Poverty and the Pill by Nicholas Kristof - Essay Example

Poverty News Summary In spite of the fact that we live in the modern global world, there are a lot of unresolved problems and issues of the modernity. There are many attempts to deal with AIDS or cancer prevention, but there is a lack of attention paid to poverty. There is an incredible growth of poverty in Africa. The most scaring fact is that people in Africa do not even think about a possibility to reduce a number of childbirths in order not to produce new lives of humans in this type of a challenging context. It is better to provide children from being born in a poor country. In the article by Nicholas Kristof (2010) “Poverty and the Pill” it is shown that African women do not even think that they are able not to get pregnant all the time. Those desperate women looking on us from the website scare off American or European women, which can make their own choice whether to give birth to their children or not. There is an option of financing of this continent and make childbirth control possible there, but this decision in Africa depends not only on a woman, but also on her husband, which does not want to prevent his children from coming into this world. An incredible rate of poverty makes these women suffer from a constant process of child producing. Therefore, it is possible to stop poverty in Africa and there is no need to make it grow even more intensely in case of a constant process of childbirth giving by the African women. Video lecture Therefore, in order to deal with poverty there is a need to make numerous attempts globally and find real heroes, which are able to deal with poverty. Jacqueline Novogratz is one of those strong-willed persons, enabled to deal with poverty, to open their hearts and to help weaker people to live a normal life. It is worth remembering that poverty is involuntarily living under conditions, when there is a lack of resources, which are necessary for our daily lives, such as food, shelter and clothes. Jacqueline Novogratz tells her story about a different capitalism and she lived in Africa in order to see what poverty is from within. She learned very important lessons from staying with people from Africa. Firstly, it is worth remembering that “Dignity is more important for the human spirit than wealth”. She builds up her policy of charity on very important principles, such as tolerance, patience and understanding. Every human being wants to be heard by another human being. Mutual understanding and listening depends on a special attention to every human being on the Earth. Novogratz is not framed by social status of Africans, she is beyond this context and she underlines that relations among humans should be based on humane attitudes among different members of the global society. This is a powerful woman, who realizes the necessity of providing people not with charity, but with a real support, to create a team spirit among them and to enable them to become successful businesswomen. Therefore, Novogratz implements a practical approach to solving the problems of poverty. The second lesson, she claims, is that “Traditional charity and aid alone will not solve the problems of poverty” and the third lesson outlines that “The markets alone will not solve the problem of poverty”. Novogratz makes an emphasis on the personal contact with poor people, on readiness to listen to the needs of those people and be able to treat them patiently and with a great tolerance. Donation and philanthropy should be united at the micro level. Moreover, she managed to develop Acumen fund, investing in profit and non-profit organizations. South Asian and East Africa gains many benefits from having an opportunity to build their own businesses and have an ability to become independent individuals. Management and strategic support from Acumen fund is available for poor people from Africa and Asia. It is really hard to find those entrepreneurs, which are open to commitment to a personal success and their services. There is a need for a strong belief in poor people, in positioning them as strong and creative individuals. To have courage and patience towards rich and poor is very important for the modern citizens.  Therefore, it cannot be denied that patient capitalism is a different type of capitalism and it enables poor people to make their dreams come true through patience and a great tolerance. It is more important to provide people with trust than with money, because to make people believe in their efforts and to make those dreams triggers for people’s progress. It is relevant to eradicate poverty and not only to give money for poor people, but to support them in different spheres of their lives and activities. Discussions Now we can witness income inequality and unfortunately, it may have many negative consequences. The worst consequence is that it can abolish democracy we have struggled for for ages. Having democracy as our primary goal, we can destroy it ourselves if we do not control the process. Inequality, if takes place, it must not make us come back to the old relation pattern rich-poor. If it exists in modern world it should lead to cooperation that is beneficial for both parties. Globalization is a very positive phenomenon. For the third-world states it is a chance to introduce themselves in the word area, an opportunity to show their abilities and a stimulus to develop. Representatives of poor nations from underdeveloped countries should be able to operate in their countries and develop businesses there. Otherwise, poverty will not be eradicated from the largest part of the world. Moreover, there is a need to implement management, strategic and social policies in those countries. Of course, it is relevant to develop holistic approaches and deal with poverty as a social and financial problem of the global world. Consequently, it should be noted that Jacqueline Novogratz opens the eyes of the audience on the problem of poverty in a new light. Africa was chosen for discussion as the continent with the higher number of poor people. A way to successful dealing with poverty should not be found in financial investments only. It is more important to look for the ways dealing with poverty in human hearts. Novogratz in her lecture outlines an interesting and innovative approach to deal with poverty and to stop this destroying social phenomenon. Works cited Kristof, N. D. Poverty and the Pill (May 19, 2010). Web. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/opinion/20kristof.html?_r=1 Read More