Jacqueline Novogratz on an escape from poverty

Translator: Amantia Gjikondi Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

I've been working on issues of poverty for more than 20 years,

Une kam punuar ne ceshtjet e varferise per me shume se 20 vjet,

and so it's ironic that the problem that and question that I most grapple with

dhe eshte ironike qe problemi dhe pyetja me te cilen ballafaqohem me teper

is how you actually define poverty. What does it mean?

eshte sesi ju me te vertete e perkufizoni varferine. Cfare nenkupton ajo?

So often, we look at dollar terms --

Keshtu shpesh, ne e shohim termat e dollarit --

people making less than a dollar or two or three a day.

njerez qe bejne me pak se nje, dy apo tre dollare ne dite.

And yet the complexity of poverty really has to look at

Dhe ende kompleksiteti i varferise me te vertete duhet te shohi tek

income as only one variable.

te ardhurat si vetem e vetem nje ndryshim.

Because really, it's a condition about choice,

Sepse me te vertete, eshte nje gjendje ne lidhje me zgjedhjet

and the lack of freedom.

dhe mungeses se lirise.

And I had an experience that really deepened and elucidated for me

Dhe kam patur nje pervoje qe me te vertete thelloi dhe sqaroi per mua

the understanding that I have.

njohurite qe une kam.

It was in Kenya, and I want to share it with you.

Ajo ndodhi ne Kenia, dhe dua ta ndaj ate me ju.

I was with my friend Susan Meiselas, the photographer,

Une isha me miken time fotografe, Susan Meiselas,

in the Mathare Valley slums.

ne lagjet e varfera te Mathare Valley.

Now, Mathare Valley is one of the oldest slums in Africa.

Tashme, Mathare Valley eshte nje nder lagjet me te vjetra ne Afrike.

It's about three miles out of Nairobi,

Kjo eshte rreth tre milje nga Nairobi,

and it's a mile long and about two-tenths of a mile wide,

nje milje e gjate dhe rreth dy te dhjetat milje e gjere

where over half a million people

ku mbi gjysem milion e njerezve

live crammed in these little tin shacks,

jetojne te mbipopulluar ne keto kasolle te vogla teneqeje,

generation after generation, renting them,

brez pas brezi, duke i marre me qera,

often eight or 10 people to a room.

shpesh tete ose dhjete njerez ne dhome.

And it's known for prostitution, violence, drugs:

Dhe eshte e njohur per prostitucionin, dhunen, drogen.

a hard place to grow up.

Nje vend i veshtire qe te rritesh.

And when we were walking through the narrow alleys,

Dhe kur ne po ecnim ne rrugicat e ngushta,

it was literally impossible not to step in the

ishte vertet e pamundur te mos shkelje ne

raw sewage and the garbage alongside the little homes.

ujerat e zeza dhe ne mbeturinat anash shtepive te vogla.

But at the same time it was also

Por ne te njejten kohe ishte gjithashtu

impossible not to see the human vitality,

e pamundur per te mos pare vitalitetin njerezor,

the aspiration and the ambition of the people who live there:

aspiratat dhe ambicien e njerezve qe jetojne atje.

women washing their babies, washing their clothes, hanging them out to dry.

Grate qe lajne femijet, qe lajne rrobat e tyre, e qe i varin ato jashte per ti thare.

I met this woman, Mama Rose,

Une e takova kete gruan, Mama Rose,

who has rented that little tin shack for 32 years,

e cila ka marre me qera ate kasolle te vogel teneqeje per 32 vjet,

where she lives with her seven children.

e ku jeton me shtate femijet e saj.

Four sleep in one twin bed,

Kater prej te cileve flene ne nje krevat tek,

and three sleep on the mud and linoleum floor.

dhe tre flene ne balte dhe dysheme linoleumi.

And she keeps them all in school by selling water from that kiosk,

Dhe ajo i mban te gjithe ne shkolle duke shitur uje nga nje kioske,

and from selling soap and bread from the little store inside.

dhe duke shitur sapun dhe buke nga nje dyqan i vogel.

