Whose Voice is Guiding Your Future?

In Ethiopia, girls are often mistreated.

1 in 3 can’t read.

1 in 3 don’t go to school.

1 in 5 feel socially alienated.

And then you have the problems of forced marriage, gender based violence, school drop out, and early pregnancy.

Isn’t anybody doing anything about this?

Yes! The girls are themselves.

Social Change through Drama, Talk, and Music.

Meet Yegna, Ethiopia’s first teen band.

They are showing their country – as well as the entire world – how to change for the better. By changing their culture,

For this is not only an Ethiopian problem, is it?

Aren’t girls the world over are treated as objects and second-class citizens?

And doesn’t every society – including the most civilized – need to upgrade its treatment of them?

Inspiration from the Bottom Up.

It’s gratifying to know that even people at the bottom rung of society’s latter – the uneducated and powerless – can lead the way to positive social change.

And its not just a question of saying, “Education is the solution to most of the world’s social problems.”

There is more to it than that:

• Education is a means to an end, not an end unto itself. The answer to society’s problem is a different culture – one in which more advanced ideas are preached, and improved practices are adopted. And that culture can only be fertilized by an undeniable feeling that things must change for the better. Then, educational programs can be implemented to nurture that growth in the proper direction.
• People need direction if they are to make positive changes in their lives. No doubt, the vast majority of mothers – and of all parents – in that society knew they were short-changing their daughters. They just didn’t know how to improve things, so by and large they just kept the status quo. And so they perpetuated the problem, however undesirable that was.
• It is often the victims of oppression who take the lead in stopping it. They have the most at stake. Even well-intentioned outsiders cannot muster the motivation and determination to persist in spite of all obstacles. Most certainly, political elites cannot force a change from above based purely on ideology – or worse, a desire to control that change.

And That Goes for Life Insurance!

Life insurance is very frequently bought by an income provider for the benefit of his or her loved ones.

That is indeed noble, honorable, and the right thing to do.

But: it must be recognized that this is a product that does not benefit the insured, and only benefits the family members, business, or charity when the insured passes on.

These beneficiaries therefore have a great stake in the purchase of the product, and should always make their needs and desires known when a policy is designed.

Grass-Rooted Progress.

There you have it: people who become our future must be involved front and center in creating that future.

Otherwise, they could very well be short-changed in the process.

This applies to every sector sector of society, especially regarding our treatment of women.

And it has a special bearing on the world of finance.

What do you think? Do you find it easy to involve the people most affected by your decisions in your decisions?

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