Blue Sweater Two

            

           As Jacqueline Novogratz continues to search for a place that she is not only welcomed but where she can make a real difference, she appears to meet roadblock after roadblock. It was interesting to hear the perspective of the women from Cote d’Ivoire who neither needed nor wanted her help and made that very clear by poisoning her. Making the world a better place is not as simple as just visiting an underdeveloped country and volunteering. It’s essential to listen to their needs and promote change from the inside out. One of Novogratz and similar humanitarians initial misconceptions was that it’s important to support growth with the citizens that live and breath the every day struggle and not just try to waltz into their country and start giving orders.

            This idea continued further in attempting to implement loaning programs in Rwanda, where instead of giving them handouts, it was decisively more effective to hold them accountable. In order for the microcredit programs to work, the African women needed to be held to same expectations as anyone else no matter how big the loans were. The whole idea behind Novogratz’s work and her driving motivation was that woman are just as capable as any man, they just needed the opportunity to show their capability. Borrowing even the smallest amount of money allowed these woman a chance to start building credit and prove they belonged in the growing economy alongside men.

            Her acknowledgement that success needs more than simply good intentions, you need “show the world who we are through our actions, not merely words”, reminds me of a quote from the Dark Knight. Bruce tells Rachel that its not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me, as many of you most likely remember (how could you forget). As the Blue Sweater clearly points out, many of these poverty stricken, traditionally gender divided economies just need to afford people the opportunity to show they can belong and they can succeed. Most people just never get the chance to prove themselves or just don’t really know where to start.