It was also the day after the inauguration,

Ishte gjithashtu nje dite pas zgjedhjeve presidenciale,

and I was reminded how Mathare is still connected to the globe.

dhe me beri te kujtoj sesi Mathare eshte ende e lidhur me globin.

And I would see kids on the street corners,

Dhe une do te shihja femije ne qoshet e rrugeve,

and they'd say "Obama, he's our brother!"

dhe ato do te thone "Obama, ai eshte vellai jone!"

And I'd say "Well, Obama's my brother, so that makes you my brother too."

Dhe une do te them "Obama eshte vellai im, keshtu qe kjo te ben edhe ty vellain tim."

And they would look quizzically, and then be like, "High five!"

Ato do te te shohin cuditshem, dhe me pas do te thone, "Qepalla!"

And it was here that I met Jane.

Dhe ishte pikerisht ky momenti qe takova Xhejn.

I was struck immediately by the kindness and the gentleness in her face,

Me beri pershtypje menjehere miresia dhe butesia e fytyres se saj,

and I asked her to tell me her story.

dhe i kerkova te me tregonte historine e saj.

She started off by telling me her dream. She said, "I had two.

Ajo filloi duke me thene endrren e saj. Ajo tha, "Une kisha dy".

My first dream was to be a doctor,

Endrra ime e pare ishte te behesha mjeke,

and the second was to marry a good man

dhe e dyta te martohesha me nje njeri te mire

who would stay with me and my family,

qe do te qendronte me mua dhe familjen time.

because my mother was a single mom,

Per shkak sepse mamaja ime ishte beqare,

and couldn't afford to pay for school fees.

dhe nuk mundi te perballonte pagesat per taksat e shkolles.

So I had to give up the first dream, and I focused on the second."

Keshtu qe mu desh qe te hiqja dore nga endrra e pare, dhe u fokusova tek e dyta."

She got married when she was 18, had a baby right away.

Ajo u martua kur ishte vetem 18, dhe lindi menjehere femije.

And when she turned 20, found herself pregnant with a second child,

Dhe kur beri 20, e gjeti veten shtatzene me nje femije te dyte,

her mom died and her husband left her -- married another woman.

mamaja e saj vdiq dhe i shoqi e la ate -- duke u martuar me nje femer tjeter.

So she was again in Mathare, with no income, no skill set, no money.

Pra, ajo ishte perseri ne Mathare, pa te ardhura, pa nje profesion, pa para.

And so she ultimately turned to prostitution.

Dhe keshtu ajo u kthye ne prostitute.

It wasn't organized in the way we often think of it.

Nuk ishte ashtu sic e mendojme ne.

She would go into the city at night with about 20 girls,

Ajo shkonte ne qytet gjate nates me rreth 20 vajza,

look for work, and sometimes come back with a few shillings,

duke kerkuar pune, dhe ndonjehere kthehej me ca para

or sometimes with nothing.

ose ndonjehere pa gje.

And she said, "You know, the poverty wasn't so bad. It was the humiliation

Ajo tha, "E dini cfare, varferia nuk ishte dhe aq e keqe. Por, ishte poshterimi

and the embarrassment of it all."

dhe sikleti i gjithe kesaj."

In 2001, her life changed.

Ne 2001, jeta e saj ndryshoi.

She had a girlfriend who had heard about this organization, Jamii Bora,

Ajo kishte nje miken e saj, qe kish degjuar per organizaten, Jamii Bora,

that would lend money to people no matter how poor you were,

qe u jepte para hua njerezve pavaresisht sa te varfer ishin,

as long as you provided a commensurate amount in savings.

me kusht që te kishin siguruar nje shume proporcionale ne kursime.

And so she spent a year to save 50 dollars,

Dhe keshtu ajo u mundua nje vit per te ruajtur 50 dollare,

and started borrowing, and over time she was able to buy a sewing machine.

dhe filloi te merrte borxh, dhe me kalimin e kohes ajo arriti te blinte nje makine qepese.

She started tailoring.

Ajo filloi te qepte.

And that turned into what she does now,

Dhe kjo e shnderroi ne ate qe eshte tani,

which is to go into the secondhand clothing markets,

ajo shkon ne tregjet e dores se dyte,

and for about three dollars and 25 cents she buys an old ball gown.

dhe per rreth tre dollar e 25 cent ajo blen nje fustan te vjeter mbremje.

