Book Review: When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.
Poverty is the greatest plague that humanity has not managed to fully tackle. We all feel helpless and powerless, even hopeless in the presence of abject poverty, whether we are the poor trying to free ourselves from poverty or the non-poor trying to help.
The authors show that there is hope but that this hope requires a different understanding of what poverty is, it's causes and the solutions thereof.
Written primarily for upper middle class north Americans, I believe that anyone can find in it wonderful insights, especially those who are involved or want to be involved in poverty-alleviation.
Three extracts from the book :
1. Cultures around the world exhibit contrasting views of how time operates. The monochronic view sees time as a limited and valuable resource. Time can be lost or saved. Good stewardship of time means getting the most out of every minute. The favorite monochronic proverb is "Time is money."
2. A second perspective of time is the polychronic view. In this understanding time is somewhat unlimited resource. There is always more time. Schedules and plans are mere guidelines that have little authority in shaping how one spends one's day.
3. A helpful first step in thinking about working with the poor in any context is to discern whether the situation calls for relief, rehabilitation, or development. In fact, failure to distinguish among these situations is one of the most common reasons that poverty-alleviation efforts often do harm.
Recommended for reading and application.


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