The blue sweater : bridging the gap between rich and poor in an interconnected world / Jacqueline Novogratz.
Publisher: New York, NY : Rodale, 2009Description: 306 p. 22 cm001: 15049ISBN: 9781605294766Subject(s): Poverty | Capitalism | ConsumptionDDC classification: 339.4Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
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Book | MAIN LIBRARY Book | 339.4 NOV (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 096394 |
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Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession-until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside. That the sweater had made its trek all the way to Rwanda was ample evidence, she thought, of how we are all connected, how our actions-and inaction-touch people every day across the globe, people we may never know or meet. From her first stumbling efforts as a young idealist venturing forth in Africa to the creation of the trailblazing organization she runs today, Novogratz tells gripping stories with unforgettable characters-women dancing in a Nairobi slum, unwed mothers starting a bakery, courageous survivors of the Rwandan genocide, entrepreneurs building services for the poor against impossible odds. She shows, in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking, how traditional charity often fails, but how a new form of philanthropic investing called "patient capital" can help make people self-sufficient and can change millions of lives. More than just an autobiography or a how-to guide to addressing poverty, The Blue Sweater is a call to action that challenges us to grant dignity to the poor and to rethink our engagement with the world.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Prologue (p. xi)
- 1 Innocent Abroad (p. 1)
- 2 A Bird on the Outside, a Tiger Within (p. 20)
- 3 Context Matters (p. 36)
- 4 Basket Economics and Political Realities (p. 54)
- 5 The Blue Bakery (p. 72)
- 6 Dancing in the Dark (p. 89)
- 7 Traveling without a Road Map (p. 106)
- 8 A New Learning Curve (p. 126)
- 9 Blue Paint on the Road (p. 146)
- 10 Retribution and Resurrection (p. 165)
- 11 The Cost of Silence (p. 181)
- 12 Institutions Matter (p. 198)
- 13 The Education of a Patient Capitalist (p. 213)
- 14 Building Brick by Brick (p. 235)
- 15 Taking it to Scale (p. 255)
- 16 The World We Dream, the Future We Create Together (p. 272)
- Acknowledgments (p. 285)
- Reader's Guide (p. 289)
- Suggested Reading (p. 293)
- Index (p. 299)
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Novogratz (founder, CEO, Acumen Fund) presents an insider's view of charitable foundations and microfinance institutions, including her own venture capital firm for the poor. Her greatest critique of philanthropic efforts is that despite their best intentions, they often focus more on making donors feel good than on actually doing good for those in need. So it's ironic that she wraps a somewhat extraneous memoir around her extremely valuable advice to charitable organizations, especially those combating poverty. Philanthropies, she says, should focus on bringing the poor into the global economic system in a sustainable way. Novogratz is most effective when examining the organizations and people with whom she works, but occasionally her book suffers from the problem she claims plagues some philanthropic efforts-she focuses on her quest to "find herself," with the people in need the supporting characters. That being said, the book valuably highlights the importance of accountability in charity and of social responsibility in business. Recommended for academic libraries with programs in social work, international relations, and business.-Veronica Arellano, Univ. of Houston Libs., TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Publishers Weekly Review
Novogratz combined her twin passions for banking and philanthropy after she left a lucrative corporate banking position to work with women's groups in micro-finance, the pioneering banking strategy that won Muhammad Yunus a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Her work merging market systems with development and social empowerment led her to create the Acumen Fund for entrepreneurs in developing nations, which she describes as "the opposite of old-fashioned charity." Novogratz also focuses on her own developmental path as she charts her evolving views of capitalism and how she will "change the world." Unfortunately, she stumbles when she strays into biographical territory, relying on cliches to bolster her professional decisions through a personal lens. The book is most interesting when it touches on the difficult decisions that Novogratz and her team must make about financial empowerment-should they charge interest on loans to poor women? can working women find acceptance in a patriarchal society?-but these dilemmas are facilely glossed, keeping the book in an uncomfortable limbo between a personal narrative and a primer on globalization. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reservedBooklist Review
Acumen Fund founder Novogratz blends two narratives in this memoir about her years fighting global poverty. In one thread, she recounts her early experiences in Africa developing microfinance organizations to assist women. Many of her reminiscences focus on relationships with the local women in government who were key to her success as well as the personal trials she encountered matching her Western vision with their ideas about the future. She also writes about later work in India and Pakistan. The other thread focuses on her return to Rwanda after the genocide. Although her inside view of global poverty initiatives and politics at the most basic level makes for interesting reading, her personal story intrudes in a manner that some readers may find self-serving. Her reflections on the genocide also detract from the economic discussion in India and Pakistan, rendering the book more Rwanda-centric (and thus more political) than she may have intended. In the end, Novogratz does provide enough information on microfinance to make readers curious to learn more.--Mondor, Colleen Copyright 2009 BooklistKirkus Book Review
How a lifelong philanthropist aided some of the world's poverty-stricken populations with a shrewd economic plan. In 2001, the author founded a nonprofit venture-capital firm aimed at reinvesting charitable funding via focused entrepreneurial endeavors. The Acumen Fund's successes include the development of clean water and irrigation systems in India and a bedding-net manufacturer in Africa. She's aspired to change the world since she was young, writes Novogratz, who assembles engaging and insightful stories about her journey toward effective philanthropy. Traveling in Africa in her 20s, she saw a boy wearing a cherished blue wool sweater she had donated to Goodwill 11 years earlier; this example of life's interconnectedness energized her efforts to help those less fortunate. After graduating from college, the author went to work for Chase Manhattan, flying around the world to analyze the bank's portfolios in troubled economies. Her employers didn't share her belief that loans to the poor might actually be better risks than the bad commercial debts they were writing down, so she moved to a Bangladeshi bank that was pioneering the field of microfinancing. (It later won a Nobel Peace Prize.) Novogratz wasn't always greeted with open arms. In West Africa, a local woman explained her hostility: "The North comes to the South and sends a young white girl without asking us what we want, without seeing if we already have the skills we need." Learning from this reception, Novogratz subsequently rallied Rwandan women around the idea of microcredit by persuading them that it connected with their dreams of owning a bakery, bookstore or restaurant. She personally witnessed the Rwandan genocide and the demise of several businesses she'd helped establish, but persisted in her mission, acquiring additional valuable lessons about humanity and humility. Novogratz transports readers directly to the landscapes she travels by describing with intimate urgency her experiences when immobilized by malaria, chased by muggers or inspired by a business owner's success. "Humbled by the strength of individual women," she continues to believe that "we can end poverty." An empowering, heartfelt portrait of humanitarianism at work. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.There are no comments on this title.