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I recently finished reading “Three Cups Of Tea”, the inspiring story of Greg Mortenson a man who traveled to Pakistan where he attempted to climb K2. His failure and the subsequent events which lead him to the small village of Korphe and the direction of his life is changed for ever.

The book is written by Mortenson himself and David Oliver Relin. Its pages are filled with interesting characters and a variety of dramas. There is a very strong focus on the people in Pakistan and Afghanistan that helped Mortenson to achieve so much.

One reoccurring theme is the idea that by providing a balanced education to children they are less likely to end up involved in the extremist maddrassas that are known as a breeding ground for terrorists. “Books not Bombs” is one way of putting it.

You get a real sense that the heavy involvement of the local people in the projects is a huge part of the success. They have a great knowledge of the needs of their own community and also of the problems likely to be faced which may be paticular to their culture or location.

The book is very thought provoking. I found that I become more aware of the importance of respecting culture as much as possible when trying to help communities. This can be very tricky, there is a tendency for people to think that just because they have stronger economies and better health that everything is better. It seems important to find ways to help people to change the things they want to change, this is where the development of relationships with the community are very important.

Obviously not all of us are going to go and live in poor communities to better understand their needs, however what we can do is look for charities that have people who do this kind of thing and respect local culture and traditions while bringing in changes for the better.

Here’s a cool talk I found on Ted.com from 2005 where Bono speaks about aid in Africa. He speaks in a very passionate and engaging way. Perhaps my favourite line is when he speaks of the terrible problems in Africa saying “it’s not a cause, it’s an emergency”.

Imagine a TV show based on reducing poverty in the developing world. People need to see the problems others are facing (some news channels do a good job of this) but perhaps even more important is that people see that something can be done about it.

I find it quite amazing that there isn’t a TV show about reducing poverty. Perhaps there is in other countries but New Zealand certainly doesn’t seem to have anything like this. There are a few advertising campaigns and a few depressing documentaries but very little focused on action and progress. Imagine a weekly show that includes stories at the personal, community and national level with a balance of information between what is going well and what will work better in future.

A while ago when watching “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”, I thought this is kind of cool but what if they helped the people in greatest need? Probably going for a more reasonable quality of life rather than trying to give them the lifestyle of millionaires.  This could be called “Extreme Makeover: Village Edition”.

Is there already a TV show about reducing poverty in your country? Do you think this is a good idea? Let me know in the comments.

Bono is the leader singer of the band U2 and is highly involved with supporting and promoting charity.

In Jeffrey Sachs’ book “The End Of Poverty” Bono refers to the fifteen thousand Africans the day of diseases that are either preventable or treatable, diseases like AIDS, malaria and TB.

“This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea that many of us hold onto tightly: the idea of equality. What is happening in Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concern, and questions our commitment to the whole concept. Because if we’re honest, there’s no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not in North America, or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames? Deep down, if we really accept that their lives - African lives - are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It’s an uncomfortable truth.”

This is so well said, most people place a high value on equality or at least they say they do … they might even think they do but the evidence we see in the world just doesn’t add up. If everyone truly cared surely we’d be doing more to help them.

For a long time I didn’t really give much thought to helping people in poverty. I would briefly consider it after seeing world vision ads on TV but usually banished the thoughts to the back of my mind with excuses like “I don’t even know if my money will get to them”. Over time, through friends (thanks Susie) and reading I have learned more about poverty. Becoming more aware of what is happening has caused me to feel a great deal more empathy for needy people. There is still much more for me to learn but I have realized that it’s important to help in the best way I know how. So I have begun contributing and continue to learn.

I’ve only just started reading it but “The End Of Poverty” looks to be a very interesting read. It claims to show how we can end poverty by 2025. If you would like to buy this book use the link below and 4% of your purchases value will go to charity.