Not far off life in the street myself, I’ve long been a student of the art and science of begging.

I’ve seen some good ones. Especially in India.

My philosophy on how to deal with beggars is posted here.

On the world famous resort of Boracay, Philippines you’ll meet many kids like this.
They wear torn, dirty and hilariously over-sized t-shirts. It works for me.

See more of Dennis Lee’s photos and find out what happened when he gave a mother enough money for food for a week.

These cute, tiny ragamuffins are the best beggars I’ve seen since the Chicklet girls (PHOTO) of Mexico.

A Chicklet girl, going restaurant to restaurant, might earn more than a Mexican police officer.

Randor has a Boracay blog. On one post he mentions that a beggar can easily earn more than a chambermaid at your resort ($.18/hr).

Before you hand that little guy a dollar, think on how that makes YOUR personal employees feel. Instead leave that dollar for your hotel staff (under your pillow) when you check-out. Give the little guy an orange.

Don’t reflexively go all Holier than thou, like this guy — Boracay Native Child Turned Beggar due to Island Invasion — ask the locals what’s really happening with the beggars in front of their shops. They know.

It’s more complicated than it first appears.

In Manila I stayed at a 5 Star hotel for a week. On Saturdays a vehicle pulls up and delivers a row of pitiful looking mothers with tiny babies. It’s business. You have to wonder how much of the money they collect the ladies get to keep.

I saw the same exact same mothers & babies on Sudder street, Calcutta.

The baby is not necessarily the child of the mothers. They mix and match to get the best donations.