Be mindful when giving out gifts as you travel in poor countries

“One example is gift giving. We recommend, for instance, that travelers never give gifts to children. When travelers do that, they’re disrupting the whole hierarchy of how a village works, and where children traditionally turn for support. If you have a box of pens, give them to a schoolteacher. If you have candy or balloons, give them to parents or older siblings. Keep the village “chain of command” intact. Otherwise, tourists quickly become part of a “cargo cult.” It’s become quite obvious in places like Peru and Nepal. When you go trekking in Nepal, for instance, the kids grab onto you like leeches. Who can blame them? Everyday is like Halloween, a never-ending trick-or-treat.”
–Jeff Greenwald, from the Ethical Traveler website

[See also EthicalTraveler.com’s Guidelines for Ethical Travel.]