I recently returned from a mission trip to Nicaragua and was reminded again of something that has been on my mind a lot lately.  I quite simply can’t escape it.  Basically, it is the concept that in order to truly end the effects of extreme poverty, the entire context needs to be changed.

Working in some of the small, poor neighborhoods in Nicaragua, I was really struck again by the thought that nothing our group did would really change things.  I mean, we definitely helped some kids and some families.  But tomorrow morning, they will still wake up in their same context of poverty: terrible local economy, no good jobs, limited education, terrible infrastructure, etc.  No matter what good things people can do to help them in the short-term (which is still a vital need), it does not change the context.  Today, tomorrow, and twenty years from now they will still be living in poverty because their context is poverty.

So I keep coming back to this question: “What is the best thing that we can do to help those living in poverty?”

I believe the answer is this: Change the context.

We have to find ways to change the entire context if people are going to be put in the best position to succeed and not suffer.  This can be accomplished in a myriad of ways including establishing up-to-date infrastructure and communication abilities, focusing on assets and natural resources, maximizing the macro-economy, and several other things.  These things are not as tangible or immediate as short-term aid or some of the other popular forms of aid used today, but they are much more effective in the long-run.

Really, I think that it all comes down to this: Changing the context for people living in poverty is the best thing that we can do to help those living in poverty.