As a future nurse, I want to help
people with the greatest need by working with an NGO like the
International Red Cross or Médecins Sans Frontières.
I often wonder why there is so much
misery and injustice in the world, when there is more than enough to
go around. And now, with the climate crisis, things are getting even
worse for the poor. As I was looking for answers, I came across the
concept of “empowerment”. Could it make less bad the effects of
global warming on the poor?
Before I explain what “empowerment”
means, let me define poverty. According to the United Nations,
poverty entails more than lack of income and productive resources to
insure sustainable livelihoods. Its manifestations include hunger and
malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services,
social discrimination and exclusion, as well as the lack of
participation in decision-making.
The International
Food Study Institute has published a study about poverty. It found
that some of the major causes of poverty are the inability of poor
households to invest in property and education, limited access to
credit, the systematic exclusion of ethnic minorities, women and
people with disabilities and health issues and the lack of access to
institutions and markets.
Political violence
and organized crime have affected 39 countries since 2000; in those
countries, the poverty level is twice that of non-violent countries.
These two items, poverty and violence, are obviously linked. When
they asked young people why they joined gangs and rebel groups, two
thirds of the respondents said that unemployment was their main
reason. Violence caused by poverty is characterized by crimes,
homicides, robbery and joining a violent group. Most people in prison
come from poor backgrounds. Criminal behavior and criminal
victimization are other major consequences of poverty.
The climate crisis
is also a big issue and makes poverty worse. It has an impact on the
water supply and food security. Drought prevents crops growing and
dries out wells. Moreover, the increase in ocean temperature and the
melting of ice caps causing sea level rise, contaminates freshwater
by seawater. The climate crisis intensifies natural disasters
(inundation, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods) which destroy homes and
schools. The climate crisis also creates family, sanitary, housing,
education and violence problems. The rate of divorce is rising, as is
domestic violence. Malnutrition is rife. Life expectancy is becoming
lower. Mental illness and cognitive problems are on the increase for
lack of materials and of nursing staff. Access to school is becoming
more difficult for the poor. An estimated 1.6 million people,
including more than 300,000 children, are homeless at least part of
the year (Lee, Tyler, & Wright, 2010). Poor populations often
have to pay more than half of their small income on their rent.
Now, what is “empowerment”? It is
a set of measures designed to increase the degree of autonomy and
self-determination in people and in communities in order to enable
them to represent their interests in a responsible and
self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process
of becoming stronger and more confident, it is basically the fact of
having the means to become independent and autonomous.
Let me give you an example. In the
Netherlands, investors invest more and more in equal opportunities
for women entrepreneurs from poor communities; this contributes
directly to sustainable development goals, including eradicating
poverty and reducing inequality. It is also a smart move with a
strong business case. Investments in female entrepreneurs pay off in
the form of a high return on investment, economic growth and the
development of local communities. For example, CARE’s programme for
5,000 women in Ethiopia led to income growth of 500%. Such successes
bring greater equality. This is a good example of empowerment because
it shows how giving the means can create self-sufficiency. More and
more empowerment projects are being set up. Most of the time, they
are a great success, but I think it is important to notice that
nothing works 100% and so there are failures sometimes, but, these
aren’t actually total failures, because, even if the main goal
isn't achieved, it at least makes situations better.
As I said in my
introduction, I would like to work in the medical field. Later, I
will teach people how they can take care of their own health better;
this will be my way of empowering them. What can YOU do to empower
the most vulnerable? You can choose a humanitarian or development job
after your studies of course, but you can already support NGOs like
OXFAM who run empowerment projects.
If people are given
the means to act to improve their own lives, they can get themselves
out of poverty and become themselves climate activists, building
resiliant eco-friendly communities. Power to the people!
Empowerment is a key issue, thank you for your insights. I would add that education systems have an important part to play in developing empowerment. This is something that should always be taken into account in policy making at the highest level I think. We should bear in mind that bringing knowledge and the means to make enlightened choices to young people is one of the main purposes of school and education.
ReplyDeleteHenri Duran, inspector for secondary schools
Thanks for your answer I totally agree I actually wanted to put this in my speech but I thought that it would be too long,I only noticed during the editing of my vidéo that I actually had enough time.I am going to keep your advice in mind,thank you
DeleteMaxime Gal
Dorian Engelvin writes: I agree with your ideas! I do think empowerment - to give the power to people for them not be so dependent on an authority - is a solution to poverty. In a few years, maybe, empowerment will be normal practice, enabling human communities to live as they did many centuries ago. Education is really important too, but I think the way children are educated nowadays is very bad. We must teach them the essential things, like reading and writing, but also how to work the land in order to be independent! Empowerment is the way to save humanity and to stop global warming!
ReplyDeleteJeanne BESSON writes: Maxime deals with the issue of poverty and explains how we can reduce it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with his definition and the causes of poverty: the major causes of poverty are the limited access to property, education, credit, etc. Also, he rightly mentions the discrimination towards ethnic minorities, women, or mentally unstable people we see everywhere all the time. According to him, the solution is “empowerment”, that is, the increased autonomy and self-determination of people in need. The aim is to give them a degree of independence; I agree with the idea but not with the means. Are you sure that the solution is work? In developed countries, we seperate the place of manufacture of the goods from their place of consumption because of the low cost of production and labour, that is why the companies go to the countries like India or China where there are poorer populations. This phenomenon causes a decline in the wages of (unskilled) workers, and the work conditions can be bad with not enough social protection. In these conditions, people don't learn how to manage money and “empowerment” doesn't exist.
Max explains the impact of the climate crisis on poverty. However, offshoring also has consequences on the climate. In fact, many companies pollute a lot and accentuate the environmental problems. So same if outsourcing offers work for dome people, it does not offer stability for all.
I think “empowerment” is possible if we associate work and solidarity. Indeed, as well as work, there must be be participatory institutions and a well-established domestic policy according to the website “Pour la science”. Besides, there are many associations which help people reintegrate society. Solidarity, at all scales, is essential, maybe more than everything. I agree with Maxime: “Power to the people!”.
Typhaine writes: Overall, Maxime has do a great job! However, when he talks about the major consequences of poverty at the start of his talk, he should have written clearer, more simple sentences. Also, when he says that poverty and violence are linked, a few quotes would have had an impact. What he says about what he wants to do later is really relevant.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you say in your talk about the young prisoners. Our mind and actions are shaped by our childhood experiences, not genetics. When you live in a violent environment, it has consequences for when you grow up...
ReplyDeleteHelping communities to help themselves, and “interfering” as least as possible, is the best thing that we can do. In the past, when a crisis occurred, we had to deal with it ourselves. When poor communities in the world have problems, we naturally have to help them, but we have to give them the means to fix the problems themselves, not for them. That is, as you so well describe it, empowerment. But, what should we do when the problems they endure are mostly caused in fact by us, the rich? Poor communities often suffer because we exploit their natural resources and we exploit them. Climate change is mostly caused by the wealthy and powerful and it is the poor who suffer most of the consequences...