How do you lift people out of poverty?
It’s a fair question, right?
There are probably a million different answers to that question and not a single answer at the same time. People all over the world are trying thousands (millions) of different ways to pick people up out of poverty, yet a single all inclusive solution has never arise. Maybe a single solution will never come, but this past week I’ve been privilege to work with a organization that’s trying to do their part in Manila. Their whole philosophy is give a man a fish, feed him for one day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. Instead of handouts, they want to give men and women jobs that provide enough income to support themselves and their families.
Their idea is Jeepney Magazine. Jeepney magazine recruits homeless and low-income people to be Jeepney magazine vendors. They are given a stack of 10 free issues of Jeepney magazine, which they can then sell for 100 pesos. Once they sell out of magazines the vendors can buy more magazines for 50 pesos. Each issue is focused on issues faced by the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday I traveled with my teammate Brenda Wilchowy and two Jeepney staff members to Bagio, a city about 5 hours from Manila. In Bagio, the magazine was distributed free of charge to traditional magazine vendors (those with newspaper stands) and Jeepney vendors were recruited as well. A contact in Bagio wrote to the Jeepney office in Manila and said he wanted to help. He will now be in charge of keeping the vendors stocked with Jeepney magazine in that city. On the second day in Bagio, Brenda and I traveled to local and national businesses in Bagio trying to get advertising partners. We made a large number of contacts for Jeepney magazine.
This Monday, Brenda and I were ask to travel to college campuses all around Manila to get the word out about Jeepney magazine. We handed out free copies of the first issue and told people what Jeepney was all about. This was a big success as a lot of the students seemed interested in Jeepney and said they would look for it in the future.
You might wonder why Jeepney asked two inexperienced world racers to help them. Well the simple, but truthful answer is that we are both white. Just by being white, Brenda and I add legitimacy to the magazine. Business and buyers who wouldn’t give the Filipino Jeepney staff the time of day, will gladly sit down with us and hear what we have to say. It is sad to say that this is the state of things, but if I can help just because I am white then I am willing to use the gift God has given me.
Jeepney magazine might not be able to lift the entire 3rd world out of poverty, but hopefully it will take off and accomplish its goal of lifting thousands of Filipinos out of poverty. Please pray for the success of Jeepney.
