Giving money to charity

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For all my life, I've strongly believed that giving money to charities is a bad idea. When I was little, my parents used to do concerts, and all the money they raised went towards equipment to keep babies alive. They bought an incubator for the SCBU where I was born, and they bought several apnea alarms to alert parents if their babies stopped breathing and lent these out to parents who had had children die from cot death. As I got older and my parents had more kids, they couldnt really keep up with the concerts, but they never stopped their spirit of helping others. We had a very elderly couple who lived next door to us and my mum would sometimes cook a bit more food when she was making our dinner, and we'd take it next door so the neighbours didnt have to cook. When the old lady died, her husband was distraught but too proud to accept help from a carer, even though he was in his 90s. For about 7 years, my mum carried on making him meals that he just needed to pop in his microwave whenever he was hungry. Because my mum would send her own pots round, he'd send them back dirty so he didnt need to wash up. As I was growing up, I learnt the true meaning of charity. Me and my mum would go to blind society groups, and help the blind people to play games and socialise with each other. When I was 16, I raised money by playing flute concerts and raised enough money to pay for my flights, accomodation and money to go to Lourdes, a holy land in France where people get healed. I didnt do this for me, I did this to volunteer to help others find some peace and feel as though they were being healed. For a whole week, I woke early to help disabled people get ready to go out, then I'd push wheelchairs around in the swealtering heat, in a hilly place, but I didnt mind. I knew it was appreciated. By the way - my mum was totally blind. She did all these things with no sight. Totally selflessly but because she liked to help people. I dont throw money at collection boxes. I dont donate $5 a month to whatever. I would far rather help an old lady cross the street, buy a toy for a disadvantaged kid in the local homeless shelter, donate knitted baby clothes to a premature baby unit or even go to a foreign country to help people right there, where I'm needed. Its shocking, but things like the link I will paste at the bottom of this post happens all the time. Money for charities often goes to waste. High amounts go to admin costs - greedy paid 'charity' workers. Often help is seen as being offensive. How would you like it if you thought you were living in a quiet traditional community and someone came along and told you that you needed help? That is what can happen in old fasioned, traditional african villages, where mud huts are just a way of life for them. Again, forcing vaccines on people whose culture is scared of western medicine, and are quite happy to stick with their witch doctor. Who is to say who is right or wrong? And then this village, one of many where the African government will not allow it to open even though it will house 40000 people - money gone to waste. If Africa was my main priority, rather than thowing money at Oxfam, I'd save my money, go to africa myself and help those who actually need it. As it goes though, there are plenty of people on my doorstep who need my help so that is where my priorities lie. I do what I can when I can. Only the other day, I stopped at the side of the road in the pouring rain to help someone who's car battery had run flat. Gave them a jump start. So I'm just intrigued to know, do you give money to charity, or do you feel the same way as me? Here's the link by the way to this ridiculous story! Just one example of many why I feel that giving money to charity is very pointless when you cant control what happens to it: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/famine-victims-refused-access-to-kenyas-showpiece-refugee-camp-2319924.html