SO YOU WANT TO HELP THE POOR?
In yesterday's post, I pledged to post as rapidly as possible a book on how to best help the poor. This introduction is the first installment on that pledge. I will post the other chapters
as fast as I can.
(These are not the things that need to be done in the next few days or during this immediate emergency. Rather, this is for the time after that, in which refugees will be moving from getting immediate emergency assistance to trying to normalize their lives. That is when good programs to help them "up and out" of their situation need to kick in. The following is for that time.)
Chapter 1: So You Want To Help The Poor?
Do you want to help the poor? That is to be admired. It is evidence of a heart of flesh, not stone. It shows you think, not of yourself only, but also of others. It is the mark of being truly human, not an unfeeling sociopath or psychopath.
Do you really want to help the poor? You do well. All the great religions command us to help the poor. God blesses us when we do. The Bible says, "Blessed is he who remembers the poor. God will remember him in his time of trouble." (Psalm 41:1)
Do you still want to help the poor? Good. But do you understand what is involved? Do you know the best ways to do it? Are you willing to put aside what you already think and learn from those who have gone before you, particularly the ones with a documented track record of helping poor people succeed in moving "up and out" of their distress? That is what this book is for.
To start, here is an acrostic based on the word "humble."
H is for humble. Inner humility is essential. Thinking "there, but for the grace of God, go I" should be constant. Except for accidents, such as being born to our particular parents, in our particular place and time and country, it could have been us. None of us can be sure it will not be us, some day! Humility is the place to begin, when trying to help the poor.
U is for understanding. That means empathy and sympathy, but just for starters. Still more, it means understanding why they are poor, and what it will take to help them up and out of where they are. It means studying what has already been learned by old hands. It means practice, just like in tennis or swimming, developing the reflexes, not just heart and brain.
Understanding will never happen without considerable hands-on experience first. Making theories, reading or watching alone will never help one poor person. They will never teach you the basics. Until you get your hands dirty, whole areas of understanding will be beyond you.
M is for money. Sadly so. But there is no helping the poor without it. Prepare to give. And prepare for fund-raising. Learn it. Smile. Get good at it. And above all, be totally honest and scrupulous in how you raise it and use it. Make sure any organization you give money to can prove they are following this standard.
Also make sure rigorous measures are taken to ensure there is no theft, dishonesty or corruption going on in your own organization. Annual audits are a must. So is a Certified Public Accountant. And an honest, capable person tasked with keeping an eagle eye on what is going on with the money, all the time, with quick corrections of problems, and quick firings of anyone, no matter how high up, for serious misuse of money meant to help the poor.
B is for brave. And also boldness. You will need to do some frightening things. Not only go into places that are bad for safety or health sometimes, but also to do things that feel forbidden. Things such as holding people accountable. Setting rules for receiving assistance. Enforcing them. Insisting and insisting. Using penalties sometimes.
Why would these things take courage? Because you will be hammered for doing them. Those you will be trying to help often will fight back against being held accountable. They often know how to make you feel like a jerk, too. People and groups who think such accountability is wrong and heartless will go after you, in ways you would not believe yet. Without courage to do what really helps, regardless, not just what looks good, you cannot do much more for the poor than hand-holding. Bravery is required.
L is for love. You cannot do much for the poor without it. But it takes many forms. Pity is one. Sympathy and empathy too. Trying to help the poor by forcing others to pay for it is one form of love, though a weaker form, since for it calls for sacrifice by others, not ourselves. Self-sacrificing love is a much stronger form. The form that will be needed most, however, is "tough love." That does not mean being mean or heartless, but it will mean some kind of struggle when that is what it takes. But Chapter Three is all about that.
E is for effective. If we are not effective in helping the poor, why bother? Actually, there are some reasons for many people to "just go through the motions" without caring about whether they actually helped much or not.
One common ploy is making a show. Some people want to be thought of as good persons, but without actually doing much good.
Another reason is the thrill of it all. It is true. Helping poor people makes us feel good. So a lot of people will do it in an addicted, but almost useless, way, trying to get the biggest feel-good while giving or doing almost nothing. A cheap thrill, you might say.
Another reason is people being more worried about the feelings of the poor than what happens to them and their children. What they want is to pat them, smile, make them feel better, but not much more than that. They end up treating them like pets, avoiding the hard part of helping because it might make someone feel bad. So they do mostly hand-holding, while leaving them in their poverty and distress. Hand-holding is an important part of helping the poor. But it is only a part.
The only way to be effective ini helping the poor is to concentrate on results, results, results. Learning how to get them. Tracking what is done, and correcting course to make it work better. Using only methods that have been field-tested. Not bringing new or old ideas into wide use without field-testing them on a smaller scale first. (Or using what others have field-tested and proven first.)
But that is what the rest of the book is about. Being effective means finding out what works best in getting poor people "up and out" and then putting it into practice.
