Clay water brick

"Lawyers are trained to see barriers and help people avoid risk, while entrepreneurs  are trained to see possibilities and take smart risks" - Jessica Jackley


'Clay Water Brick: Finding inspiration from Entrepreneurs who do the most with the least' alternates with stories of microlending changing the lives of people, and the lessons author Jessica Jackley, founder of Kiva learns from those entrepreneurs. Those entrepreneurs who have almost nothing to their name but the drive to make brick out of clay and water, to help disabled by iterative design and so on.. shattering the idea of who is or who can be an entrepreneur.
The author understood that she had to 'use the right language .. also to tell stories to move people from a place of ignorance to a place of understanding. ' This is what the book does too, narrating stories to readers and make them see how the microfinancing changes the lives of people with small steps.
The stories make her 'redefine success not as destination but as away of operating and committing to a process of creation ..' From Li the tailor's wisdom of mending clothes from the inside and ripping the seams off and starting afresh for complex fixes, the author learns the lesson that 'understanding the fabric of your organization' is important for its success.
THe readers are also made aware of the legal impediments in crowdfunding. There have been articles if Kiva really has the person to person interaction between the lender and the entrepreneurs who take the loans. Where that debate may settle, the author shows that if you use your passion and stick to your mission, then a huge change is possible for anyone.

Beacon of Hope

 


When the author Nicholas Kristof sends off a request for interns in NY Times column, I wish I were still in college then. 'A path Appears' is a good look into what he does, observes and the hope he reports to those who give and those who need.
The book has many examples of lives of people which didnt begin well but with help from others, they broke the cycle of poverty, abuse, crime.
Its unusual for a book on social work to include research,study - which the authors called evidence based charity, where they bring the results from the field back to the lab and change their way of approach to solve problems. Many behavioral studies have been looked at to know the impact of situations like poverty and how they can be changed by mving from microlending to microsaving. Changes in the accountability bring about greater changes.