We believe empathy and listening are the foundation of leadership and are critical to developing solutions with the poor. As part of their empathy training, the Acumen Fund Global Fellows are stripped of their wallets and cell phones, and are given only a 2-ride Metrocard and a $5 bill, and are sent out into the city to experience for one day what it means to be poor in New York. Below is one Fellow’s reflections:
I have lived with hunger before, not knowing when or from where my next meal would come. I have lived with illness before, not knowing when or from where healing would come. But at least I had a place to rest my head at night, and in times like that, for me, that was enough. I had the opportunity to see what it would feel like to take away that one comfort I treasured most, a place to call home.
Reaching the homeless shelter in the late morning, I found the doors bolted shut. I stood there and contemplated my next move. I imagined myself lugging around a small suitcase containing my earthly possessions. There was no notice on the door, but I had a fact sheet which told me the shelter would open at 4PM. May as well look for something to eat I thought to myself. Armed with my list of feeding facilities, I marched on to the closest one, feeling down but not out.
Getting to the facility I pulled on the door. Locked! I stood there, staring at the buzzer, wondering whether or not to press it. I must have looked pitiful because a street vendor came over to press the buzzer on my behalf and smiled kindly as he egged me on to speak into the intercom. A faint voice picked up on the other said. ‘I’d like to inquire about your meals’, I asked. ‘Come back at noon.’, the response. I was taken aback. I had not anticipated hitting a brick wall quite so soon. I felt the stares from the vendors selling their wares on the edge of the street but dared not raise my eyes to meet theirs. Two doors had remained shut when I needed them most. Unable to eat when my body craved nourishment, instead having to be told when I could eat. I felt like a child again, unable to make decisions for myself. With nowhere to rest and nothing to eat, feelings of despair and shame came over me. I had to move on. Still avoiding the vendors glares, I deliberately held my head high to counter the feelings I felt inside, and moved swiftly in the opposite direction. I just wanted to melt into the crowd and blend in. Looking at the throngs of people perusing through the latest fashions hanging in the stores as they bit into yummy looking treats, I wished just for a second, I could walk in their shoes.
My stomach was now grumbling and I was beginning to feel a little weak. I decided to go to the nearby hospital, I’d been suffering from a cough anyway and could use this as an excuse to camp there as I waited for the food shelter to open. Besides, I was guaranteed a place to sit and rest my legs and a bathroom which I so desperately needed now. I spent the next 4 hours in queues. A queue to give my reason for visiting. A queue to give my medical history. A queue to give my identity particulars. A queue to have my vitals taken. A queue to finally see the doctor. Armed with my prescription in hand, feeling victorious, I marched with renewed strength to the pharmacy. Another queue. My heart sank! I was hungry, and all around me people ate food they’d bought from the cafeteria in the next wing. An hour and a half later, I walked out of the hospital with my medicine packet feeling exhausted and on the verge of collapse from hunger. At least, I thought, something went right today. My body and stomach told me it was time to go home, the experiment was over. I paused to imagine where I’d go now if I truly had no home.
As we stop and think about what it would it feel like to walk in the shoes of the homeless, the hungry and the vulnerable, stop for a second and imagine how they wish they were walking in yours. At the end of the day, we all deserve the opportunity to live a life where we have the freedom to make basic choices about what we eat and when, and about where and when we lay our heads down to rest. This for me is dignity.
Rutendo Change is an Acumen Fund Global Fellow in the Class of 2012. She will be working with Juhudi Kilimo in Kenya.
Tags: empathy, fellows, Global Fellows
This got me thinking, we take so much for granted, and also surely in all fairness there is enough God given wealth in this world to go around, do not think it was intended for anyone to go to bed hungry and with no food, whilst other throw away food that has gone for days without being eaten.. we should learn to share whatever we have in terms of food and shelter.. This is an enlightening report..
Powerful, isn’t it amazing how we take so many things for granted. I guess the first step we can all take is empathy and understanding the dignity we all deserve as humans but i believe many of us stop there. It will take a willingness to make some sacrifices and commitment to change these things- and hopefully that is where the social entrepreneurs will come in- and maybe one day we will all have the choices we all deserve.
Every day we get so caught up in our pitfalls that we find ourselves not appreciating what we actually have. We complain about not having our dream homes instead of being grateful for having a roof over our heads, being complacent about a bad meal when someone out there saw the day begin and end with no meal, no bed to sleep, and no shelter from the elements of the weather.
Thank you, Rutendo for reminding us about humility, empathy and taking a different approach to life
Very thought-provoking. Really makes me realise that the little i thought i had is plenty! I really should be asking what I can do for the next person who is really in need!