Of the international programs aimed at fighting poverty, which work best?
School feeding is a very good one. When we have school feedings, we get the kids back in school. They’re learning, and they get lots of calories and nutrition they could never get at home. Some of these kids are lucky to get a meal every one or two days. Immunization programs are very important. In sub-Saharan Africa, they don’t have enough water, so digging wells is very important. Another program that really works is teaching mothers how to read and write. They get very smart right away. They learn about nutrition, about breast feeding, about boiling water. The kids are healthier, the country prospers and the population goes down. Why does the population go down? The mothers see children as their social security. They know some of them are going to die, but they know some will live, so they have eight children and hope that some will be around to take care of them when they’re old. But if you teach mothers to read and write, their kids are healthier, and they don’t feel they have to
