Ideas On Eradicating Poverty (Part 2): Empower People To Help Themselves

This article follows on from Ideas On Eradicating Poverty (Part 1): Running Charities As Businesses, which contained thoughts on running charities according to business efficiency principles.

I believe that a key component of eradicating generational poverty is ensuring that people are empowered and able to manage their own worlds. People in poverty must first have basic needs met, and then they must be provided with skill sets for jobs and education to help themselves. If others are always providing all their needs, they will not learn how to provide for their own needs. There must be a handover point once skills have been built up for all previously impoverished people to go it alone, but not to leave them totally in the lurch, and to ensure they are able to access advice in future again should they need this.

Ideas for generational upliftment

This model shows a few of the requirements that I believe are necessary to be considered to change the poverty cycle to an empowerment cycle and to bring generational upliftment to a people. Not all of this might be needed, but in alleviating poverty all should be considered, and I believe charities should have arms that meet all these needs.

The model explained:

•  Provide basic needs first: food and water, safety and shelter, clothing, medical needs
• Then work on empowerment needs as the next step up: microfinance, job creation, skills development, education
• Take into account self actualisation needs: talent identification, talent scholarships, leadership skills for children and adults (children are the future!), social needs, spiritual needs
• Some people may first need a helping hand, then a hand up, leading to sustainable generational transformation
• Make sure human rights are covered. No country should tolerate injustice. These are perhaps some other areas to consider for this point: refugees, illegal child and people trades, war, rights to spiritual freedom, rights against discrimination
• Government agreement is needed around the world, and for governments to be involved as key stakeholders
• Focus on the whole world: people, animals, the environment
• Education is probably the key: job skills, family planning, conservation principles, agriculture
• Focus on children and their education - see the lyrics to Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All" song
• Make sure money is not an obstacle: medical needs must be met, food needs must be met. Provide first, ask for money later
• Innovative ways to get money: one idea is that governments could put a "robin hood" tax in place: tiny, tiny amounts obtained from everyone through a worldwide poverty tax will go a long way. Centralising charities and their funds might go a long way to help with money too, e.g. some charities say their money raised goes to the most important need, not to a specific wish, so money goes where it's needed most and to cover the next disaster as it happens
• Where possible use donated time: e.g. teams of volunteers, donated time from medical experts - lives have been changed by gifts of surgery
• Allow all in the world to use their talents - money should not be an obstacle to the poor and the disabled. And if all people contribute to society we would be able to be running so many more small businesses.

Involve the poor in problem solving

People on the ground have the most insight into what they are facing. They might not always have the solutions, but they should be included in problem identification and problem solving. It's no use building something people will never use or don't want, and a simple analogy is I almost bought what I thought was the best Buzz Lightyear toy recently for a child, but it wasn't the one that glowed in the dark, and he didn't want it!

New Paradigms
It is difficult to eradicate poverty when money is central to everything. Companies will often only help others if they make money. This often only helps the people making the money, not the ones who need help! To help others needs a mindshift in how the world works. I believe the world needs to build needed infrastructure, redistribute food to famine hit areas, give life saving operations. Educate people to build skills and plan families and provide other needs even if there is no money to pay for it. How will this be done in society today where it is all about making money?! Is there a way to remove money from the equation? To do what needs to be done without money? Hopefully someone somewhere has the answer! Perhaps we need to look to building a new type of world, a new paradigm, where money is not a factor and contribution is. And another point to consider is there is enough food and water for everyone in the world at the moment, there is enough space for everyone. We must make sure we teach basic conservation principles as all systems need balance. People must manage their populations and their resources like food and water for the future to ensure there is enough for all to go around. Let's not compete, let's collaborate, and see how we can empower everyone.

The best way to ensure people becomes experts is to let them do things themselves. Just as mother birds teach their new fledglings to fly, there comes a point where people must go it alone. This is a universal principle with application in all spheres of life. Let's help others to find their own wings and soar.

Links to related blog articles:

• Ideas On Eradicating Poverty (Part 1): Running Charities As Businesses
• Imagine a world where we learn from each other and work together to solve problems instead of competing: Collaboration wins over competition