Not All Poverty is Created Equal

This past week after church found all the Haitian parishioners waiting patiently in the pews instead of starting the long, hot trek back to their respective villages. During the service, Pastor Pierre mentioned there was to be a baby food/formula distribution afterwards. In Haiti, a small can of formula costs roughly 500 gourde (or $12). This may not seem like much, but in a country with over 80% unemployment and an average income of $30 (US) a month, this is A LOT of money. Can you imagine spending half your monthly salary on baby formula? Unfortunately, for many reasons including malnutrition of mothers, breast feeding isn't an option in all cases. With formula being so expensive many of these babies often perish. I am grieved and have seen this first hand.

Many times distributions in impoverished areas can be complete chaos. I have seen them done in several countries with various items and it can be a survival of the fittest moment. Usually not a pretty sight. But on Sunday everyone sat patiently in his/her seat until the food was distributed. Why?

I would propose that it is because these people know they are not forgotten. Pastor Pierre and Nehemiah Vision Ministries works hard to provide handups, not handouts. Pastor strongly believes that if you give or do something for someone that they could otherwise do for themselves, you are giving them a handout, which can be detrimental to the development of a person in the long run. A handup is something that the person could not otherwise do. A handup should help the person better themselves, not truncate their opportunity for growth. A handup isn't the quick fix that makes us all feel happy and smiley, but ultimately ends up creating an unhealthy dependence or reinforces negative feelings of inadequacy, but instead it provides respect and true help. Development is about people and processes, not projects and products.

 If I have learned one thing this year, it is that poverty is a multifaceted and very complex thing. It isn't merely a lack of economic resources, although that may play a part. Poverty is a multifaceted beast I cannot fully comprehend. It involves, but isn't limited to, lack of knowledge, lack of material resources, oppression of people, and personal sin. And what you perceive as the problem causing poverty will determine how you go about treating or eradicating it. Some organizations/people may only work to educate because they see poverty as a lack of knowledge. Some work only to give material resources because they see poverty as lack of money. Some will only work to evangalize/disciple because they see poverty as a lack of relationship with God. I personally think not all poverty is created the same. It looks different in different places, to different people.

In the early 1990's The World Bank interviewed over 60,000 people living in poor conditions in 60 different low income countries and published their findings in a book entitled "Voices of the Poor". In the book they asked people to describe what "poverty" was to them. The vast majority of the poor interviewed described their condition very differently than I would have thought. Many didn't mention money at all. Many didn't mention material things. But most described poverty in psychological terms. They described feelings of shame, weakness, fear, humiliation, powerlessness, isolation, depression, and oppression.

Poverty is complex and isn't an easy fix. Sometimes the feel good fix (just handing someone money) isn't the best thing for the person in the long run. True development takes time, patience, and a lot of hard work. I have learned much in practice this year in Haiti and have been influenced greatly by the book "When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Many of these ideas aren't original to me, but ones I read and took to heart from this book.

So, back to the food distribution at church. Why was everyone sitting so patiently for baby formula? I would argue it is because they know that NVM is here for the long haul. NVM isn't blowing through, for a one time distribution. NVM is here to develop people. To provide sustainable living. To educate children, to teach life skills, to provide ongoing medical care. NVM is here to provide a multifaceted approach to poverty alleviation specific for the people in this area at this time. An approach that takes into account many different solutions to the many aspects causing those in the area to be poor. Pastor has taught people to respect themselves and their neighbors.  I have so much respect for Pastor Pierre and NVM in this area. He seems to know when to provide the help (in this case baby food/formula) needed and when to build up a person to provide for themselves.