One thing you quickly get used to in Southeast Asia, especially when you’re hitting the usual tourist attractions, is having people try to sell you stuff. They have to put food on the table, and selling tchotchkes to tourists can be a consistent revenue stream. Whether you buy something or not is up to you , but I was advised to never buy from children.
It’s hard to say no to a small kid who’s trying to sell you something for a dollar. When you’ve spent potentially thousands of dollars on your flight, hotel, meals, local transportation, and everything else, a dollar is a drop in the bucket. You wouldn’t miss it in your budget, it could really help the kid out, and maybe if you bought something, he’d stop looking at you with those big sad eyes.
Here’s the problem as I understand it: If the child is too good at selling, if they bring in too much money, their parents may take them out of school and put them to work selling full time. So if you buy a fridge magnet or a bird shaped whistle, you could be helping them get their next meal, but potentially to the detriment of their education and their future. You could inadvertently be helping to trap them and their family in a cycle of poverty.
If you want to help needy children in third world countries, there are a lot of great charities that can help you direct your funds in the right direction (don’t forget to check them out on Charity Navigator to be sure that your donations are used well). And if a child tries to sell you an Eiffel Tower postcard (in Cambodia? Really?), say “No thank you” and walk away. You can still feel their eyes on your back, but at least they’re not staring into your soul.
