The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World
Written and Narrated By: Jacqueline Novogratz
Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
Really good, and somehow she makes helping others seem possible?!
Lemme just fess up here and say that I thought I was going to haaaaate this, The Blue Sweater. Author Jacqueline Novogratz narrates this herself, and suffice it to say that: She sounds reeeeeally young. Couple that with her telling of The Blue Sweater—wherein she donated a favorite sweater of hers and found it a decade later, name on the label, on a little boy in Kigali, Rwanda (But see, when she sees the sweater, she doesn’t even think of how she’s terrorizing the little boy, she simply grabs at him and yanks the sweater up so she can take a look at the label… I mean, is that dehumanizing, or what?), and I was thinking that here goes! We’re in for hoooours of a naive git, who treads on those she’s there to “help”, and we’ll probably be getting a whole lot of self-congratulatory statements thrown in there too. When Novogratz relays how wrong her first jaunt into Africa went with her stomping her foot at some (Albeit truly) underhanded women, saying that she was there to help, whyyyyyyyy (Whiiiiiine!) are they mistreating her so? and I just added that as fuel to my increasingly disconsolate fire.
But then! The woman does NOT give up! She remains determined to use her education and her experience as a credit analyst to assist others, notably in Africa, Rwanda to start off. It’s there that she helped found Duterimbere, a Microfinance institution. And then! I looked the woman I’d been so unfair about up in Wikipedia and found that, not only is she NOT a young and naive git, she’s only a few years older than I am (And I assure you that I am nooo spring chicken!). This all shamed me into diving deeper into the book, and I found it to be equal measures charming, exasperating, anger-inducing, and awe-inspiring. Cuz with aaaaall that she’s done? At only a few years older than myself? Why, if you’re like I am, ya miiiiight feel a twinge of shame for sitting on your duff and listening to audiobooks all day long.
The good thing is that this appears to be a case of me just being a spastic, guilt-ridden dolt, as Novogratz doesn’t write to shame but rather to educate. Through her firsthand knowledge, we see how giving aid “for free” hurts more than it helps; how sending in aid only leads to local producers of goods being ignored; how setting up small but eminently sustainable businesses leads to greater productivity certainly, but also the sense that these owners/workers earned it and can have faith in their own work. Faith not easily gained as they’re used to being on the receiving end of charity that is never enough, charity that dries up when the good will is gone.
There are soooo many stories of some pretty incredible people, but the story that sticks with me is of The Blue Bakery in Kigali. Novogratz helps turns a small, snack-providing group of women into a hard-driving lot of women who get out there and promote themselves and their goods. They no longer stare at the ground when spoken to, but they laugh and are joyous and confident. So that makes it all the more heartbreaking, all the more nightmarish, to know that the setup of this bakery was before the Rwandan genocide. Novogratz, who wants desperately to go back to Rwanda when she sees what’s happening but is persuaded such thoughts are foolish and not helpful, goes back after the genocide to find a Rwanda, especially a Kigali, completely changed and unutterably filled with sorrow.
And that’s the strongest part of the book because we see that, despite all we say, despite all we espouse, it’s what we do that counts the most. Novogratz comes back to find her women friends, some who mourn the loss of partners, parents, children; some who stood by and let things happen and were judged for acts of omission. And even worse: One who actively took part in encouraging the murders that were taking place. Novogratz sees her friend, here in prison, but she also realizes she’s looking into the face of a monster. She doesn’t know what to make of it all. She just knows she’s unbearably sad, and she can’t come in a place of judgment.
Novogratz, though she’s quick to admit her own (Usually pretty humorous) errors, is not apt to cast harsh judgment on others. What I liked about her was that she was able to see herself for what she is: An outsider who has the luxury of going home, one who is NOT walking in someone else’s shoes so has not earned the blood right to doubt and to shame. Her friend Prudence, in jail for sins of omission during the genocide, Prudence who helped start The Blue Bakery, makes special note of her rapid-fire questions and judgments, and Novogratz makes the realization that her privilege does set her apart but should NOT have the power to weigh and assess or assume someone’s guilt. It’s something she vows to work on and, given her steady and dogged nature, I’ve no doubt she continues to address this with increasing infrequency.
The last part of the book deals with her as the founder of Acumen, a philanthropical enterprise which provides resources for the impoverished who show good business sense, or who are willing to try new and better ways (Water in India AND Pakistan—those two enemies whose farmers supported each other with education and firsthand knowledge of new technology/work devices to produce good-yield crops… does that sound good to anyone?). And at the end there, she goes into a rather lengthy list of how much better today’s worldwide problems of poverty can be addressed, all of which sound sensible and even inspiring.
People don’t want handouts. Welllllll, most people don’t. Mostly they simply want better lives for themselves and their families. And that dignity can be found in the ways of Novogratz just makes it all that much more appealing.
Good book with great stories, a lot of culture, and some truly memorable people.
Plus! Didja know: Jacqueline Novogratz is married to Chris Anderson, the founder and owner of TED Talks? Just a tidbit for ya there, but hey! If that guy thinks she’s okay, and I’m presuming that he thinks quite highly of her indeed, I’m just that much more impressed.
And I do feel rather sheepish about thinking I was going to haaaaate this…!
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