A dollar a month

Hi Harlem:  We need more of this kind of thinking!  This is leadership at its best..  Why not start a pod to focus on exactly this issue: How to make it happen…  Perhaps?  You have the skills to set up something like this…:)  Why not start a Brain Trust?  Blessings….H.

Yes yes yes. I also tried to start a 'fund' for people in need, and it worked to a point, mainly because of the generosity of one or two people. It paid for an eye operation someone needed but couldn't afford. But, I did not have the wherewithall to keep it going all by myself…so it is now 'dormant'. Most people do not want to give money, even small amounts. I love that you are putting the idea out here.

This may sound harsh, but I think part of the issue is that when given a 'hand out' there is no education, no motivation to learn anything from the process.  Try surfing www.unitus.com or similar microlending institutions…they provide small loans for business start ups rather than band-aids.  There are a series of secondary issues that arise when people are poor relating to food, shelter, medical care, etc. that can be addressed IF individuals want to get off their booty and improve their situation.  No one is helpless, left up to the winds of fate…unless they allow themselves to be.

A large component of that is education and in THIS country that is definately not an issue.  Education, access to resources, access to opportunities, etc is virtually everywhere.  Having grown up poor and working my way to the upper middle class took effort but it was possible and I know I can acheive more if I am willing to work harder.  In third world countries, yes it is definately harder, but I firmly believe that handouts are not the solution.  Redistribution of wealth is not the solution.  Look at where a lot of the the lottery winners end up, poor again.

We of the educated, aware, socially conscious, albeit wealthy (compared to the rest of the world's population) class have a responsiblity as caretakers, stewards.  That whole 'teach a man to fish' analogue is cool, but how to you motivate people to WANT to fish?  Where does that drive to fish come from rather than waiting for someone to hand them a fish or wonder why their 'fish' never comes in?  How to we help raise global consciousness??  This is the issue I think we should tackle, this is what will make small efforts have BIG impacts.  This is what I see as being stewards…helping to motivate, supplying the tackle, teaching to fish.   As this is not my battle (I have other passions), I supply the tackle…by donating money to Unitus. 

So by this point, I am sure I have stepped on a few toes.  I just get tired of hearing how we should all donate money to the poor.  I am socially responsible and I work very damn hard for everything I have and I donate to organizations that help people who seriously want to help themselves.  I don't have much time for those that don't want to improve their own situation.  You can ask for a hand out at the street corner or have a squirt bottle and rag in your hand to wash windows…I'd bet a week's pay that the guy with the squirt bottle takes more home each day. 

God gave us these big brains to figure this stuff out and huge hearts to make us want to.  Anyway, Harlem, I am glad you are doing something about it rather than just griping and wondering why no one is taking care of the problem.  I challenge you to find a solution so that the PEOPLE themselves pull themselves up rather than some corporation or group of people swooping down and saving the day with capital output.  It really isn't corporation's responsibility, it is the people's.  Many communities through collaborations and developing products have found ways to make their regions profitable commerically.  Small community collectives producing regional items have been successful in the Andes for example…botanical products from the rainforests is another or Hoodia or Kava Kava.  You being from the region may have an idea that would do well on the global market.  Now that would be cool and empowering!

Dee -
So by this point, I am sure I have stepped on a few toes.  I just get tired of hearing how we should all donate money to the poor.

Certainly not my toes !

what you say lands as absolutely on to me. Even my experience with the person with the eye operation showed me that this was't enough - the money wasn't enough, the operation wasn't enough to support deep shift in a person who at least on the outside seemed to have all the gifts available to make life abundant and rich ( in all senses of the word) for himself.

And I do wonder what is going on when some people manage to make startling changes for the positve in their life, and others do not. I know people severely abused as children, and who had generally awful upbringings, who manage to let all that go and live largely and with wellbeing and love. And there are others who have 'normal' supportive backgrounds who seem to wither and struggle. I know a lot of people from all walks of life, from all kinds of backgrounds and I do not see any logical pattern.

I've learned - no - I'm learning, to let go of thinking I 'know' what is best for another being; I'm learning to let go of the idea that I 'know' that they could change things for themselves. Perhaps a life of pain and struggle is exactly what they are here to experience. Now this doesn't mean to say I'm not out there seeing if I can support in any way I can - I am.

for myself, when I look back at 'crucial' times in my life, those points in life where one path could lead to self-destruction in some form or another, and another path leads to possibility and healing - I see that I made a decision for myself - to take a look. No-one was there to 'help' me. I simply told myself this is not working, so I'm available for whatever it takes to live differently - I'm willing to do whatever it takes to unfold in a different way. In both cases this was not an easy choice - my healing seemed to go along with a lot of uncovering of very painful parts of myself.

Now I do not know why I was able to make a decision towards the light, rather than the dark. I'm not sure it is something that is universal - I'm not sure  that all people have the ability, wherewithall, or even personal need to make such a choice. I don't know.

And so far it seems that the best I can 'do' is be there for people, not in a way that puts my own needs aside, but to make myself available to love and support and simply be a friend.

Everyone has brought up issues that I have experienced personally with the needy and the poor.
By helping a few poor people, I learned that many just need immediate monetary help for their immediate situation, but they do want to learn and become independent. Then there are others who get addicted to donations and get DEmotivated when given free money.

On the other hand, education is not free, actually nothing is free. So there are costs associated with educating/helping/motivating the poor, which brings us to Harlem's suggestion.
Perhaps we don't need to give money away to the poor, but do need money to coordinate rigorous programs for helping the self-starter motivated poor people.
Trickle Up organization is a good example.

So we can put money together for starting such programs or give money to existing programs.
The St. Louis International Institute is another place where they have good ideas for programs to help the immigrant poor help themselves.

And as for the comment “A large component of that is education and in THIS country that is definately not an issue.”, I disagree. But then, we're not discussing education :)

- Farzad

Hi All,

It's all true.
And it requires a balance of 3 elements.

Money (1penny per week from everyone)
Empowerment (hand ups not hand outs)
Transparency (local autonomy and one campaign to communicate the success)

The interesting factor being that we become empowered as citizens when we work towards bigger issues than our own needs as individuals.
If we continue to accept the way things are, we are also responsibe for the way things are so to create a world that works for everyone … the solution needs to include everyone.

:-)

The answers to our worlds problems are in all of our hearts.

Martin
xxx

what about Hindraf…………..

I am with You, Harlem..Love and Peacetess