Finding Freedom
July 2011
Banner photo: Finding Freedom [© Dariush M./Shutterstock]
Ways Out of Poverty
Mary Ann Guzman is a social worker from the Philippines with substantial experience in international humanitarian aid work in Asia and Africa. She has been engaged in long-term development work as well as post-disaster rehabilitation programs. She has worked with several international NGOs and various Red Cross Societies.
A refugee camp in Serbia [© Espen Rasmussen/Panos Pictures]
SGI Quarterly: How do you see or define poverty?
Mary Ann Guzman: For me, poverty is powerlessness. It is powerlessness in any or every form. Economic poverty is the most visible and most talked about, and the most obvious indicator is a lack of basic needs including water and sanitation. It is having no means and no capacity to afford them and the lack or absence of opportunities. There is also social and cultural poverty, which prevents people from realizing their full potential. Social poverty is the absence of social services and opportunities for education, as well as a lack of information and infrastructure that would help people better develop their economic activities. Another major issue is the absence of government policies capable of responding to poverty issues.
Cultural poverty arises from traditions or old practices that hamper development, or the resistance of a community to accepting new information that would be advantageous to them. I would say also that one of the factors leading to poverty is the culture of corruption.
SGIQ: What is your experience of assisting people affected by extreme poverty?
MAG: I saw this when I was in Ethiopia. When people completely lose their dignity and are completely overwhelmed, they lose hope and self-esteem and their aspirations. In their extreme and difficult situation, to have aspirations is seen as a luxury, because what matters most is day-to-day survival.
There was a very high number of deaths that resulted from preventable disease, coupled with malnourishment, due to the lack of food, sanitation and water. That's what I see as the most extreme poverty--when people struggle just to get water. It was so painful to see them--particularly malnourished mothers and children who came for our food rations.
SGIQ: What are the factors that make it so hard for people to escape from the cycle of poverty?
MAG: I do believe that everybody has the aspiration and capacity to escape from the prison of poverty if they are given the opportunity or external resources such as education and social services.
The number one factor that makes it difficult is an extreme power imbalance in any given society. This makes it harder for people to acquire the power to escape poverty. Examples of what cause this imbalance are a lack of dedication within government to prioritizing and implementing policies that would respond to poverty issues, and abuses of power by corrupt authorities. They are the ones who are actually hampering the development of their own communities. Political instability is also a very big factor in keeping the poor poorer. Disaster is another factor that prevents people from escaping poverty. This is especially the case in Africa, where recurring drought creates a cycle of poverty.
SGIQ: How do you enable people to become self-reliant when the problems are outside of their control?
MAG: In a development initiative, capacity building, skills development and education are the most important part of sustainable development, and, of course, there should also be material support. They should go hand in hand. There is no use in giving material support if people are not trained to use the materials. It's also useless to give training if people cannot use it because there is no material or anything for them to start with. In emergency situations, your work is to save lives, so providing for people's needs in order to stabilize their situation is the main concern.
SGIQ: Can you share a successful experience you have had working with people to help them improve their situation and begin to move out of poverty?
MAG: I will describe my experience in Nias, Indonesia, after the March 2005 Sumatra earthquake. It was an integrated program funded by the UN with psychosocial, livelihood and support components focusing on the most vulnerable individuals. It was very positively evaluated, and when we completed the program, many NGOs wanted to replicate it.
We defined it as restoring lost livelihoods. We did not introduce a new type of program, but just strengthened and restored what people had lost. There were 48 villages involved.
Mary Ann working for the Hong Kong Red Cross Society in Sri Lanka
The major source of income for the community was cocoa. We partnered with a local organization and trained them in how to enhance production of the cocoa, and then we introduced a technique that allows the villagers to produce cocoa by themselves in an organic process. We also networked with the market. So we looked at both production and marketing. Of course, there was a very strong technical component to the program, but the other component was to help the villagers feel proud that they had done something good for the community. If someone had harvested a good amount of cocoa, they would share some with the most vulnerable members of the community, and that was very successful.
There is always this component of involving the people, a participatory approach. In some cases, the local authorities are also the abusive people in the community. So you target them, and eventually their way of dealing with people will change as they are exposed to development concepts and participatory approaches, community togetherness and so on.
SGIQ: How do you involve women in the communities?
MAG: When I go to a community, I always start with the women. I would say that the women are the most affected members of a community or a family in an extreme poverty situation. When you talk with women about issues of assistance or issues of food, you get very concrete information on what is the real need in the community.
SGIQ: How important is the empowerment of individuals in situations where the whole "system" may seem to be loaded against them?
MAG: Empowerment will always be the fundamental aspect in a development effort. Personally, I would say it starts with economic empowerment, particularly of women, because they are regarded as having a lesser status in the community. There is a tendency for them to become passive. Once they have this awareness of "what is right for me," or the economic power that will give them confidence, then they can become more active and contribute more to the family or community. They recognize that they also have power--that they are not just a passive member of the community or family.
SGIQ: What motivates you personally in your work in development and disaster relief?
MAG: I am an advocate of basic human rights. Although there is only so much I can do for change, it motivates me to continue my work as well as to improve myself. It is very satisfying to extend help. This is a source of my strength, motivation and appreciation. So, even if you have problems, there is joy at the end of the day knowing that you are contributing to development efforts.
I always encourage voluntarism, involvement and sharing. The more you contribute your time, knowledge and resources and broaden your experience, the more you will develop the desire to help others.
To sum up, freedom from poverty for me means being empowered, having the capacity and means to live with dignity and inner peace, free from constant worries and suffering. It means having peace within one's community and society and being a productive member of society contributing to its betterment.
