The Blue Sweater - Part 2

The more I read the more I admire Jacqueline Novogratz. In chapters 9-15 of her book The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World, Novogratz returns to Rwanda and continues her journey on helping people in poverty through social enterprises instead of non-profits such as those funded by UNICEF as well as how she founded the Acumen Fund. What stood out to me was when Novogratz stated that the philanthropic sector was changing, and that the word philanthropy itself "felt outdated" - something I am beginning to notice too through many social enterprises today such as Biolite or Terracycle. Like Novogratz, I believe that traditional charities are not sustainable due to the lack of resources invested (whether that be money or knowledgable staff to run it), and that by investing in entrepreneurs with great ideas to improve the world, will lead to a greater change and improvement in society.

Reading the last few chapters also reminded me of the kind spirit people could have. Despite the fact that she did have several unpleasant run in with locals, there were also those that treated her as one of their own. It reminded me of the time I spent in Cambodia where I was working with a organization called Tabitha for a year. Tabitha helps rural villages in Cambodia become self sufficient by putting them through a program where they:
1) Build their own well to start a farm
2) Sell the produce they grow and have enough money to buy farm animals
3) Make enough money to build houses instead of huts
4) Eventually move further into civilization and start more businesses to become self sufficient
I had the honor to help a village go through step 1 to 3, and as a result, I got to know many of the villagers really well. I still remember how on the first day I arrived, they wanted to share all their food with me despite of having barely anything to eat themselves. Reading Novogratz's experience just really reminded me of how through all the violence and corruption, people can be good.

While I found Novogratz's experience on how to set up sustainable and efficient financial structures for loans to be extremely interesting, I found myself awed by the level of perseverance, bravery, and commitment she had. Novogratz was physically assaulted and robbed on while running on the beach not too long after she returned to Rwanda, and instead of retreating back to a comfortable life in New York,  she kept herself composed and instead talked about "the economic conditions that would prompt young men to attack women". In addition to that, Novogratz was also disregarded by many of her co-workers, and suffered through the pain and loss after the Rwanda genocide where she lost many of her friends. With all that Novogratz has been through, she has really become one of my role models and what the definition of persistency.