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The Poor Will Be Glad: Joining the Revolution to Lift the World Out of Poverty

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Earlier this year I read "When Helping Hurts" by Corbett & Fikkert which gave me answers to a lot of the questions I was asking about why help to the poor is so often ineffective. Now comes "The Poor Will Be Glad" which gives a lot of "how to" answers. The book is in three parts which I would characterize as "Why", "How" and "Participate". I recommend this book to anyone who is working in a church, a mission, a nonprofit charity, or in any way trying to help someone else out of poverty. In fact, I would consider it a must read for people in those situations.

I thought the third section was particularly helpful in giving an excellent understanding of why business as missions works. In the past we have separated the spiritual and secular, meaning ministry is different from relief or development. The third section of the book shows how the two must work hand in hand. In fact, the church is by far the most effective distribution system for lasting help to the poor. Nicely and clearly put together.

The Poor Will Be Glad is an incredible, nontechnical, overview of the current state of microfinance. If you want to read how MF got started pick up Yunus, but if you want to know whats happening now - read Greer. The authors do a tremendous job incorporating their faith throughout the text, and give great insight into how the church should be involved in MF.
Visually the book is stunning- full color photographs from the developing world are woven into nearly every page! This book deserves a place on your bookshelf but also could give your coffee table texts a run for their money!

A must read for anyone who is interested in microfinance.

I've often felt like the problem of poverty is an insurmountable challenge - something that without a doubt is huge issue in the world, but almost too large to do anything about individually. In many ways, "The Poor will be Glad" completely changed and challenged my thinking about global poverty. And beyond that, I finished the book and felt empowered to make a difference in the fight against poverty through supporting microfinance efforts.

While microfinance isn't the magic solution to all the problems of poverty, it's an incredibly powerful tool as Greer and Smith effectively explain in this book. Who says the poor aren't entrepreneurial? That they will, without fail, default on loans? Microfinance and the work of organizations like HOPE International - the one that Greer leads - are steadily changing those presuppositions.

Though it may sound like a book explaining the benefit, function, and details of microfinance wouldn't be an engaging read, I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn't the case with this book.

So have you thought about the poor today at all? I know for me, I woke up this morning in my warm bed with multiple layers of blankets. I pulled my vehicle out of my 2-car garage and headed to a local restaurant to meet with a friend to have a hot breakfast that I have the monies to pay for. ...and I'll eat lunch and dinner too along with probably a couple of snacks. It's cold outside so I turn up the heat in the house, and I put on a warm coat before heading outside. Well, you get the picture... That's a quick snapshot of my day, and to be honest, I didn't give too much thought to "the poor."

I just finished reading "The Poor Will Be Glad" - joining the Revolution to lift the World out of Poverty. It's a book that is well written and has some great photographs to help us visual people see a glimpse of another world other than the suburban USA that I live in. The book gives a clear explanation through the expertise of Peter Greer and Phil Smith of micro-finance. "Micro-finance" seems like a big word although starting with the prefix micro. This is not a economics book but a book of stories. Stories of real people, like you and me, just living in the poorest places in the world. It's the stories that makes this book a easy, and engaging book that explains how we as individuals, or we as the church can make a difference in the Revolution to lift the World out of poverty.

A must read book, and join the Revolution...the poor will be glad!

"First, do no harm" is a concept that should be equally applied to healing efforts directed toward poverty as to physical healing. "The Poor Will Be Glad" gives a practical discussion of why this has not always been so, especially within the realm of Christian poverty relief. The book should be read by all Christians who have a missions calling. It gives wise counsel about the need for balancing spiritual and physical efforts in sharing the Gospel. Additionally, it tells much about what kinds of poverty relief can be truly lasting and effective, and how providing such relief contributes to credibility in sharing the good news. "I want to give you help" is a very different vision from "I want to help you help yourself". The latter avoids the harm that often results from the former. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

This is an amazing book. The subtitle is "Joining the revolution to lift the world out of poverty," and the authors give great detail on how to do that.

And that is what is most exciting about this book. Often when we talk about poverty, illness, the lack of education and other issues plaguing so many in the 3rd World, our hands seem somewhat shackled, or we feel that this is not much we can do as individuals. Not so with this book. It's hands-on, and an in-depth look at how charitable giving can be used in more effective ways for those in need, remembering the adage that there is a significant difference between handing out fish for free and showing someone how to use bait and tackle.

And that difference is seen in micro-finance. Green and Smith look at the ways small businesses can flourish with the added injection of a little capital-and they do mean a little, loans from $50 to $1,000. They tell real stories, like a man who runs a small pharmacy who needed to close multiple times a day to run out a get more supplies because he had only enough money to buy a few things. With a small loan, he could buy more supplies for a cheaper price, cut down his traveling to once a week, and keep his store open for longer hours. He easily paid back his loan and expanded his business.

Green and Smith also focus on the spiritual impact these programs can have. These run the gamut from being explicit about faith in the weekly or bi-weekly repayment meetings in the community (community building is central to all micro-finance programs, Christian or not), to living out a faith through business practices and care. More often than not--and the authors greatly suggest this--micro-finance opportunities and others like them (like the nifty Rotating Savings and Credit Associations) rely on local churches to assist in being an active part of the community. This is another strong focus of the book, that local administrators of these programs are far better than a Westerner coming in with "American know-how" to solve problems that might not exist.

And the key to all of this is building relationships. By listening to local leaders, we can understand what the greatest need might be, where the greatest interest might lie, and how help can be offered, not in the form of handouts, but in assistance that leads to self-sufficiancy.

The authors list a number of places where individuals can help, either by providing capital for such loans to using their gifts and skills from their work lives, devoting about 100 pages in their book to Part III: Joining the Revolution.

A must read for anyone who desires to do something about alleviating poverty from a Christian perspective, and a great resource on the ins and outs of micro-finance for the everyday reader.

This is a great book and a timely read for the Christmas season. Greer and Smith powerfully combine economic insight with personal experience to make a strong case for microfinance. The authors acknowledge the limits of microfinance both in what it can and cannot achieve.

Nate

If you are interested in microfinance and want to learn more about how to help less fortunate people around the world, this is the book to read. It is easy to understand and has wonderful examples.

The authors Greer and Smith have done a masterful job of providing insight and depth in the area of micro finance. They cover the faith based subset of micro finance sensitively and objectively. The photos really add to the message and impact. It was refreshing to have a marketplace CEO and non profit CEO share wisdom from their unique vantage point. I have been around micro finance for 25 years and this is an important contribution.

Anyone who is interested in seeing poverty aleviated in our lifetime will want to read this book. It offers insight into both the technecial side of microfinance and the personal side. Using many stories to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of microfinance and other strategies for helping the poor, The Poor Will Be Glad unpacks what is possibly the most powerful tool of the 21st Century for truly offering the poor a path out of poverty. For Christians, Smith and Greer offer many helpful and thoughful insights for engaging the poor and addressing their most important need, to know Christ as their Savior.