When Doing Good Becomes Difficult: The Hidden Barriers to Altruism
Running an altruistic network sounds simple in theory. You connect people who want to help with causes that need support. But in reality, the experience can be far more complex especially depending on where you are in the world.
Living in Dubai while building an altruistic ecosystem brought this challenge into sharp focus. What initially seemed like a straightforward mission encouraging generosity and facilitating donations quickly revealed itself to be filled with legal, cultural, and structural barriers.
A Personal Reality Check in Dubai
Before getting into the broader systems and regulations, it is worth grounding this in real experience.
When I first arrived in Dubai, I spent time at the Dubai International Financial Centre. What stood out immediately was the atmosphere. It had a genuine community feel. There was a shared space, a free pool table, and people from different backgrounds interacting casually.
One day, I noticed a group of kids trying to play. The equipment was poor. There was no triangle, the cues were low quality, and the children had to climb on the tables to even hit the balls properly.
It was a simple situation with a simple solution.
I went out, bought proper equipment, a triangle, chalk, and a bridge so they could actually reach and play properly, and brought it back. I left it there for them to use. The reaction was exactly what you would expect. They loved it. They were excited. It felt like a small but meaningful act of kindness.
But then things took a turn.
I messaged the venue to ask if it was okay to leave the equipment there permanently they said they would get back to me … they never did.
When I returned later, everything I had donated had been removed.
No explanation. No discussion. Just gone. Was it because of my skin colour I wondered?
The children told me that the security took it they managed to hide the chalk though.
At the time, it genuinely confused me. I had come in good faith, given something freely, and it had effectively been discarded. It felt like the system defaulted to rejecting unstructured acts of kindness.
Months later, in March 2026, I ran into some of the same kids again. One of them had gone through something serious, their home had been hit by a drone. Despite everything, they recognised me immediately.
“You’re the nice pool table guy.”
That stuck with me.
That one small act, even though it had been removed institutionally, still mattered to them. It still had value.
When Helping People Becomes a Legal Grey Area
Another experience made the situation even clearer.
In Dubai, many lower income workers live in what are known as partitioned spaces. Multiple people sharing a single room because they cannot afford private accommodation. It is not ideal, but it is reality.
After a fire in a building in the marina, a number of these individuals were suddenly displaced. I would walk past and see people, particularly women, outside with nowhere to go.
Naturally, I spoke to them. Asked if they were okay. They explained they had effectively been made homeless.
So I helped.
I paid for short term accommodation, gave money to help them stabilise and tried to get them back on their feet.
Only later did I realise that I had likely broken the law multiple times in doing so.
At no point did it feel like I did anything wrong however when i tried to post this content online the situation was far more complicated.
A Culture of Generosity… With Restrictions
Dubai, and the wider UAE, is often associated with generosity. There is a strong cultural and religious emphasis on giving, particularly through charitable acts. Yet at the same time, the system surrounding giving is tightly controlled.
This tension exists for a reason. The region has experienced significant levels of fraud and abuse tied to charitable donations. Bad actors have historically taken advantage of people’s goodwill, prompting authorities to step in and regulate how donations are collected and distributed.
On paper, this makes sense. In practice, however, it creates a difficult environment for grassroots altruism.
The “Acts of Kindness” Paradox
One of the most striking examples of this contradiction came during participation in a large-scale “acts of kindness” initiative linked to royal-backed charitable efforts.
The concept was simple: perform acts of kindness, document them, and share them as part of a wider movement encouraging good deeds.
But when digging deeper into the legal framework, a surprising issue emerged. Many of the activities being encouraged could technically fall outside legal boundaries without proper licensing.( It was illegal)
Attempts to clarify what was allowed and what wasn’t led to silence. No clear guidance. No definitive answers.
The result was a strange and frustrating reality:
It felt like it was easier to do something cruel than to confidently do something good.
When Giving Becomes a Legal Risk
In the UAE, publicly raising funds or facilitating donations without the appropriate approvals can lead to fines or legal consequences. The severity of these penalties can place unlicensed charitable activity in the same category as more traditionally recognised offences.
Because of this people who want to help hesitate not because they lack compassion, but because they lack clarity.
A Global Pattern
In Finland, for example, collecting money for charitable purposes requires specific permits. In other jurisdictions, donating to certain countries can be restricted or outright prohibited due to geopolitical considerations.
Even well-intentioned actions can cross legal lines.
In one case we where making a donation to an orphanage in Russia the funds where frozen and we where told it was illegal to support people in the country.
The message becomes clear: altruism is not just about willingness—it is about navigating regulation.
The Rise of the “Outside-Inside” Model
Another pattern that emerges in restrictive environments is what could be described as an “outside-inside” approach.
Many individuals and organisations choose to conduct their charitable or operational activities outside of highly regulated jurisdictions, while maintaining their base, wealth, or presence within them.
This creates a kind of imbalance. Those physically inside the system are bound by its constraints, while those operating externally can act more freely.
For someone trying to build and participate locally, this can be deeply frustrating.
When Platforms Get Caught in the Middle
The challenges don’t stop at individuals. Even established fundraising platforms have faced legal pressure.
There have been cases where authorities have taken action against platforms like GoFundMe, PayPal, and JustGiving over how funds are raised and how names or causes are represented.
From one perspective, this is about protecting donors and ensuring accountability. From another, it raises a difficult question:
At what point does regulation begin to discourage the very behaviour it is trying to safeguard?
The Grey Area and the Opportunity for Causevest
What becomes clear through all of this is that there is a growing grey area in global altruism.
People want to give.
They want transparency.
They want impact.
But they also want freedom, the ability to support causes without navigating layers of bureaucracy or risking legal consequences.
This is where decentralised systems begin to stand out.
By removing central points of control and enabling peer-to-peer support, decentralised networks offer an alternative model. One where individuals can choose who to support, verify information independently, and act without requiring permission.
A Personal Realisation
One guiding principle in building any system is simple: build something you can use yourself.
Experiencing these barriers first hand reinforces why alternative approaches matter. When you find yourself unable to act on your own desire to help due to unclear rules, legal risks, or structural limitations it highlights a gap in the market.
And more importantly, it raises a deeper question about the future of altruism:
Should doing good ever require permission?
Final Thoughts
The world is not lacking in generosity. If anything, there is an abundance of people willing to help.
What’s lacking, in many cases, is the infrastructure that allows them to do so freely, safely, and transparently.
As regulation continues to evolve, there will always be a balance to strike between protection and freedom. But if that balance tips too far in one direction, it risks creating a world where good intentions are suppressed rather than supported.
Does the world feel like its getting worse to you?
Does it feel like horrible things happen all the time and good things happen very little ?
Maybe the system itself is designed like that and that’s the real problem.
At Causevest we believe that is a problem worth solving and we are part of the solution.