In 1980 my girlfriend and I were backpacking in Africa. Running low on money but still high on travel fever, we thought it would be a good thing to work on a mission station for a while. Decision made, we went to visit the priest of the nearest parish, telling him of our intentions. Naturally he asked why, to which we answered “to help people”. Without hesitation he replied “to help yourselves and others?” It turned out the recruitment process was quite complicated, so we hitchhiked on, enriched with this unforgettable truth he had shared with us. How often do we believe or pretend we are helping others, when in fact we primarily have our self-interest at heart. Look no further than the countless so called Non-Government Organisations, many of whom, as I have experienced on my travels, are purely profit driven and manipulate world politics in their own favour. Activists of all calibres, e.g. peace, human rights, environmental etc. live a comfortable ex-pat life style funded by tax payers and donations from well-meaning people, doing little other than keeping the problem alive in order to justify their reason for being. Try the Middle East or Southern Asia, it’s bustling with them. Genuine activists, i.e. those who truly intend to bring about change, usually work on the front line or in a day job and they cease their activities once their goal is reached. We ought to ask ourselves: Are we doing charity to help people, or to suit our own needs, to be seen and recognised?