I’ve met so many people that have made assumptions about poverty, and the people who live in it. How many times have you heard someone say, “it’s because they don’t work hard enough,” “it’s because they’re lazy,” or “it’s because they don’t believe the same things I believe”? If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that . . . well, I could make a lot of microloans. There is even a school of thought among well-meaning, but very misled people, that holds that poverty is of one’s own making, and all you need to do to lift yourself out of it is somehow manifest wealth out of thin air by following the prescription put forth by some guru who sells an awful lot of books. Another school of thought holds that all it takes is good old-fashioned hard work to get out of poverty.
If that were so, then why is it that some of the hardest-working people I have ever seen live on two or three dollars a day, earned from working harder than I ever possibly could bring myself to do? If working hard were all it took to get out of poverty, then all those sweatshop workers putting in ten-hour days seven days a week would all be rich by now. But alas, it is not so.
Let’s talk about hard work. I’ve met hundreds of people traveling through sub-Saharan Africa who know nothing but hard work, and they certainly don’t mind it. They don’t know that a life without working hard could even exist. But I’ve seen something else that is truly amazing. I’ve met people who have worked so hard all their lives, I couldn’t even imagine what it was like—but those people, when given the opportunity to become a small-time entrepreneur and have a hand in shaping their own destiny, will work even harder. For the first time in their lives, they have some control over their lives, and a chance at a decent income. They know that when they work harder, the profits from their small home-based business, food stall, or farming operation will accrue to them and their families.
When I meet people in India, the Philippines and Thailand who have had a chance to get a microloan and create what we would consider only a very rudimentary small business, they are proud. They are proud of their work, their business, and the fact that they can provide a few little extras for their families. And they are proud that they have been able to get the microloan to make it happen, and they are even prouder when they are able to pay back those loans and keep the funds flowing so that others can take advantage of the opportunity as well.
Club Asteria supports microlending programs all over the world. And when we do, it’s about more than money to us. Many of us have seen first-hand how these programs lifts self-esteem, builds confidence, and changes lives. Please join us today and help make a difference in peoples’ lives.
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