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The polarization in politics has led to increasing negative scrutiny on poverty and the poor. A recent poll by NPR/Harvard Kennedy School suggested that a majority of Americans believes a lack of motivation prevents people from lifting themselves out of poverty. Other research suggests that Americans believe the poor just don’t work hard enough to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Far too often, the poor are seen as “them,” although Time magazine suggests that 75% of Americans between the ages of 20 and 75 will spend at least one year in poverty.
This perception of the poor similarly translates into our perception of not-for-profit or charity beneficiaries. In the modern philanthropic paradigm, the donor is the altruistic giver while the beneficiary is the receiver needing to be fixed.
These perceptions are challenged by my Islamic faith. I recently took a trip to observe the work of Indianapolis-based not-for-profit ObatHelpers, which works with stateless people in Bangladesh.
Islam considers charity a way to purify one’s wealth and strengthen one’s relationship with God. In many ways, charity is a way to fix oneself. The beneficiary of charity is aiding the donor in the donor’s spiritual journey for purification. Imagine if there were no poor to help donors in this journey? The poor are seen as close to God by virtue of their circumstance. It is no surprise that many prophets have focused their attention on serving the poor. In Islamic theology, the poor are described as having the “upper hand” and donors the “lower hand.”
These perceptions were challenged during my recent trip to Bangladesh to observe ObatHelpers’ work helping Bihari people. ObatHelpers has been helping people living in camps since 1971. Multiple generations live in one-room “homes.”
These people live in desperate circumstances. Shared communal bathrooms maintained by ObatHelpers and water from communal wells provided by ObatHelpers make lives marginally better. But I was struck that, at each home I visited, residents didn’t ask for anything. Instead, they offered me the little water and food at their disposal. They always offered me their prayers.
We learned how these people found ways to help one another. They sought to practice philanthropy with the little resources they had to uplift people around them. They did not seem like beneficiaries but generous philanthropists.
I was also impressed by the entrepreneurialism and resourcefulness of these amazing people. They work extraordinarily hard regardless of the meager income they receive. Many women work 10-12 hours a day to earn a few dollars to support their families.
I was also struck by the visionary young people who have formed an ObatHelpers think tank. Members of the youth group decided they did not want to rely on overseas funding and wanted instead to find ways to solve problems themselves. These young people go from home to home to learn how they can help and then design solutions (with their meager resources) as best they can.
ObatHelpers was so impressed with their thinking and programs that it has given them responsibility for the “families in need” cash assistance program. The positive impact of this decision was evident. These young people had deep knowledge of each beneficiary family, went beyond the cash assistance to help each family and demonstrated high levels of ethical norms to ensure the most needy received the funds.
ObatHelpers and Islamic notions of poverty suggest we need to rethink the way we view beneficiaries and the poor. Beneficiaries can help not-for-profits better serve their mission, and the poor can help donors in their life journey.•
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Siddiqui is assistant professor and director of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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