POV of Poverty

All in all, my visits to the villages this week were amazing. I believe that the village-by-village approach to reaching the underserved through local entrepreneurship has tremendous potential. It works in microfinance, it works with cell phones and it works with Drishtee. However, it is unbelievably hard work.

It is not easy to travel to these villages. They are far away from stores, services and information. Access to electricity, water and indoor plumbing is limited, if at all. The schools are simple concrete blocks with kids hanging out the windows. For primary schools, there are no teachers, just babysitters hired by the government. Secondary schools, along with hospitals and other critical services, are kilometers away.

The villages are full of young children, mothers and elderly people. All of the able single men and women have fled to cities for better jobs. Any men who remain are unemployed except for agriculture or spare work. Everyone is at the mercy of the climate and environment.

Everyone lives on less than 2 dollars a day. While it is true that 2 dollars goes a lot further here, that is still only $730 a year. The average summer MBA intern at Stanford makes that much money in 2 days. 2 dollars a day or a year’s income in 2 days. What a contrast.

Several times, I would meet with the entire village after my interview with the Drishtee entrepreneur. Someone would drag out a plastic chair and fifty people would sit around me. With the help of Drishtee staff, I would share that I was a “student from America who studies MBA” and “works with Drishtee in villages across India”. I would also thank everyone for their hospitality and tell them how beautiful India was. I felt like a politician but people seemed genuinely appreciative.

In one instance, an elderly lady raised her hand and respectfully asked me what I could do to help her village. Taken aback, I responded as best I could. I told her that I would share the stories of the struggles they faced with Drishtee and with people I knew in America. She seemed okay with my response but I felt useless and helpless.

Regardless of how many villages or slums I have visited, I find the extreme poverty to be overwhelming each time. At this point in the blog, I should propose an innovative idea that would solve these issues. A breakthrough social business that stimulates economic development. Or a revolutionary model to effectively use aid monies. Or a mechanism to improve governement efficiency and transparency. Instead, I just feel exhausted and out of ideas. All I know is that I was born lucky and I wish that all kids had the same opportunities that I had.