Today, on 9/11, we are remembering those who died and those who lost loved ones, in some of the most horrific events our nation has seen. We watched the events unfold and feel the grief in very personal ways. We were either glued to the events as they happened or turned our eyes away because the pain was too great to bear.
Like no generation before us, we see first hand in real time everyday people facing devastating events that leave them with few resources to face the coming day. We watch and see the grief, the pain, the loss, and the extreme desperation of people in our nation and around the world. We want to go help, but we can’t all be first responders to the world’s needs.
This past week I read a news article by our author Jimmy Dorrell, pastor of The Church Under the Bridge in Waco, Texas, that I believe helps define some practical ways that we who aren’t first responders can impact human suffering. Jimmy’s article addresses empowering people with the resources they need to work toward recovery. What I like about this article is Jimmy’s stress on the fact that empowerment includes much more than giving money. Jimmy has been modeling empowerment through his church for many years, and has extended his efforts to reach around the world. I’d like to hear what you think about empowerment, so please leave your thoughts and responses.
Helping Them Help Themselves
By Jimmy Dorrell (Published in the Waco Tribune-Herald on August 10)
The powerful 7.0 earthquake which struck Haiti in January did what statistics could not. It forced the rest of the world to see from their living rooms beyond the devastation of 300,000 deaths and rubble of 105,000 destroyed homes to the horrific poverty that has gripped Haiti for many years. Long before their houses crumbled, the little country struggled to keep its people fed, clothed and housed, After the earthquake, worldwide response drew record levels of compassion and giving. Still many groups are offering relief for basic human needs for 1.5 million people who were affected. But as the initial sensationalism has diminished, Haiti’s extreme poverty has become old news replaced by the next “developing story.”
Immediate relief was the right response to all those who gave, prayed, healed and went to help in those early days. Yet the next challenge now is even greater, both in scope and need. Based on Haiti’s own development plan written with international consultants last March, everyone seems to agree that recovery now demands new infrastructure and empowerment opportunities. With 80% unemployment before the quake, jobs and income are critical needs throughout the country. But with few resources, the next level of community development may be lost if we forget too quickly.
In 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a man that few Americans knew. Muhammed Yunus, a former economics professor from Bangladesh, was awarded this coveted recognition for his pioneering work to help the poorest of the poor to access micro-loans, since only unscrupulous moneylenders would do what banks should have. Started from a personal loan of $27 to forty-seven extremely poor women, Yunus’ early work and economic principles caught on throughout third world . He created hope and “social development from below” and provided those with the problem a way to use their own energy and dreams a path to work. Since that initial assistance, millions of the world’s poorest have received micro-credit through his Grameen Bank and other similar village banking programs, which copied his principles.
The poor can work and want to work. But most often they lack the financial capital and encouragement to try. Well-intended charity can quickly lead to dependency and disempowerment. Whether the poor in Haiti, the Sudan or Waco, one of the most effective ways to overcome extreme poverty after the crisis subsides is through community and economic development, especially when based in a community of faith. Earlier this month, Mission Waco kicked off its first micro-credit program with twenty-five impoverished women in Northeast Haiti. After two months of training, those Haitian women, with the help of our initial funds, chose five of their peers to receive $63 to create a new job or expand their tiny vending efforts to increase their business. These first loans are to be repaid by mid-January, a few dollars back each week, with the support and accountability of their small group who depend on their success for the group’s success. At their last installment, a larger loan will be available if their peer group approves. Over the months and years, many of these women will be able to feed their own children and even send them to school. Some can eventually afford a bicycle or donkey or their own shop. It is work with dignity from the bottom up. It is a partnership built on one’s dignity.
While relief in emergencies is critical, empowerment offers our community and world the most hope from extreme poverty. It’s true with homeless folks in Waco or the absolute poor of the world. Misguided benevolence from the affluent, though well-intended, can even hurt long-term healing and hope. Real help does more that give money; it provides basic resources and tools for those that can work, teaching the principles of dignity and self-worth offered by a loving God, who stands with and empowers those in need. There are still plenty of relief needs that have to be addressed in Haiti, Pakistan and Waco, but empowerment of the poor always includes those with the problems as a part of the solution to the problems.
