Slightly off-topic, but your post reminded me of Slavoj Zizek's fiery verbal attack on charity[1], especially the line at the very end:

"It's horrible to see a child whose life is ruined because of an operation that costs 20$. .. (but) If you operate the child, they will live a little bit better, but in the same situation that produced them"

Just an interesting side-note on this debate.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g