Financial Inclusion #1

Opportunity International Canada is a charity focused on providing sustainable solutions to global ultra-poverty through financial inclusion.  Over the next few weeks, I will reflect on our work through the filter of this concept of inclusion. 

The Oxford English Dictionary defines inclusion as “the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure”.  It goes on to say inclusion is “the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized…”

I would suggest that those living in global poverty are among the most marginalized populations on our planet.

Reflect with me for a moment on the life of those trapped in ultra-poverty.  

From childhood they lack access to opportunity because of where they were born, the family they were born into, their gender, their ethnicity, or any other number of reasons for exclusion.  

These families struggle daily to eat, and sadly starvation is still very much a reality even in our world and in our time. Access to other basics such as clean water, sanitation, and safe shelter is limited. This leads to preventable health challenges such as waterborne illnesses or malaria. 

There are few economic opportunities. The daily struggle to earn a couple of dollars is backbreaking and spirit-breaking. Whatever is earned is spent on keeping the family alive for another day. 

But little is saved and there are no assets. And without an education, illiteracy and innumeracy create insurmountable barriers to any sort of financial services. 

These conditions remain in place for generations, with the result that there is no hope for the next generation.   

I have seen such poverty and it breaks my heart. I can only describe it as the injustice of grinding and dehumanizing inter-generational poverty.  

Some sort of intervention is required to break through this inter-generational transfer of poverty. We see that inclusion is about providing access to opportunities for people who are marginalized. 

At Opportunity International Canada we are passionately focused on creating opportunities for the marginalized who remain trapped in ultra-poverty. 

And we believe one of the most dignified and sustainable pathways out of poverty is to help people acquire a sustainable livelihood.  

Just consider for a moment the profound journey from the hopelessness of not knowing if you’ll be able to eat today…to the dignity and hope of providing for your family’s needs and aspirations. 

This is made possible through financial inclusion, training and other supports. The clients we engage with demonstrate great resiliency, creativity, and an incredible work ethic. They make the most of a small loan, apply the training, and start a micro-enterprise that changes the trajectory of their family and community. 

I find our clients deeply inspiring. Marginalized no more, they emerge as leaders, providing opportunities for others as they break the chain of inter-generational poverty in their own family in one generation. 

Over the next couple of blog posts, I will dig into some specific and practical examples of what financial inclusion looks like in the field. 

Systemic ultra-poverty is not a given — it can be broken in one generation, in our generation. 

Will you join us on this journey of inclusion? 

Dan Murray, CEO