Some of them might be ones you gave.

Disa prej tyre mund te jene ato qe keni dhene ju.

And she repurposes them with frills and ribbons,

Dhe i ndryshon modelin me rrudha dhe shirita,

and makes these frothy confections that she sells to women

dhe i ben keto rroba te gatshme qe ja shet grave

for their daughter's Sweet 16 or first Holy Communion --

per vajzat e tyre per 16 vjetorin ose per Kungaten e pare --

those milestones in a life that people want to celebrate

ato momente historike ku njerezit duan te festojne

all along the economic spectrum.

te gjithe se bashku pertej spektrit ekonomik.

And she does really good business. In fact, I watched her

Dhe ajo ben me te vertete nje biznes te mire. Ne te vertete, une e pashe ate

walk through the streets hawking. And before you knew it,

qe ecte rrugeve duke shitur. Dhe pa e kuptuar,

there was a crowd of women around her, buying these dresses.

nje turme grash u mblodh rreth saj, te blinte keto veshje.

And I reflected, as I was watching her sell the dresses,

Dhe une reflektova, nderkohe qe shihja ate duke shitur fustanet

and also the jewelry that she makes,

dhe gjithashtu bizhute qe ajo vete bente,

that now Jane makes more than four dollars a day.

qe tani Xhejn ben me shume se kater dollare ne dite.

And by many definitions she is no longer poor.

Dhe nga shume percaktime ajo nuk eshte me e varfer.

But she still lives in Mathare Valley.

Por ajo akoma jeton ne Mathare Valley.

And so she can't move out.

Ajo nuk mund te levize.

She lives with all of that insecurity,

Ajo jeton me gjithe ate pasiguri,

and in fact, in January, during the ethnic riots,

dhe ne te vertete, ne janar, pergjate trazirave etnike,

she was chased from her home and had to find a new shack

ajo ishte perzene nga shtepia e saj dhe i duhej te gjente nje kasolle te re

in which she would live.

ne te cilen ajo do te jetonte..

Jamii Bora understands that and understands

Jamii Bora e kupton ate. Dhe kupton gjithashtu

that when we're talking about poverty,

qe kur ne jemi duke folur rreth varferise

we've got to look at people all along the economic spectrum.

ne kemi marre parasysh te gjithe njerezit e niveleve te ndryshem ekonomik.

And so with patient capital from Acumen and other organizations,

Dhe keshtu me kapitalin e pacientit nga Acumen dhe organizatat e tjera,

loans and investments that will go the long term with them,

kredive dhe investimeve qe do te shkojne per nje afat te gjate me ta,

they built a low-cost housing development,

ato ndertuan strehime me kosto te ulet,

about an hour outside Nairobi central.

rreth nje ore jashte qendres se Nairobit.

And they designed it from the perspective of

Ata e projektuan ate nga prespektiva e

customers like Jane herself,

klienteve sic ishte Xhejn,

insisting on responsibility and accountability.

duke insistuar tek pergjegjesite dhe pergjegjshmerite.

So she has to give 10 percent of the mortgage --

Keshtu ajo kishte per te dhene 10 perqind te hipotekes --

of the total value, or about 400 dollars in savings.

te vleres se pergjithshme, ose rreth 400 dollar te kursimeve.

And then they match her mortgage to what she paid in rent for her little shanty.

Dhe me pas ato pershtatin hipoteken e saj per cfare ajo ka paguar per baraken e saj te vogel.

And in the next couple of weeks, she's going to be

Dhe ne javet e ardhshme, ajo do te jete

among the first 200 families to move into this development.

ndermjet 200 familjeve te para qe levizin drejt ketij strehimi.

When I asked her if she feared anything,

Kur e pyeta ate nese i trembej dickaje,

or whether she would miss anything from Mathare,

ose nese asaj i mungonte dicka nga Mathare,

she said, "What would I fear

ajo mu pergjigj, "Cfare mund te kem frike

that I haven't confronted already?

qe nuk e kam ballafaquar tashme?

