"In the end, goodness triumphs over the bad. It is our challenge to do good and to serve others without waiting for the good to be returned. I'm convinced that those people who cultivate universal love will have good fortune on earth. In serving others, I have found light in a place of utmost darkness."
- Honorata in The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz
There are a few books that you are not satisfied merely reading. These books touch you so deeply that you end up with a profound need to share them with others. The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz is one of those books. So although I had read this book once before for a book club, I felt the need to re-read (and then donate) it for my Better World Books August book drive so that another could find the inspiration in it that I did.
The blue sweater that gave this book its title was a gift to the author from her uncle. She cherished this sweater for many years and then donated it. It was not until several years later when she spotted her sweater, the sweater she had donated in Virginia, being worn by a young boy in Rwanda that she realized how interconnected we all are.
Jacqueline Novogratz ended up leaving a position with Chase Manhattan Bank to work in Africa with a non-profit organization specializing in microfinancing. She tells of the struggles of being seen as an insider and even resented by the very people she wanted to help. She learned through this experience to rethink her role. She was not to be a savior to these people. She was to be a partner, someone who would receive from the people and experiences as well as giving. There were obstacles along the way- the role of women there and the restrictions that placed on them as well as the uncertainty they felt with anything that would upset the status quo. Change was not welcome, especially by those who wanted to hold on to the past and traditions that held women in a subservient role. There was also corruption, dishonesty and a lack of accountability that had to be tackled before real change could be made. But change did come to the group through the successes these women had, including running a bakery and changes in Rwanda's Family Code.
This is not a tale of all happy endings though. For each victory, you will find tragedy and heartbreak. The genocide that left the country torn apart and 800,000 people murdered also tore apart the women of the bakery, who found themselves on different sides and in different roles of the violence. Death, whether through disease or violence, is also a common visitor on these pages. But hope is also present as is determination, both in the lenders and workers who travel to these lands and those who live there and unrelentingly strive for a better future. As we read of the various projects the Acumen Fund is involved in and the entrepreneurs whose imagination and determination know no bounds, we realize that we have not come to the end of the book, but the beginning of a story that will continue for many generations to come.
This book can be purchased at http://www.betterworldbooks.com/. I recommend you buy a couple of copies because once you read it, you will want to share it with others. And every book you purchase through them not only helps them fund library and literacy projects, it also ensures that a book will be given to someone in need. If you are interested in discussing this book and live in the Atlanta area, please check out the August 25th book club event put on by Better World Books and Atlanta for Acumen. You can find all the details here http://community.acumenfund.org/group/atlantaforacumen/forum/topics/join-us-the-blue-sweater-book-party-at-park-tavern-thursday-8-25
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