One night in May my parents and I, camped out in my brother and sister-in-law’s motel-room-sized apartment in D.C. My mom just wanted us to be together. My parents had a futon to sleep on; I slept on a papasan chair cushion on the floor. It looked like a doggie bed.
The next day I looked at their book-shelf and realized I needed a book to read. Mire Bobbi (Hindi for my sister-in-law) recommended The Blue Sweater. My Dad said he wanted to read it, and took it out of my hand. My brother said, “Wait I haven’t read that yet, you can’t take it.” Mire Bobbi insisted I should take it, because he had plenty of other books to read first. Then we sat outside and I “read,” while she “studied.” Within a few pages my mind was going wild with ideas and we just kept talking about what I was reading. Here are some of the first words of Jacqueline Novogratz that stirred me up as I sat in my home nation’s capital:
In America, my grandparents raised 6 children, who then brought another 25 individuals into the world. My cousins and I stand on the shoulders of our grandparents and people like them who never asked for handouts, but supported one another and shared suffering and, through hard work and determination, gave their children better futures in a country that assured them hope and opportunity, if nothing else.
Today poor people the world over are seeking opportunity and choice to have greater dignity in their lives—and they want to do it themselves, even if they need a little help. Today we have the tools and the technologies to bring real opportunities to people all across the world.
The time has come to extend to every person on the planet the fundamental principle that we hold so dear: that all human beings are created equal.
Novogratz tells the readers that in this world that is getting smaller, markets, public policy, and philanthropy all play a vital role in offering this opportunity of equality all of humanity. But if you are afraid that this idealistic book of methods is not for you, you are wrong. This book is written much like a memoir with fascinating stories of adventures around the world, yet it challenges the reader to action.
I am under no illusions that we can make equality for all humanity happen. I am not an Enlightenment child. And as I read Novogratz story, the cycle of evil that grips our world is made clear. She spent years working in Rwanda before the war/genocide, making what seemed like progress. And yet two of the founding members of her organization that gave small loans to poor women and helped charities turn to profitable business, ended up in prison for their involvement in the genocide. Yet like Novogratz, I believe that we must do what we can.
I believe that our service to the poor is worship to the one who created all humanity equal. We can be the people who do not refuse the thirsty person a drink of water—and not only that but we can be the people who show people where to get the clean water and how they can sell the water to the people who need it and in doing so, improve the lives of an entire village.
Memoirs of a Foreigner 