BY: Paul Odey Ohiero.
Certain liberties exercised by the state and other ruling elites (private sector/commercial interests), that have an exploitation impact would be curtailed when decision-making regarding use of local resources is owned at the local level. This in turn would mean that leverage or
negotiation power is equalized and thus resource sharing equalized. Hence poverty reduction
would hopefully ensue.
Empowering people by giving them a good education that will prepare them to have a carrier and to hold a job that will make them more confident, give them the chance to learn from others, allow them to earn a good living to help their children to live a better life.
We had a few years back a symposium in Northern Cross River where we asked experts whether poverty was eradicable in Cross River. The answer: "Very much eradicable. We could have eradicated it long time back. We had the resources." What then was missing? The answer by them: the political will. What was to be this political will? It is supposed to be power-linked determination. The crux of the problem: those who have (political) power do not have hunger and those who have hunger do not have power. Hence poverty gets a backseat as a problem to address urgently.
If power comes to those who have hunger, poverty eradication will be on war footing basis. And what is power? We gave our own simple description: to have power is to have an effective say and to have a say we need forums. Hence empowerment and poverty eradication will not happen unless adequate steps are taken to ensure that the required inclusive, small-sized,neighborhoodbased multi-tiered forums as mentioned above are in place.
Giving more power through education, information, coaching and counseling, and amplify the possibilities to get or create a job or business, trough micro-credits, access to ICT networks is the best way to achieve poverty eradication. Empowering have to also mean give the primary needs to someone: water, food, house, communications, energy, job, health. Education as an empowering tool might help people to change the conditions of their lives by taking action while having knowledge and skills of a trade that will make them
competitive in the particular productive field holistically not a selected few and make us belief that Democracy is the Madness of many for the benefit of the few.
It would help using people's experience and knowledge, tapping and channeling their energy, intelligence and capacity positively. Empowerment can come through community mobilization and volunteer efforts that are based on bottom up efforts, allowing communities to identify and formulate their priorities. Empowerment starts from the individual who needs to trust in his/her capacities. People, who have not gone through formal education, often totally
underestimate how much they know, just because they don't speak the sophisticated language and can't write it down in the same way as the ones with an academic background. People, who have contributed to identifying problems and developing priorities, feel more responsible for the delivery and sustainability of the solutions developed. Empowerment leads to ownership and increases accountability as people are more interested in the delivery of results that they have themselves contributed to identifying.
Motivating governments, NGOs, private and public organizations to recognize that eradicating poverty is not as easy as simply dipping into the pockets of the "haves" of the world.
To specifically target attitudes and cultural nuances to recognize that teaching the poor that a "handout" may solve the immediate problem but to have long term success educating and training the poor to build logistics and infrastructure to solve poverty on their local level is most
important - not just providing the "fish" but teaching "how to fish" and market their subsequent skills. That in essence takes more in terms of individual involvement than it does millions of dollars in cash.
When people get to know their skills, energy and abilities and put it in the right place, they can improve their standard of living. They can rely on themselves to find jobs that suite
their abilities. This will open opportunities for them and for others to utilize their skills and capabilities.
Team Jude is building generation now for the generation next, join us to take Northern Cross to Eldorado.
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