You might well ask!

The sad fact is: We need them. "But isn't it the government's responsibility to look after the less fortunate?" "Of course it is, at least in our so called welfare states."

Generally speaking the governments of developed nations do quite a lot for people who need help. In many cases however it just isn't enough. This winter many 1000's of pensioners will have to decide if they want a decent meal and not heat their home, or eat cold baked beans and have a warm room. These are the sad facts.

But there are also the many children who live below the poverty line. And this in our so called ""developed world.

So imagine what it is like in the third world countries.

"Their own fault" you might say. "The heads of governments and the politicians are all corrupt." True, in many cases.

"Well, they should get rid of their corrupt leaders, and elect a new government"

Easier said than done!

We elected Bush - and what did we get?A nd he was elected by the so called "educated."

When you are starving and have very little idea about politics in general and the way governments are run, and a politician comes knocking on your door with a few dollar bills in his hand which you will get if you vote for him - what would you do?

Votes are bought, and not just in the third world. In the UK we have just heard how our politicians solicit funds for their campaigns from really rich Russians. They might not hand out the money directly to the voters, but it is nevertheless used to solicit votes.

So changing corrupt politicians is not an easy thing to do. The best example at present is of course the bloodthirsty Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Once a country with excess food production now it has people scraping the floor for a few grains of rice. And the rest of the world does not care very much because they do not have oil or any of the other important natural resources. Their beautiful game parks will soon be void of any wild life, because Zimbabwe's people have had to kill them in order to eat!

Not a pretty picture, but the true reason why we do need charities.

So, how can we help raise funds for charities and their causes?

Let's be honest. When we gave our children X-mas presents and saw their happy smiles and the way their faces lit up. it made US feel good.

Yes, for some people it is enough to just know that their donation has helped someone somewhere.

For most of us however, we would like to know more precisely what has happened to our donation and what it was used for.

How can this be achieved? The before and after.

We get many "before" pictures and videos on television and in other news media. Whenever a disaster happens there is plenty of media coverage and donations pour in. Wouldn't it be nice if we would get just as much media cover when things are getting better and we can see how our donations have helped to improve things?

Because the "after" will mainly be good news - most of us aren't nearly as interested it as we are in bad news.

The fact that new houses have been built, new schools erected, an old lady was presented with a mobility scooter, does not attract as much attention as pictures of blood and guts after an accident.

Somehow this world seems to relish other people's misfortunes. I suppose it makes us feel a bit better, seeing others suffer more than we do. Or does it? What we do not realise is that by watching others suffer, we hurt ourselves.

"How so" you might ask? Just think of that pathetic habit of rubber necking.

We drive along the motorway and end up in a traffic jam. After miles and miles of crawling along, we find out the jam was caused by drivers slowing down to stare at an accident on the opposite side.

Who suffers? We do!

Seeing pictures of people hurt on television or in other media also harms us. This might not be quite so obvious as the rubber necking example, but ask yourself how you feel after having watched another earthquake? Do you feel good? are you happy? do you have a smile on your face? Unless you are a real hard core case, which only very few uf us are, you will feel the opposite emotions.

So why do we do it? If you have the answer, please do let me know, because I for one can't work it out.

Surround yourself with happy people, watch happy scenes, make someone smile and you will be rewarded handsomely.

Making a donation and watching how it has helps someone will do just that.

If you know of a cause or a charity and you donate, ask them to show you pictures of how your donation has helped. Better still, You can do this yourself.

Now that it is so easy to upload pictures and videos on to the Internet, why not record the happy faces and smiles when your donation has helped someone and show it to the world.

Thank goodness there are still people who will enjoy watching a good news story.

Watch one yourself and ask yourself how it has made you feel. You will like the emotions and you might even end up with a smile on your face.

And we all KNOW that smiling is good for you health.

So do yourself a favour and be happy

The Red Cross, Water Aid and other lager charitable organisations have the funds to solicit further funds by advertising.

But what about the lonely old lady who has not been able to get out of her house because of her crippling arthritis? Who will help her to get a mobility scooter?

Do you have any idea how degrading it is to have to beg your family or neighbour to help you with every little thing, like doing your shopping, collecting your pension, getting a newspaper or any other favour which requires leaving the house?

And then there are the 1000's of individuals who suffer some sort of disabling disease. We can't help all of them, but we could quite easily help one or two or maybe even a few more, by passing the hat around and collecting a couple of pint equivalents.

The joy of giving is well documented. However, donating to large organisations is rather impersonal. What if you could donate to an individual or small organisation and then watch a video or see pictures when the scooter is delivered?

This will make you feel like the time when you first gave X-mas presents to you children. To see their smiling faces and the eyes light up will give you all the rewards you ever need.

If you know of any single person who desperately needs help and you have photographic evidence, then please visit our site and we will gladly try and help