The Blue Sweater
The last few chapters of The Blue Sweater, talks about Jacqueline and Acumen. The reason why she started Acumen (a non-profit global venture capital fund) was due to her belief in the market as the starting point for solving problems of poverty. The fund supports entrepreneurs with the drive to find a solution that will allow the poor to help themselves. I believe that she has pin pointed the problem and has found the right solution to solving poverty. She has realized that giving money and items to the poor is not the ultimate solution, but helping them become entrepreneurs is the key because only then, can they build a life worth living. It was also very interesting to learn about the correlation between investing in health care and people's ability to earn income. In the book, it talks about how a bed net gift allowed a man named Eliarehemu, who was suffering from malaria, to get healthy and earn income. So because of the investment in bed nets, this man was able to use it and become healthier, which allowed him to work and earn income.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Blue Sweater. I respect and look up to Jacqueline. She had left a successful career in finance to come to Africa to help people. She took the time to understand them and ultimately came up with the best solution which was to help them become entrepreneurs so that they can take care of themselves.
I think the point about giving money is not the solution is interesting and reiterates the point that we spoke about in class about the victim mentality. Giving money to people seems like just reinforcing this victim mentality where people think that a little bit of money will help people. It's not money that will help people but the knowledge and tools that will help them succeed.
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