Poverty. Put simply, it’s the condition where income is too low to meet basic human needs such as food, shelter and clothing, let alone education, health care and security. Poverty strips away human dignity.
There are multiple causes of poverty, such as war, natural disasters, corrupt politics and systemic discrimination — to name but a few. Whatever the reason, its victims are often trapped in a cycle that is transferred from one generation to the next.
It is one of the great injustices of our time that hundreds of millions of our global neighbours face this grim reality. And although poverty impacts anyone – male, female, young and old – it is often the case that women and children (especially girls) suffer the most by its impact.
And yet, there is much that can be done to sustainably reduce and eliminate poverty. But it requires intentionality, collaboration, empowerment and action.
March 8, marks International Women’s Day. The theme for 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge.
Those who have abundance must advocate on behalf of those without, to give them a voice and the opportunity to provide a better future for their families. Like progress anywhere, we must choose to challenge the underlying causes of poverty if we are to bring about positive change.
Opportunity International, a microfinance charity, was formed 50 years ago with a simple yet profound vision of a world in which all people have the opportunity to achieve a life free from poverty, with dignity and purpose.
Throughout our history, microfinance has proven to be a practical, grassroots methodology to challenge systemic factors that trap people in poverty, and especially women. Muhammad Yunus, one of the pioneers of microfinance, found that extending microloans to women had the greatest impact in reducing family poverty. As he put it in his book, Banker to the Poor, “The more money we lent to poor women, the more I realized that credit given to a woman brings about change faster than when given to a man.”
Financial inclusion with training is deeply empowering to women – as they acquire a livelihood, they also develop a voice. Opportunity International has seen this reality lived out over and over again over the past five decades. One of the most profound expressions of this that I have seen at Opportunity International Canada is in our Pathways to a Better Life program that operates in Haiti in collaboration with our colleagues at Opportunity International Germany.
This program comes alongside some of the most marginalized, disenfranchised and impoverished women in our hemisphere. Over 18 months, through mentoring and investment in productive assets, these women start and run their own microenterprises. I have met some women in the middle of the program and others who graduated and could honestly see the newly acquired hope and confidence in their eyes and smiles.
The Pathway program chooses to challenge the assumptions and limitations that caused these women to disappear into the margins of society and truly empowers them to emerge as strong forces for positive change in their families and communities.
It seems more than fitting then that, as part of our celebration of International Women’s Day 2021 on March 8, we will host a webinar about the Haiti program. The guest speaker will be my colleague Anke Luckja, the CEO of Opportunity International Germany, with whom I was privileged to visit Haiti in 2019.
Financial inclusion and training are simple yet profound ways to empower women to break free from the shackles of poverty, to provide a better future for their families and to become a force for hope and change in their communities. #ChooseToChallenge