Baha’i Perspectives

nadim March 3rd, 2008

The Baha’i International Community has not only launched a new web site, but has also recently released a statement entitled “Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward as One”. The statement was developed following consultations with UN agencies, NGOs and Baha’i communities in various countries.

Before continuing, here’s a little game to test just how much we think we know about factors relating to poverty. Keep the answers in your head or note them down on a piece of paper — you may be referring back to them later. The rules are easy. Simply think of how each of the factors below relates to the eradication of poverty:

• Governance
• Justice and Human Rights
• Individual Responsibility
• Gender
• Economic activity
• Extremes of wealth
• Sustainable development
• Agriculture
• Employment
• Knowledge
• Religion

I bet some of those factors are not what traditionally would have come to mind (we usually only think in terms of $$$, right?). As noted in the statement, “The mechanisms of poverty eradication have long been defined in primarily material terms. Indeed, the central pillar of the international community’s poverty alleviation efforts has been the transfer of financial resources.”

The usual attitude by donor governments has been to throw money at the problem — approximately $2.3 trillion in the last 50 years — and hope that it will go away. However, the statement confirms what experience now shows. Foreign aid, “far from ushering in greater self-sufficiency, has often had a detrimental effect on recipient communities: increased dependency on foreign assistance, subservience to externally dictated priorities, misappropriation of funds and decreased pressure for governance reform.” Clearly, a more holistic approach to poverty alleviation is required, and fundamental changes need to be made from the level of the individual all the way to the highest levels of society.

Now read the entire statement to discover how poverty relates to the factors listed above, and compare it to the ideas you had before. Hopefully, reading this statement will open doors to new ways of thinking about one of the world’s most pressing challenges.

54. O YE RICH ONES ON EARTH!
The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease.

(Baha’u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words)

Tags: poverty

• Baha'i Concepts , Principles in Action , Society
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