Do you still want to help the poor? Good! You are very, very badly needed. But please, do it for them, not for yourself. And care enough to do it right
as fast as I can.
(These are not the things that need to be done in the next few days or during this immediate emergency. Rather, this is for the time after that, in which refugees will be moving from getting immediate emergency assistance to trying to normalize their lives. That is when good programs to help them "up and out" of their situation need to kick in. The following is for that time.)
Chapter 1: So You Want To Help The Poor?
Do you want to help the poor? That is to be admired. It is evidence of a heart of flesh, not stone. It shows you think, not of yourself only, but also of others. It is the mark of being truly human, not an unfeeling sociopath or psychopath.
Do you really want to help the poor? You do well. All the great religions command us to help the poor. God blesses us when we do. The Bible says, "Blessed is he who remembers the poor. God will remember him in his time of trouble." (Psalm 41:1)
Do you still want to help the poor? Good. But do you understand what is involved? Do you know the best ways to do it? Are you willing to put aside what you already think and learn from those who have gone before you, particularly the ones with a documented track record of helping poor people succeed in moving "up and out" of their distress? That is what this book is for.
To start, here is an acrostic based on the word "humble."
H is for humble. Inner humility is essential. Thinking "there, but for the grace of God, go I" should be constant. Except for accidents, such as being born to our particular parents, in our particular place and time and country, it could have been us. None of us can be sure it will not be us, some day! Humility is the place to begin, when trying to help the poor.
U is for understanding. That means empathy and sympathy, but just for starters. Still more, it means understanding why they are poor, and what it will take to help them up and out of where they are. It means studying what has already been learned by old hands. It means practice, just like in tennis or swimming, developing the reflexes, not just heart and brain.
Understanding will never happen without considerable hands-on experience first. Making theories, reading or watching alone will never help one poor person. They will never teach you the basics. Until you get your hands dirty, whole areas of understanding will be beyond you.
M is for money. Sadly so. But there is no helping the poor without it. Prepare to give. And prepare for fund-raising. Learn it. Smile. Get good at it. And above all, be totally honest and scrupulous in how you raise it and use it. Make sure any organization you give money to can prove they are following this standard.
Also make sure rigorous measures are taken to ensure there is no theft, dishonesty or corruption going on in your own organization. Annual audits are a must. So is a Certified Public Accountant. And an honest, capable person tasked with keeping an eagle eye on what is going on with the money, all the time, with quick corrections of problems, and quick firings of anyone, no matter how high up, for serious misuse of money meant to help the poor.
B is for brave. And also boldness. You will need to do some frightening things. Not only go into places that are bad for safety or health sometimes, but also to do things that feel forbidden. Things such as holding people accountable. Setting rules for receiving assistance. Enforcing them. Insisting and insisting. Using penalties sometimes.
Why would these things take courage? Because you will be hammered for doing them. Those you will be trying to help often will fight back against being held accountable. They often know how to make you feel like a jerk, too. People and groups who think such accountability is wrong and heartless will go after you, in ways you would not believe yet. Without courage to do what really helps, regardless, not just what looks good, you cannot do much more for the poor than hand-holding. Bravery is required.
L is for love. You cannot do much for the poor without it. But it takes many forms. Pity is one. Sympathy and empathy too. Trying to help the poor by forcing others to pay for it is one form of love, though a weaker form, since for it calls for sacrifice by others, not ourselves. Self-sacrificing love is a much stronger form. The form that will be needed most, however, is "tough love." That does not mean being mean or heartless, but it will mean some kind of struggle when that is what it takes. But Chapter Three is all about that.
E is for effective. If we are not effective in helping the poor, why bother? Actually, there are some reasons for many people to "just go through the motions" without caring about whether they actually helped much or not.
One common ploy is making a show. Some people want to be thought of as good persons, but without actually doing much good.
Another reason is the thrill of it all. It is true. Helping poor people makes us feel good. So a lot of people will do it in an addicted, but almost useless, way, trying to get the biggest feel-good while giving or doing almost nothing. A cheap thrill, you might say.
Another reason is people being more worried about the feelings of the poor than what happens to them and their children. What they want is to pat them, smile, make them feel better, but not much more than that. They end up treating them like pets, avoiding the hard part of helping because it might make someone feel bad. So they do mostly hand-holding, while leaving them in their poverty and distress. Hand-holding is an important part of helping the poor. But it is only a part.
The only way to be effective ini helping the poor is to concentrate on results, results, results. Learning how to get them. Tracking what is done, and correcting course to make it work better. Using only methods that have been field-tested. Not bringing new or old ideas into wide use without field-testing them on a smaller scale first. (Or using what others have field-tested and proven first.)
But that is what the rest of the book is about. Being effective means finding out what works best in getting poor people "up and out" and then putting it into practice.
Do you still want to help the poor? Good! You are very, very badly needed. But please, do it for them, not for yourself. And care enough to do it right
posted by Old Neocon at 7:35 PM
1 Comments:
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