Mahatma Gandhi said, “Poverty is the worst form of violence”. While there is nothing noble and dignifying about poverty itself, the people who suffer from poverty have hopes and dreams like us. One face of poverty is Jane. She used to live in the Mathare Valley slum of Kenya. Growing up as a small child she had two dreams: One was to be a doctor and the second was to marry and have a good husband. Soon she realized that given the poverty of her family there was no hope that she could pursue her first dream. So she went after the second one. By eighteen she was married and very soon she had a baby. By 20 her husband had left her for another woman and she was pregnant with another child. Her mother soon passed away and she had no support from anybody else. Left to fend for herself and her family she took to prostitution and soon she became HIV positive.
Luckily the story of Jane does not end here. Jane today says that though her dreams did not directly translate into the form that she had thought, she has nevertheless achieved what she wanted. Though she is not a doctor she is serving and helping others, and though she does not have a husband she has family and love in her life. In many ways Jane represents the rising tide of humanity that is being helped by innovations like Micro credit. Jane’s story is inspiring at many levels. At one level it shows us that the problem of global poverty is on the mend. At another more personal level her story inspires us that no matter how dire the situation gets, things can turn around, if we do not give up hope.
Related:
Bono: The good news on poverty (TED talk)
Jamii Bora Bank: Formed with 50 destitute families now has assets more than $60 Million
How you can help? Go to Kiva.org and loan as little as $25