By: Jacqueline Novogratz
Why is it that we are so engaged by assistance projects in developing countries but hardly give a thought to the needs or responses here at home? Perhaps this is related to our jaded response to reports of violence in those areas, both where our own citizens are involved and where they are not. Focusing on our expatriate "good works" may help us deny the depth and breadth of overseas poverty and violence. On an early visit to Africa, Novogratz saw a child wearing the blue sweater that had once been her favorite but which she had long ago discarded. Recognizing the world's interconnectedness, she determined to invest her life in improving conditions in which children such as this boy lived. There are two particularly useful lessons to be found in this memoir. The first is that, however well-intentioned, intelligent and educated we may be, we simply do not understand the cultural perspectives that inform the way others live their lives. And thus our genuine efforts to help are often stymied or waylaid. The second is that charitable grants for specific projects are not the answer to the developing world's problems. Rather, as Novogratz does with her Acumen Fund, our nonprofits must be funded by "investors" and in turn must invest in businesses and organizations small and large that can accomplish the work that needs to be done. In this way people living in poverty and violence are able to attain food stability, clean water, education and perhaps even peace. Reaching these goals can be accomplished sustainably and with dignity. Novogratz's writing is mediocre but her perspectives are worthy of pursuit. In a few days I'll be reviewing Outcasts United, an account of a soccer league in Georgia that strives to heal the trauma carried by young immigrants from many of the same countries in which Novogratz works. Review by Anne. (Non-fiction) 07/21/09
