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Key Text Crying Out For Change

Author: D Narayan, R Chambers, M KShah and P Petesch
Date: 1999
Size: 332 pages (46KB)

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Summary

This is the second of the three volume Voices of the Poor series, a World Bank study which chronicles the voices of more than 60,000 poor women and men from 60 countries. Its findings support and expand on key findings from the first volume, 'Can Anyone Hear Us?' by unpacking the powerlessness and voicelessness experienced by poor people in their relationships with governments and other institutions which affect their lives.

Here, poor people provide some guidance. They call for:

Systemic change
Access to (1) Opportunities, (2) decent wages, (3) strong organisations of their own and (4) a better and more active state
More government (not less), on which they have influence and which they can partner in different ways
The state to provide services fundamental to their well-being
Planning beyond narrow disciplinary boundaries which is still responsive to local realities
This requires institutions that are more decentralised, facilitative and accountable to poor women and men.

Seven themes for change emerge from poor people's testimonies. While practical measures for implementing change will depend on national and local contexts, progress across these themes is an urgent priority for poor people around the world. The multiple dimensions of poverty demand multiple interventions. The agenda for change requires actions to make the following shifts, from:

Material poverty to adequate assets and livelihoods
Isolation and poor infrastructure to access and services
Illness and incapability to health, information and education
Unequal and troubled gender relations to equity and harmony
Fear and lack of protection to peace and security
Exclusion and impotence to inclusion, organisation and empowerment.

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Source: Narayan, D, Chambers, R., Shah, M. K., and Petesch, P. 1999, 'Crying Out for Change', in Voices of the Poor, Vol. 2, World Bank, Oxford University Press, New York.