4 steps to ending extreme poverty | Shameran Abed

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Amanda Zhu

We are witness to monumental human progress.

我們見證了人類歷史上進步的里程碑。

Over the past few decades, the expansion of the global marketplace

在過去數十年間，全球市場的擴張

has lifted a third of the world's population out of extreme poverty.

讓全世界三分之一的人口 脫離了極度貧窮。

Yet we are also witness to an astounding failure.

但我們也見證了一個驚人的失敗。

Our efforts to lift people up

我們在努力協助的同時，

have left behind those in the harshest forms of poverty,

竟拋棄了那些身陷在 最貧窮艱困處境的人——

the ultra-poor.

極度貧窮者。

What it means to be ultra-poor goes beyond the monetary definition

極度貧窮的意思

已經超越了我們熟悉的金錢定義：

that we're all familiar with:

living on less than two dollars a day.

每天靠少於兩塊錢美金過日子。

It goes even beyond not having assets

它的定義也超越

沒有擁有任何牲畜或土地等資產。

like livestock or land.

To be ultra-poor means to be stripped of your dignity,

極度貧窮的意思是 被剝奪尊嚴、目的和自我價值。

purpose and self-worth.

It means living in isolation,

意思是孤獨生活，

because you're a burden to your own community.

因為你對於自己的社區而言是個擔子。

意思是無法想像你自己和家人

It means being unable to imagine a better future

for yourself and your family.

能有更好的未來。

By the end of 2019,

截至 2019 年年底，

about 400 million people were living in ultra-poverty worldwide.

全世界大約有四億人 過著極度貧窮的生活。

That's more than the populations of the United States and Canada combined.

這個數字超過了 美國加上加拿大的人口總數。

And when calamity strikes,

當災難降臨時，

whether it's a pandemic, a natural disaster or a manmade crisis,

不論是疾病大流行、天災或人為危機，

these numbers spike astronomically higher.

這些數字就會衝得更高。

My father, Fazle Abed, gave up a corporate career

我父親法茲勒阿貝德 放棄了在企業的職涯，

to establish BRAC here in Bangladesh in 1972.

於 1972 年在孟加拉成立了 孟加拉重整援助委員（ BRAC）。

Bangladesh was a wreck,

孟加拉當時是一團糟，

having just gone through a devastating cyclone

才剛度過了破壞力極大的暴風，

followed by a brutal war for independence.

接著又是殘酷的獨立戰爭。

Working with the poorest of the poor, my father realized

我父親和窮人中的窮人接觸之後，

that poverty was more than the lack of income and assets.

了解到貧窮不只是缺乏收入和資產。

It was also a lack of hope.

也是缺乏希望。

People were trapped in poverty,

這些人被困在貧窮中，

because they felt their condition was immutable.

因為他們覺得他們的狀況 是永遠不會改變的。

Poverty, to them, was like the sun and the moon --

對他們而言，貧窮就像太陽和月亮，

something given to them by God.

是神賦予他們的。

For poverty reduction programs to succeed,

要讓減貧計畫能夠成功，

they would need to instill hope and self-worth

會需要逐漸將希望 與自我價值灌輸給窮人，

so that, with a little support,

這麼一來，只要輕拉一把，

people could lift themselves out of poverty.

窮人就能夠靠自己脫離貧窮。

BRAC went on to pioneer the graduation approach,

BRAC 首先推出「從貧窮畢業計畫」，

a solution to ultra-poverty that addresses both income poverty

這是針對極度貧窮的解決方案，

同時解決低收入導致的貧窮， 以及希望的破產。

and the poverty of hope.

The approach works primarily with women,

這個方法的對象主要是女性，

because women are the most affected by ultra-poverty

因為女性受到極度貧窮的影響最大，

but also the ones most likely to pull themselves and their families

卻同時也是最有機會 讓她們自己與家人脫離貧窮的人。

out of it.

Over a two-year period,

在兩年的期間，

we essentially do four things.

我們基本上會做四件事。

One, we meet a woman's basic needs

一、我們會提供食物或現金給女性，

滿足她的基本需求，

by giving her food or cash,

ensuring the minimum to survive.

確保能達到生存的最低標準。

Two, we move her towards a decent livelihood

二、我們協助她們有正當的謀生能力。

by giving her an asset, like livestock,

做法是提供她資產，如家畜，

and training her to earn money from it.

並訓練她利用這些來賺錢。

Three, we train her to save, budget

三、我們訓練她存錢、做預算

and invest her new wealth.

並將她的存下的財富拿來做投資。

And four, we help to integrate her socially,

四、我們協助她融入社會。

first into groups of women like her

首先融入和她類似的女性團體，

and then into her community.

接著融入她的社區。

Each of these elements is key to the success of the others,

上述的每一點 都是其他各點成功的關鍵。

but the real magic is the hope and sense of possibility

但真正神奇的地方 在於她們在接受密切指導的過程中

the women develop through the close mentorship they receive.

所感受到的希望和可能性，

Let me tell you about Jorina.

讓我跟大家說說喬琳娜的故事。

Jorina was born in a remote village in northern Bangladesh.

喬琳娜出生在孟加拉北部的偏遠村落。

She never went to school,

她從來沒有上過學。

and at the age of 15, she was married off to an abusive husband.

