Blue Sweater Post 1

This book is titled the Blue Sweater because of a blue sweater. Author Jacqueline Novogratz starts off with a story from her child hood about her attachment to a blue sweater. When she reaches middle school and starts to be teased for wearing this sweater, she donates it to Good Will. Coincidentally though, she runs into a young boy in Rwanda a decade later who is wearing the exact same sweater that she donated.

Novogratz lives an interesting life. She decides to leave her lucrative career with Chase Manhattan to try and solve the problems of the world's poorest places. She recalls stories from her travels not for the sake of telling a story, but to evoke an emotional response from her readers. She wants to encourage all her readers that they are all capable of lifting themselves up, they just need the tools to do so. 

This book has certainly accomplished the mission that Novogratz set out for it. After reading it, my understanding of trying to help the poor has changed. I've always thought that donating money to the homeless is the best way to help them, but I'm starting to realize that money can actually do more harm than good. I recently travelled to Honduras with Global Medical Brigades this past spring, and absolutely love the work that Global Brigades has done. Instead of funneling money from donors to these rural societies, Global Brigades tries to bring sustainability. As Novogratz puts it, everyone can lift themselves up, they just need the tools. Money is a tool, but not the right tool. Clean running water, sustainable food sources, and education are all tools that areas such as Rwanda need.