The Blue Sweater

It is so interesting how Jacqueline’s experiences with the blue sweater and the women in cote d ivore gave her meaning and taught her so many lessons at the beginning. She learned that compassion wasn’t enough to help these women, and that it might be more complicated than it seemed at first. I think we all start off thinking that way, that if we just care enough and give them monetary support or something similar than we can help them and their lives. But it takes knowing these women and having specific goals that they are on board with to actually start making a change.

Jacqueline realized that giving these women loans gives them responsibility and holds them accountable for helping themselves. She learns that the women aren’t running their businesses like they should be, and desires to help them learn sustainability and not to rely just on financial contributions. Jacqueline gives these women dignity, and along the way of helping their business become successful, she realizes that there is still so much for her to learn.

During her time in Kenya, she saw many things go wrong because the women weren’t trained to run the programs successfully. She realized they need more than just donors and money to start projects, but also someone to teach them how to sustain the practices even after the money donations disappear. Even after all her years in Africa, learning to be like the women and following their customs, she is still trying to find a balance at the end when the guard steals her belongings. She goes to business school when she gets back to America because she still has the desire to help the less fortunate, but she is trying to do it in a different way.