Poverty is miraculous, ghastly, but miraculous,
and perhaps the most extraordinary accomplishment today. Judging by
what we have seen with our own eyes, poor countries are the world’s
true “economic miracles.” Prosperity is a natural outcome
of relative economic freedom - liberal markets etc. How can one explain
poverty in a country full of manifestly energetic, resourceful and
enterprising people who as you know manage to somehow survive one
day to another from thin air?
For many years, organizations
- international and local have struggled to address problems of social,
economic and physical distress among the poor in developing and even
developed countries. CHANCE INTERNATIONAL has this same vision - to
improve the socio-economic status of marginalized groups in developing
countries. Such groups include: the youth, women and children. We do
Searching for the most optimum
way in which to enable a disadvantaged community to systematically
own, manage and use available resources for community-building and
The aim of anti-poverty
programs should always be to make people better able to earn a living
in a sustainable way. The poor need to become more self-sufficient,
rather than having to depend on foreign aid and food shipments. People
should be encouraged to fend for themselves. Empowerment is key to our
Because empowerment is a complex concept and arguably over-used a term,
it is necessary to use it with clarity and focus. Facilitators working
towards empowerment approach must develop ways of enabling communities
themselves to critically assess their own situation and create and shape
We also believe that no one can fully empower another; however, the
instrumentalities below assist in enhancing empowerment:
These are means by which an individual and groups increase their own
power to bring about desired results. Consulting all stakeholders
while making decisions helps in understanding what it is that everyone
expects and encourages self-determination of goals. Meetings with
the local communities for instance help to achieve this goal.
Facilitating instrumentalities: Others can assist in empowerment by
establishing relationships, providing access to resources, furnishing
opportunities, strengthening capacities to enable individuals and
groups to obtain and exercise greater power to control their own lives.
We do this through funding, assigning volunteers with the necessary
knowledge to increase capacity in a certain project, and providing
equipment necessary to accomplish certain goals.
Sanctioning instrumentalities: These are institutionally sanctioned
instruments through rights, laws, regulations, policies, procedures,
programs, structures, and authorizations. Policies of both the donors
and the local government have a great effect on the success or failure
of a project. We attempt to influence policy and policy-makers at
the donor and local government level.
We believe that such
an approach to poverty eradication should be encouraged. The above instrumentalities
have a proven ability to promote sustainable livelihoods.