably, this is not an ongoing activity and is confined to a certain period only.

Many feel NGOs and agencies don’t pass on the benefits to the needy people as many NGOs in India were involved in scams. This prompted individuals to donate directly to schools and orphanages so they can monitor fund utilization closely. A couple of them do run drives to collect unused clothes. It is true that an agency is not required to donate clothes or do charity. One can directly donate unused clothes to the homeless or needy people.

Should You Donate Old Clothes to homeless people?

It is conventional practice to hand over worn-out clothes to domestic help and indigent people in India as it is ingrained in Indian culture. People consider it charity. Is handing out old and tattered clothes an act of charity? Isn’t this disposal?

Some people maintain the opinion that charity implies providing aid and help to poverty-stricken people so any type of charity is good. Are we merely making ourselves happy by claiming to do charity when in reality we are simply discarding unwanted stuff lying in our house? The opinions are bound to be divided on this issue. What is yours?

How to help homeless people?

There are many ways to help homeless people. A few even find unique ways to help homeless people. There are many articles on the internet about helping the homeless. I wouldn’t list ideas here but I do think one should do whatever they can for the poor and destitute. Do what’s possible. If you can seek the assistance of more like-minded people or form a collective, it is even better.

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