The Blue Sweater

Driving to church this morning, I caught an interview on NPR with a woman name Jacqueline Novogratz. She is the author of the book The Blue Sweater and founder of the Acumen Fund, a philanthropic organization that invests in targeted, grass-roots entrepreneurial ventures that seek to battle poverty across the world from the ground-up rather than the top-down.

During our week at Mto wa Mbu, Matt had many good conversations with Bethany Friberg about poverty, economics, aid efforts, and technology. I thought of him while I listened to Jacqueline Novogratz talk about the ways that traditional aid, though well-intentioned, often fails to create sustainable results.

Jacqueline has given a number of different TED Talks about new ways of offering aid to poverty-stricken areas of our world, valuing integrity and sustainability in those efforts. (Visit her TED profile to learn more.) In the following TED Talk from 2009, she offers up her thoughts on a "third way" to offer aid, apart from traditional financial investments and traditional charitable giving.



She mentions the importance of relationships and patience, as well as real connections and partnerships. I think that Steve and Bethany Friberg have really internalized these values in their ministry. They build relationships, they listen carefully to the needs of those in their communities and address those needs in culturally-sensitive and appropriate ways, they choose to invest time and money in merchants and services that they know they can truly help, and they have the grace and patience to help their communities from the ground-up.

I'm excited to hunker down and watch Jacqueline's other TED Talks, and to keep learning what I can about how we can best offer aid to places like Tanzania, in significant, ground-up, sustainable ways.

Peace,
Melissa