Let me tell you a story...

There were two women who lived next door to each other. The first woman owned a large 5 bedroom house, which she lived in with her teenage son and her adult daughter who was studying engineering at university. The second woman lived in a small 3 bedroom  house with her husband and four children. The two women knew each other by sight, and spoke briefly once or twice a week when putting their bins out or bringing them back in.

One day the first woman knocked on the second woman's front door.
"You may have noticed that I've had a few visitors recently," she said. "I have had a few people coming to me for help, and it is becoming inconvenient. My children are finding it difficult to concentrate on their study. I expect that people will keep coming, even though I ask them not to. I was wondering if you would be willing to help me. If so, I will send these people to you, and in exchange I will cover the cost of your children's school fees and pay half your medical bills, as well as cover the costs of having them in your home."

The second woman was surprised, but one of her daughters was quite sick, and she didn't know how she would be able to afford to send her third child to high school the next year, so she agreed.

The first woman was very pleased. Before she left, she added one more comment. "By the way, once they have come to you, I don't want them to come to me again. It will be up to you to send them on after you help them."

A week later the first of these visitors arrived. When she offered them something to eat, the visitors seemed upset and offended, and refused to eat with her and her family. She set up a bed for them in the lounge room that night. They stayed for a week before leaving.

A few days later another couple arrived. They jumped at loud noises and seemed scared of the woman's husband. They ate like they hadn't eaten properly in weeks. They stayed for ten days before leaving.

The next day another woman arrived with two small children. The children cried all night, but barely ate anything during the day. The second woman's children wondered why their next door neighbour, who had spare bedrooms, kept sending people to their house to stay. When the second woman found out that this new woman had fled from her husband and was a cousin to the first woman, she knocked on her neighbour's front door.

"This woman you have sent to stay with me is your cousin. She really needs somewhere to stay, but I don't have enough room in my house for her and her children. Can they come back to your house?"

The first woman looked horrified. "No! They have gone to your house, and they cannot come back here!"

"But she is your cousin!"

"She can't prove that she is my cousin. I don't believe that she is my cousin."

"Will you at least listen to her, and see if she can explain how she is related to you? Maybe you could give her the help she needs."

"No! You help her. That was our agreement. If you no longer want to help any more people, I will no longer help with your medical bills. On the other hand, I will pay for a shed to be built in your backyard for them to stay in, and cover the cost of keeping them if you continue our arrangement."

The second woman hesitated. A building in her backyard would limit the space she had for her vegetable garden and for her children to play in. But how could she turn away her visitors when they were so desperate for somewhere to stay? So she agreed.

A month later the construction finished. Within another month there were two families living in the small space. The second woman wondered what she had gotten herself and her family into. She just hoped that her neighbour never changed her mind about covering the costs.