When we think about alleviating poverty, we need to first truly understand what it means.
Ask someone from a higher-income country to define poverty, and you’ll typically hear:
- Lack of money
- Lack of food
- Lack of shelter
Physical needs. And they’re not wrong… but this view is not complete.
Here’s what changed my perspective:
Researchers traveled to lower-income countries and asked people experiencing poverty directly. Their answers were eye-opening:
“When we become managed by government or churches, we now feel somewhat helpless. It is this feeling of helplessness that is so painful, more painful than poverty itself.“ — Uganda, 1998
“Poverty is humiliation — the sense of being dependent, and of being forced to accept rudeness, insults, and indifference when we seek help.” — Latvia, 1998
Other responses included:
- Hopelessness and powerlessness
- Loss of cultural identity
- Lack of freedom — “enslaved by crushing daily burden, by depression and fear”
- Having no voice: “When one is poor she has no say in public and feels inferior”
(Source: “Can Anyone Hear Us? Voices of the Poor” by Deepa Narayan & Raj Patel, Oxford Press 2000)
The insight that changed everything:
Those experiencing poverty saw it as primarily an internal struggle, not just external circumstances.
This means simply “giving people stuff” often doesn’t solve poverty — and can sometimes make the helplessness worse.
True, lasting change requires:
✓ Understanding both external AND internal needs
✓ Restoring human dignity
✓ Instilling hope
✓ Empowering people to help themselves
At Care For Life, this understanding shapes our approach. Our family preservation program doesn’t just address material needs — it focuses on overcoming despair and restoring the dignity that poverty strips away.
What’s your experience with this perspective on poverty? Have you seen examples where addressing dignity and hope made the difference?
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