The poorest billion

In the book “Common Wealth,” by Jeffrey D. Sachs, the issue of the “poorest billion” and the “poverty trap” is briefly dealt with. However, I felt that the solutions Sachs gave for the problem were too broad. Thus, the two articles I found for the assignment this week further delved into Sachs discussion of the “poorest billion.” In his book, Sachs, admonishes that overcoming the “poverty trap” will require, “special policies and global efforts” (Sachs 31). Because of this statement I decided to search for articles that dealt with some of the “global efforts” that are being done to help countries escape the “poverty trap.” One of these I discovered was a CNN article entitled, “Fighting poverty $1 at a time.” This article discussed the efforts that have been going on in India to supply “micro-credit” to small business owners in order to help them start or maintain small business enterprises. An example of this concept given in the article was of a woman in India who made “sweets” but could not afford to buy the milk to produce them. However, after receiving a small loan to buy a cow her business grew exponentially enabling her to afford food and clothing for her family. While reading this article I couldn’t help but remember my experience as a student missionary in Peru. While in the country I was working with an organization that was trying to start small industries to help educate some of the poorest people in the region. The idea was that students would come and learn a trade while working in exchange for their tuition and board. After graduating they would have a marketable skill, which could be used to start a small business in order to support them and their family. I believe this concept that I encountered in Peru along with the “micro-credit” example in the article are two practical examples that can help people to escape the “poverty trap. However, I also found from my search that there are other methods that can be used to eliminate the poverty gap.

One of these was suggested in the second article I read entitled, “Africa’s Poverty Trap”, which was written in the Wall Street Journal. In it the author discussed some of the reasons behind the poverty found in certain regions of Africa. He argued that one of these is due to the way that economics have been used in the country. For example, he lamented that economists in Africa had “undervalued free markets” and instead enabled “state direction by the states least able to direct” (Easterly A.11). In addition he showed throughout the article that many people in Africa are ready to start small businesses yet lack the “free market” to do so. I felt that this article was insightful for me because many times I hear in the media that Africa is failing because of a lack of resources. However, from this article I learned that the people of Africa have powerful plans and ideas that could be enacted if they would have the opportunity to work in a “free market.”

Although these articles on poverty were insightful I feel that there is more to be learned on the topic. In addition, I feel that a smaller scale approach to many of these issues could be more effective. For example, the “micro-credit” loans that are given out in India are done at a local scale. There is not a national bank that distributes them but instead a local banker down the street. I believe this is more effective than a large international project because transactions are performed at a smaller scale that enables bankers to have a personal interest in the people they are lending to. In addition, this small-scale method is more sustainable because already available resources can be used.

Though I believe that many of the solutions to ending the “poverty trap” involve small-scale efforts I also feel that I must not simply stand on the outside and criticize those who are actually doing something to solve the problem. Instead, I feel that as a human being and more importantly as a Christian that I have an obligation to help in the effort. Whether it was serving as a student missionary for a year in Peru or serving people with a medical career in the future I believe that one of the most important ways I can help people escape the “poverty trap” is by personally taking an interest in them and finding out their needs. I feel that if I use Christ as my guide I will be able to discover new and innovative ways to help empower people on this planet to be freed from the burden of poverty.