Helping without Hurting: Assets

Strengths,
Not Weaknesses

In our culture, when we think of poverty--whether across the world or close-by--we are conditioned to focus on what is lacking and broken. We come from a mindset that those in material poverty are fundamentally broken, with so many problems that they need us to fix.

There is another way. When Jesus healed people, he seemed to do it from the inside out. "Your faith has healed you," he would often say. He looked inside people and saw hope, goodness, and possibility.

An approach called "asset-based community development" (or ABCD) focused on the gifts and assets of people and communities amidst poverty, rather than the problems. The key to overcoming poverty, they argue, are developing these gifts.

An Asset-Based Approach

Asset-Based Community Development from The Chalmers Center on Vimeo.

"You Can't Build on Broken" - Angela Blanchard at TEDx

Angela Blanchard is recognized for her pioneering work in asset-based community development that focuses on the human, social and cultural strengths of vulnerable populations. Blanchard is the President and CEO of Houston-based Neighborhood Centers Inc., one of the top 1% of U.S.-based
charitable groups. Former HUD Assistant Secretary Roberta Achtenberg has praised Blanchard for her innovation in developing "a powerful transformational model" with important implications for community redevelopment efforts throughout the nation.

Key Principles

Everyone has gifts. We need to find and develop them. Everyone can contribute, and has part of the solution.
Relationships are important. We cannot help people and communities without knowing and loving them. Relationships are the basis of trust and community. Involve as many people as possible.

Avoid the "quick fix." Our cultural mindset can be biased toward pre-planned, efficient, fast approaches, but that is rarely the path to a sustainable solution to poverty.
Listen. Many charitable initiatives fail because they try to blindly impose outside experts' solutions. Ask questions, rather than giving answers. Really listen.

Motivation is key. Even good strategies will not go anywhere if participants don't feel motivation to act. Find out what people care about deeply. Discover their dreams.

ABCD in 3 Minutes - a Church Perspective

An ABCD Story

Stop Trying to Save the World

Big Ideas are Destroying International Development

It seemed like such a good idea at the time: A merry-go-round hooked up to a water pump. In rural sub-Saharan Africa, where children are plentiful but clean water is scarce, the PlayPump harnessed one to provide the other. Every time the kids spun around on the big colorful wheel, water filled an elevated tank a few yards away, providing fresh, clean water anyone in the village could use all day. PlayPump International, the NGO that came up with the idea and developed the technology, seemed to have thought of everything....