十五歲時，她被嫁給 一個會施暴的丈夫。

He eventually abandoned her,

最終，他拋棄了她。

leaving her with no income

她沒有任何收入，還帶著兩個孩子，

and two children who were not in school and were severely malnourished.

孩子都沒去上學且嚴重營養不良。

With no one to turn to for help,

她求助無門，

she had no hope.

完全不抱希望。

Jorina joined BRAC's Graduation program in 2005.

喬琳娜在 2005 年加入了 BRAC「從貧窮畢業計畫」。

She received a dollar a week,

她每週能領一塊美金，

two cows,

另外也拿到兩頭牛，並接受企業訓練，

enterprise training

and a weekly visit from a mentor.

且指導員每週會拜訪她一次。

She began to build her assets,

她開始累積她的資產，

but most importantly,

但最重要的是，

she began to imagine a better future for herself and her children.

她開始為她自己及她的孩子 想像一個更好的未來。

If you were visit Jorina's village today,

如果今天你去造訪喬琳娜的村落，

you would find that she runs the largest general store in her area.

你會看到她在經營 該區域中最大的雜貨店。

She will proudly show you the land she bought

她會很驕傲地帶你去看她買下的土地

and the house she built.

及她建造的房子。

Since we began this program in 2002,

自從 2002 年我們 推出這個計畫之後，

two million Bangladeshi women

有兩百萬名孟加拉女子

have lifted themselves and their families out of ultra-poverty.

帶著她們自己及家人 脫離極度貧窮的處境。

That's almost nine million people.

共有近九百萬人受惠。

The program, which costs 500 dollars per household,

這個計畫的花費是每戶五百美金，

runs for only two years,

為期只有兩年，

but the impact goes well beyond that.

但影響力卻更為久遠。

Researchers at the London School of Economics found

倫敦經濟學院的研究者發現，

that even seven years after entering the program,

在加入計畫之後七年，

92 percent of participants had maintained or increased

92% 的參與者仍然維持或提升了

their income, assets and consumption.

她們的收入、資產和消費。

Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee,

埃絲特杜芙洛和阿比吉特巴納吉

the MIT economists who won the Nobel Prize last year,

是去年贏得諾貝爾獎的 兩位麻省理工學院經濟學家，

led multicountry evaluations

他們進行了多國的評估，

that identified graduation as one of the most effective ways

評定畢業方案是能夠打破 貧窮陷阱的最有效方法之一。

to break the poverty trap.

But my father wasn't content

我父親找到了對一些人 行得通的解決方案，

to have found a solution that worked for some people.

但他並不因此滿足。

He always wanted to know whether we were being ambitious enough

他一直想知道，

我們在規模上的野心是否夠大。

in terms of scale.

So when we achieved nationwide scale in Bangladesh,

所以當我們在孟加拉 做到全國規模時，

he wanted to know how we could scale it globally.

他想要知道我們如何 能將規模擴大到全球。

And that has to involve governments.

那就要涉及政府了。

Governments already dedicate billions of dollars

全球的政府已在減貧計畫上 投入了數十億美金，

on poverty reduction programs.

But so much of that money is wasted,

但那些錢大部分都浪費掉了，

because these programs either don't reach the poorest,

因為這些計畫若不是 無法接觸到最貧窮的人，

and even the ones that do fail to have significant long-term impact.

就是接觸到卻無法產生 顯著的長期影響。

We are working to engage governments

我們正在努力結合各國政府，

to help them to adopt and scale graduation programs themselves,

協助他們自己採用 從貧窮畢業計畫並將規模擴大，

maximizing the impact of the billions of dollars

將他們已經提撥來 對抗極端貧窮的數十億美金

they already allocate to fight ultra-poverty.

發揮出最大效用。

Our plan is to help another 21 million people

我們的計畫是要協助 另外兩千一百萬人

lift themselves out of ultra-poverty

自己脫離極度貧窮，

in eight countries over the next six years

我們會在接下來六年 於八個國家中進行，

with BRAC teams on-site and embedded in each country.

BRAC 團隊會到各國的現場去協助。

In July of 2019, my father was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer

2019 年 7 月，

我父親被診斷出末期腦癌，

and given four months to live.

只剩下四個月可以活。

As he transitioned out of BRAC after leading the organization for 47 years,

他領導了 BRAC 四十七年， 當他要離開這個組織時，

he reminded us that throughout his life,

他提醒我們，在他一生中，

he saw optimism triumph over despair,

他見過樂觀擊敗絕望，

that when you light the spark of self-belief in people,

當你點燃了人們心中的自信火花，

even the poorest can transform their lives.

就算是最貧窮的人 也可能轉變他們的生活。

My father passed away in December.

我父親在十二月過世。

He lit that spark for millions of people,

他點燃了數百萬人心中的火花，

and in the final days of his life,

在他人生最後的日子裡，

he implored us to continue to do so for millions more.

他懇求我們持續努力， 再去協助幾百萬人。

This opportunity is ours for the taking,

這個機會在等著我們去抓住，

so let's stop imagining a world without ultra-poverty

所以我們別再想像 一個沒有極度貧窮的世界了，

and start building that world together.

開始一起動手建造這個世界吧。

Thank you.

謝謝。