Fort Report: Two Pathways
On the outskirts of a large city in Central America, there is a small bakery run and owned by a group of women. The bakery has little ventilation; its temperature probably nears 100 degrees. But the women work with a happy determination making tortillas and donuts.
This area is called Dos Caminos (two paths). Tin-roofed houses and shops in pastel colors line the dusty streets. Open drainage trenches run a few feet from the doors. The people inside work in the dim light. Others linger in the streets under patches of shade. The area is infested with organized crime and gang violence - it has the highest murder rate in the world. Three weeks ago, the husband of one of the women in the bakery was killed. A type of functioning poverty governs the barrio, making change difficult.
But the women who run the bakery are participating in a new development project. Working with the international aid organization Care in a joint initiative with Cargill, a multi-national agricultural corporation, the women were given a chance to succeed with start-up equipment and training. They come from depressed social conditions with little hope of more than subsistence. But each made a decision to embrace a new way of thinking, breaking from the pathway of poverty and hopelessness onto the pathway of commitment and success. After four years, the bakery is expanding and they aspire to go national. Beyond the income, by joining their labor to this innovative development program, each of the women has been able to provide better education for themselves and their children.
Through inclusive capitalism and creative intervention, new models of international development and poverty fighting are maturing. Market based systems and technical assistance are creating the opportunity for persons to move into sustainable conditions. It takes patience and persistence, but it is working.
Why is this important for America, especially when we have so many societal problems of our own? First, America continues to be the most generous nation in the world. Our values and conscience will not let us sit idly by while other people suffer under incredible hardships and die. Second, we benefit economically when there is fair and smart exchange with other countries. Third, our nation's national security is tied to international stability. Broadly shared opportunity fights off social decline and resists twisted forms of nationalism that can lead to belligerent behavior and cultural discord. International partners also help build mutual security arrangements.
Decreasing the pressure for economic migration is another important outcome of responsible development policy. All people deserve the dignity of meaningful work, basic safety, and the chance to live within healthy families and communities. When people have jobs, a secure environment, and flourishing families, they are less likely to seek radical changes in their circumstances. This has implications for restoring order in immigration policy.
I assume these larger goals are not the primary considerations for the women who own their bakery. They just want a better life for their children. Their efforts show that even in the midst of deep impoverishment and violence good can happen. The young woman who led the group exuded confidence and gratitude. I could see her pride in the work of her hands - and the new enterprise which has put her on a meaningful pathway. We live in an anxious age. In the midst of so much uncertainty and turmoil in the world, I thought you may like to know of a development program that works, lifting people out of poverty by their own commitment and restoring hope for a better future for themselves and their children.
