Are You ‘Sharing Poverty’
28 January 2015
Spread the love

IMFP ZE1
I know that this article will offend a number of people, but I cannot help it. People must know this.
A few months ago someone asked me this question: What is the purpose of giving? I answered that: 1) God commands us to give, and 2) to meet the needs of other people. I went on to explain the term ‘sharing poverty.’ In this post I will share my thoughts on this. This post will answer the reason why some aid or help we offer has not been sustainable in alleviating poverty. Be careful when you help people or even family members.
Needs are Classified Into Two

  • Consumption, also called ‘relief aid’. This included giving basic needs like food, shelter, clothes etc for human survival. It has to be for a short time because it is not sustainable. At the end of the day the people will have nothing [because they consumed] and they still want more and more. This is good when there is a disaster, whether natural or man-made.

In families, it is good to supporting your economic inactive family members. But remember that when you give, all that you give get finished sooner or later. They are just consumers.

  • Economic or Sustainable Giving. It involves giving with the aim of empowering or investing, for example education and training, business inputs, income generating projects, etc. You give once, but there is return sooner or later. If done properly, this is sustainable giving. It makes the people better and you do not have to repeat again and again. After using the resources, the people will have more than they started with.

Generally, prolonged relief giving/aid makes people unproductive, lazy and poor! It gives people a temporary higher quality of life, but this high lifestyle goes down as soon as the aid is plugged off.
Be careful when you give to family, having some relatives with a poverty mentality can drain you back into poverty. Their aim is to share what you have, that is, what you have worked for and to enjoy the benefits of your labour.
Here is a poverty mentality check. If you tell a person that ‘this year I managed to make extra income, beyond what I planned.’ A poverty minded person will say, ‘Now that you have extra, can I have some of it?’ A person with blessed and productive mentality will say, ‘How did you do it? I also want to end up with extra cash like you?’ A poverty minded person is first of all a consumer, production is an afterthought
I will give you two illustrations.
Scenario One: Sharing Poverty
After a year of hard work Titus managed to amass an extra $5,000. This came through hard work and application wisdom. Now Titus has four brothers who are all struggling financially.
When he told them how much he achieved financially they all said ‘please let’s share your success.’ So Titus shared the $5,000 equally. Each one got $1,000. The four brothers were very happy and praised their hard working older brother and each one threw a party to celebrate. Because they do not know how to handle, or even create an extra $1,000, they blew up the money within days and end up on zero balance. At the end it’s only Titus who had his $1,000 share tacked away for future investment.
Titus was very sad, he had worked hard for the $5,000, but ended up with $1,000. He said to himself, ‘what’s the point of working hard when you end up poorer and miserable.’ And he planned to work less harder next year because ‘it make no difference.’ So the following year Titus managed to save less than $1,000. He knew what would happen, if he has excess money.
ANALYSIS: The total net worth of the family [of 5 brothers] went from $5,000 to $1,000. We call this sharing poverty. The second year, the net worth plummeted to less than $1,000.
Scenario Two: Empowering
Now consider this scenario. When Titus told them how much he achieved financially his brothers said ‘please tell us how you did it so that we can also do the same.’ So Titus set down and explained his methods. He also volunteered to coach them throughout the year.
At the end of the same year Titus was proud to still have his $5,000 and a bunch of motivated brothers. This motivated Titus to work even harder the following year, knowing that his hard work does not benefit himself only but can motivate others to succeed as well.
By the end of the second year, guess what happen! Each brother had $5,000 extra income. And the motivated Titus doubled his extra annual income to $10,000.
ANALYSIS: The total net worth of the family [of 5 brothers] went from $5,000 in the first year to a whooping $30,000, that is ($5,000 X 4) + $10 000. We call this empowering! You can guess what happened in the third year!
In Conclusion
Now, I am not saying do not give to the needy. But I am saying give with understanding so that you will not be disappointed, ending up with them, stack in poverty. Be aware of people who will come and say ‘Give me $1,000, I want to start a project.’ When in fact their so called projects are in fact ‘garbage projects’ that will sink a hole in your pocket, and not their pocket.
Perhaps if someone asked money for a project, be shareholders in the project so that you make sure that you get your money back. Actually analyse the project first. If it’s a ‘garbage project’ throw it out right away. It has to pass the test. If the project is good, partner in a way that you have the majority shareholding. Are you not tired of being ripped off by people in the name of projects? Be wise. Learn from your past experiences.
So, how is your giving; sharing poverty or empowering?
Enjoy your week.
Share this with you college friends.
Please share your thoughts, ideas and comments below!
© Copyright 2013 by It’s My Footprint, www.itsmyfootprint.com/blog.