A train winds slowly down the track.

Passengers, mostly Westerners, crowd the front car.

They are sitting on benches, leaning against windows, the heat and motion of the train lulling them to sleep.

As the train approaches a station, the passengers are stirred by a man handing out lunches.

When the train comes to a stop, it is immediately surrounded by children reaching up to the passengers desperately asking for food.

Momentarily stunned, the passengers begin to collect their lunches and hand them out the windows to the children below.

A feeling of relief sweeps through the train. Another good deed done. Another crisis averted.

Until it becomes clear there are not enough lunches for all the children.

As the train leaves for the next station, the children are left to fight among themselves for the remaining food.

Relief turns to grief. A good deed unravels. Another kind of crisis created.

These are the recollections of The Matale Line’s founder, who, as a 13-year-old boy, watched the scene unfold. A scene not unlike those that unfold countless times around the world each day.

Another example of the quick fix. Hearts in the right place. Solutions that create more problems than they solve.

The Matale Line is a small stretch of track in Sri Lanka.

It will forever serve as a metaphor about the difference between the simplistic notion of “charity” and what is really required to effect change in the world.