"If you move through the world with your intellect, then you walk on only one leg. If you move through the world with your compassion, then you walk on only one leg. But if you move through the world with both, intellect and compassion, then you have wisdom"
These were the wise words of a Buddhist Monk Maha Ghosananda to Jacqueline Novogratz, as stated by the latter in her book titled The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. I finally got around to completing the book, long overdue but worth the time it took to absorb the accounts of her experiences about her intellect AND compassion. For once, this book takes philanthropy at a different level, not in a prescriptive manner - one that defines charity and those anachronistic terms that look at 'social issues' from a sympathetic perspective - but with a personal revelation of life and times of those 10,000 hours spent as a healer, investor and an entrepreneur of social change.
"They say a journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. I took mine and fell flat on my face" -This indeed is a strong beginning not only to the book but also to the journey that Novogratz embarked upon her own as she moved out of her comfort zone from the Manhattan skyscrappers to Hamlets across Africa and Asia. The book is an extension of its title '....in an interconnected world....' with a fascinating tale taking the author to Rwanda - the Switzerland of Africa, a land of 1,000 mountains with sharp contrast of poverty and political upheavals; region that made her realize that in order to contribute, she would 'have to be ready to take Africa on its own terms, not hers'!.
Novogratz presents her book in the form of a memoir through numerous tales of social enterprise, each with a flow of emotions, perceptions and ideas on issues of poverty. These stories are gripping and in that, Novogratz leaves no loose ends. Her writing style brings out the transformation within her, the kind of philanthropic direction she drives herself into and who she goes on to become. She describes the Rwandan genocide in a manner so powerful and poignant that it leaves the readers distraught by the end of it. Her take on founding the Acumen Fund resonates the unconventional wisdom of philanthropy, a trend made more meaningful thanks to the likes of (among many others) Muhammad Yunus and Bill Drayton. Needless to say, these individuals including Novogratz, in their own way, are now monuments of social entrepreneurship.
Don’t get me wrong here. The Blue Sweater is not only about lessons of poverty and social enterprise but indeed about utmost honesty that instigates sense of hope and optimism. Of course, there are parts in the book that are left abruptly, areas where she could have further elaborated on strategic processes that were the result of her work or given a glimpse of the individuals whom Acumen later supported. Further, certain parts in the book seemed quite cliché according to me – quotes of prominent individuals at the beginning of almost every chapter. One can get quotes from Nelson Mandela, Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, even the Qoran. She may be inspired by them all but they do appear out-of-place especially in some of the chapters. Yet, my favorite of them all -
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future"
- George Bernard Shaw
Overall, The Blue Sweater is a fascinating read especially for those involved in international aid and development. It is a paradigm-shift from what we already know – social enterprise, economic sustainability, poverty – to empowering leadership, dialogue and social change.
Want to know whether the book is for you? Find out here.
Wondering if The Blue Sweater does exist? Read the book and find out more.
