Women Are Experts in Fighting Poverty

Filed in archive Latin Culture on March 20, 2007

From KansasCity.com:

"For Lucrecia Leiva, Rita de cassia and Juanita Guzman, getting government aid is not just a matter of pocketing cash. It also brings responsibilities - and hope.

Unlike previous aid programs, this fresh approach to combating poverty in Latin America delivers cash instead of subsidized goods. Rather than demanding blind loyalty to any political party, it demands better parenting: Recipients must keep children in school, get them vaccinated and take them to the doctor regularly.

The goal is to foster family stability. The method is to require accountability and encourage initiative by putting money directly into the hands of women who are true experts on poverty. So far, results are encouraging.

Leiva in Chile, Cassia in Brazil and Guzman in Mexico are benefiting from direct cash transfer programs that are changing the way governments attack one of Latin America's most entrenched social ills. The approach has won praise from the World Bank and support from both ends of the political spectrum.

The premise is simple: The women get money. But unlike traditional welfare plans in other countries that critics say create a culture of dependence, these programs have strict eligibility requirements designed to help the recipients and move them off the rolls once they no longer qualify.

And the sums handed out, experts say, are enough to help poor families but not enough to create a disincentive to work. In Brazil, for example, the average monthly payment is less than $60.

(...)Supporters predict deeper benefits in the long term: Today's children are getting more nourishment, health care and education than the last generation did. They are growing up better prepared to take advantage of economic growth, which in the past has often left the poor behind.(...)

"Women are exponentially better at getting the most out of the money," said Cecilia Perez Diaz, executive director of the Solidarity and Social Investment Fund in Chile. "But they are also more efficient in the micro-economy. They are less daring with their investments and more responsible in servicing their debts and fulfilling their commitments."

Of course. Women are the first line of soldiers in the battle against poverty. At the end of the day, we are the ones who stretch the money in ways that dare the laws of physics. Only a woman can take 60 bucks and put food on the table for an entire month. And believe me, we do that. I know, because I've done that. And my mom has done that. For a family of six.

Obviously 60 dollars a month is not going to end poverty. But it's a good start; specially if the money comes along with responsibilities. Because when a poor women has at least 2 bucks a day in her pocket, she knows she can feed her family. And when she has that kind of peace in her mind, she has hope. She can accomplish much more than a woman who knows her family is going to starve to death one of this days.

So, yes, let's give women some money. And some responsibilities. And some hope. The next step should be giving them a job, or even better, means to start a home based business. Then we'll be down the road to end poverty.

Check out the full article:
To deal with poverty, Latin American nations turn to experts: women.
It has practical examples of how this strategy actually works.