The doorbell rang incessantly. I rushed out, calling to Cheick, the neighborhood trash collector, to stop leaning on the bell. I don\u2019t know where Cheick lives\u2014likely in a small shack without running water, maybe a wire of electricity jerry-rigged from a nearby pole. He comes faithfully, often asking us for an advance on his monthly salary. I wonder if we may be his only reliable and regularly paying clients.<\/p>\n
A few hours later, my mechanic dropped off my car. I was reminded of our last conversation when he told me he does not read or write. Across the street lives Abdul, who sells vegetables from a half-built building. He\u2019s resourceful, kind, and keeps an eye on my house. To the left of our house is a small area with about five tents or shacks, where people live. Did I mention the daily pleas we get from neighbors or beggars asking for charity? Poverty surrounds me every day. It is tangible.<\/p>\n
For eleven years, I worked in a clinic in one of Nouakchott\u2019s poorest neighborhoods. We provided good medical care, yet I began to see that we were offering a revolving Band-Aid. People came with needs, and we offered help, even attempting sustainable efforts such as health education, but little changed in the long term. In my final years as director, I sought to change that narrative by coaching and empowering our local staff. They grew in confidence and skill, but the deeper poverty of our community remained untouched.<\/p>\n
These faces and stories are not just statistics to me; they mirror the reality faced by millions across Africa. Poverty is not just visible on my street corner; it is systemic. Across Africa, 67% of the world\u2019s population living in extreme poverty resides here,[1]<\/a> a figure projected to rise to 87% by 2030.[2]<\/a> While I discuss the issue of poverty, my primary focus will be on Africa. Nonetheless, the concepts and philosophies I present apply to any poverty context.<\/p>\n What is causing this increase in poverty? Jeff Myers argues in Understanding the Culture: A Survey of Social Engagement <\/em>that \u201cbad thinking about poverty has led to bad solutions.\u201d<\/em>[3]<\/a>\u00a0This is a claim that echoes my observations in numerous well-meaning projects. Myers encourages Christians to view those living in poverty as bearing the image of God and to help them flourish<\/em> and help others do the same.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert\u2019s book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and You<\/em>is a well-known resource for Christian development work. They address the root issue of poverty stemming from sin and broken relationships with God.[5]<\/sup><\/a> They identify the root of poverty as relational brokenness, first with God, then with others and with creation. In our human attempt to fix these broken relationships and resource disparities, the primary solution is to come and offer aid. How this is done is where great tension lies in addressing poverty.<\/p>\n Jeffrey Sachs is a leading economist who believes the solution to poverty lies in wealthy nations providing aid to developing nations. His solution is to focus on addressing issues of agriculture, healthcare, education, potable water and sanitation, and infrastructure.[6]<\/a> Sachs\u2019s model assumes that the root of poverty is structural and technical, solvable through financial input. Yet this approach risks treating people as problems to be managed rather than partners in transformation.<\/p>\n African economist Dambisa Moyo argues that aid from large international institutions has hindered the continent, entrenching corruption rather than promoting growth, as well-intentioned funds often line bureaucratic pockets instead of empowering people.[7]<\/a> New leadership would be a solution, but Moyo claims that good leaders do not want to deal with the bureaucratic corruption currently in leadership.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n Bryant Myers, in Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices for Transformational Development, <\/em>suggests that a holistic approach be used in poverty alleviation.[9]<\/a> Corbett and Fikkert take a similar approach: walking alongside those in poverty in a relationship, rather than doing it for them.[10]<\/a> N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird remind us that Christ confronted broken power structures not by domination but through self-giving love.[11]<\/a> \u00a0This is the model Christian leaders are invited to embody: presence over power, relationship over rescue.<\/p>\n Since leaving the clinic, I have been developing coaching and leadership initiatives that emphasize empowerment and personal growth, aiming to transition individuals from a state of dependency to one of dignity. I aspire to model collaborative leadership and help local leaders identify their own solutions.<\/p>\n Whatever philosophy we hold, the universal tension is turning people into projects. When that happens, dignity erodes and progress stalls. The poor are not a category to be fixed, but rather people with stories, worries, and gifts. If poverty\u2019s root lies in broken relationships, then transformation must begin in relationship\u2014with God and with one another. Who has become a project for you? And where might God be inviting you into a relationship instead?<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> \u201cPoverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024,\u201d World Bank, accessed November 6, 2025, https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/publication\/poverty-prosperity-and-planet.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Progress Godfrey, \u201cAfrica May Host 87% of World\u2019s Poorest Population by 2030– World Bank,\u201d Business Day<\/em>, December 5, 2024, https:\/\/businessday.ng\/news\/article\/africa-may-host-87-of-worlds-poorest-population-by-2030-world-bank\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Jeff Myers, Understanding the Culture: A Survey of Social Engagement<\/em> (David C. Cook, 2017), 766.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Myers, Understanding the Culture, <\/em>787.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself<\/em> (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2012), 58.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Jeffrey D. Sachs, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time<\/em> (The Penguin Press, 2005), 233-234.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Dambisa Moyo, \u201cDead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa,\u201d interview by Joanne Myers, April 2, 2009, https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/38091995.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Bryant L. Myers, Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development<\/em>, Rev. and updated ed (Orbis Books, 2011).<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Corbett and Fikkert, When Helping Hurts, <\/em>100.<\/p>\n
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