I'm HIV positive. I've dealt with it all."

Une jam mbartese pozitive ndaj HIV. Une kam luftuar me te gjitha."

And she said, "What would I miss?

Dhe ajo tha, "Cfare mund te me mungoje?

You think I will miss the violence or the drugs? The lack of privacy?

Ju mendoni se do te me mungoje dhuna apo droga? Mungesa e intimitetit?

Do you think I'll miss not knowing if my children are going to come home

Ju mendoni se do te me mungoje meraku nese femijet e mi do te kthehen ne shtepi

at the end of the day?" She said "If you gave me 10 minutes

ne fundin e dites?" Ajo tha "Nese me jep 10 minuta

my bags would be packed."

cantat e mia do te paketohen."

I said, "Well what about your dreams?"

Une e pyeta, "Po rreth endrrave te tua?"

And she said, "Well, you know,

dhe ajo mu pergjigj, "Epo ju e dini,

my dreams don't look exactly like I thought they would when I was a little girl.

qe endrrat e mia nuk duken me ashtu sic ishin kur isha e vogel.

But if I think about it, I thought I wanted a husband,

Por nese e mendoj tani, une mendoja se doja te kisha nje burre,

but what I really wanted was a family

por ajo qe doja ne te vertete ishte nje familje

that was loving. And I fiercely love my children, and they love me back."

qe te kishte dashuri. Dhe une i dua femijet e mi me tere forcen time, dhe ato me duan gjithashtu."

She said, "I thought that I wanted to be a doctor,

Ajo tha, "Une mendoja se doja te behesha mjeke,

but what I really wanted to be was somebody

por ajo cka ne te vertete une doja ishte te isha dikush

who served and healed and cured.

qe do i sherbente, qetesonte dhe sheronte njerezit.

And so I feel so blessed with everything that I have,

Keshtu qe une ndihem e bekuar me cdo gje qe kam,

that two days a week I go and I counsel HIV patients.

dhe qe 2 here ne jave une shkoj dhe keshilloj pacientet HIV mbartes.

And I say, 'Look at me. You are not dead.

Dhe i them, "Me shikoni mua. Ju nuk jeni te vdekur.

You are still alive. And if you are still alive you have to serve.'"

Ju jeni akoma gjalle. Nese ju jeni akoma gjalle ju duhet te sherbeni."

And she said, "I'm not a doctor who gives out pills.

Dhe ajo vazhdoi, "Une nuk jam nje mjeke qe jep ilace.

But maybe me, I give out something better

Por ndoshta une, jap dicka me te mire

because I give them hope."

sepse i jap shprese."

And in the middle of this economic crisis,

Dhe ne mes te kesaj krize ekonimike,

where so many of us are inclined to pull in

ku shume prej nesh jane prirur per te terhequr

with fear, I think we're well suited to

friken, une mendoj qe ne jemi te mirepershtatur

take a cue from Jane and reach out,

per te marre nje sinjal nga Xhejn dhe te arrijme

recognizing that being poor doesn't mean being ordinary.

te kuptojme qe te qenit i varfer nuk do te thote te jesh i rendomte.

Because when systems are broken,

Sepse kur sistemet nuk funksionojne,

like the ones that we're seeing around the world,

si ato te cilat jemi duke pare rreth botes,

it's an opportunity for invention and for innovation.

eshte nje mundesi me teper per shpikje dhe per risi.

It's an opportunity to truly build a world

Eshte nje mundesi e vertete per te ndertuar nje bote

where we can extend services and products

ku ne mund te perhapim sherbimet dhe produktet

to all human beings, so that they can

tek te gjithe qeniet njerezore, ne menyre qe ato te mund

make decisions and choices for themselves.

te marrin vendime dhe te bejne zgjedhje per veten e tyre.

I truly believe it's where dignity starts.

Une sinqerisht besoj qe kjo eshte rruga ne te cilen dinjiteti fillon.

We owe it to the Janes of the world.

Ne ja kushtojme kete Xhejnit dhe botes se saj.

And just as important, we owe it to ourselves.

Dhe eshte po aq e rendesishme, t'ja kushtojme kete vetes tone.

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)