Eradicating poverty is possible, but there are still many miles to walk

Editor, I thank The New Times for this interesting profile of a 70-year-old Rwandan woman, and others like her, struggling to make ends meet. Let me please quote a few paragraphs from the story so that readers understand my comment better.‘‘The ‘walkers’—as we shall call them—usually sit at a place known here as ‘Kuri 40’, a strategic spot in the centre of Nyamagabe town just at the entrance of one of the roads leading to the district’s main market.As they head to town every morning, they [wait for] farm jobs, domestic chores and [jobs] transporting construction materials like sand and bricks, among others.Their daily wage ranges between Rwf500 and Rwf 1,000 [roughly $0.83 to $1.67], or sometimes more depending on the task.Breastfeeding mothers, girls, married men and their wives as well as old people gather here every morning. They chat, crack jokes, but also compete to offer their services to any potential ‘employer.’’Later in the article, the ‘walkers’ cited lack of land or capital to start their own income-generating activities as their main obstacle to finding steady employment. Lack of support from the government and aid agencies was another complaint.The reporter tacitly suggests that the walkers’ mindsets are to blame, and further suggests that their complaints of lack of support are unfounded.He shows how many of the walkers have, indeed, benefited from programmes such as the “One Cow per Poor Family” program. Local government officials also spoke of upcoming job-creating projects.Though the reporter rightly draws our attention to the programmes currently targeting the population, it is unfair to suggest that they are wrong to think the way that they do. What I see here is a group of vulnerable people doing everything they can to survive. While it is true that some have received cows or other benefits from local projects, it is clear to me that these projects have sometimes not had their intended impact of improving the lives and lifestyles of the beneficiaries. If the programmes had worked as intended, why are the beneficiaries still begging for odd jobs?There is a difference between intending to support a vulnerable population through a programme, and actually supporting them. If our programmes have no real impact on the beneficiaries’ lives, can we really claim to be supporting them?In other words, even though these government and NGO programmes exist, the idea that this woman “has no support” is not entirely wrong.Indeed, the “walkers” have a government and an NGO sector who are attempting to support them, but that does not necessarily mean that they are being supported. Though I applaud our government officials and aid agencies for all of their hard work and dedication, perhaps this woman’s story is further evidence that we still have a long way to go before our goals of supporting the vulnerable are met.Thank you.Russell Owen, RwandaReaction to the story, “At 70, Nyinawintwari competes for odd jobs”, (The New Times, May 6)

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Eradicating poverty is possible, but there are still many miles to walk