Even today we do not pay serious attention to the issue of poverty. We distance ourselves from the issue by saying that if the poor worked harder they won't be poor. When we want to help the poor, we offer them charity. Most often we use the charity window to avoid recognising the problem and finding a solution for it. Charity becomes a way to shrug off our responsibility.
Charity is no solution to poverty.
Charity only maintains poverty by taking away the initiative from the poor. Charity allows us to get ahead with our lives without worrying about other people's lives. Our conscience gets adequately insulated by charity. Each person has tremendous potential. Each of us has much more hidden inside of us than what we have had a chance to explore so far.