The famous Chinese proverb "Teach a man to fish, you'll feed him for a lifetime" seems to be the slogan of Empowering Nations, a non-profit organization dedicated to teach the natives of developing countries self-sufficiency through life skills.

This summer, Empowering Nations will travel to Ghana, Kenya, Paraguay and Peru for disaster relief and skill-teaching methods.

According to the organization's Web site, more than 1 billion people live in extreme poverty, living on less than $1 a day and are unable to meet the basic needs of everyday survival.

The residents of these developing countries suffer in different areas - lack of adequate health care, lack of clean water and sanitation, lack of government structure and lack of education.

The organization was formed in 2002 by co-founders Warner Woodworth, a BYU professor, and Mike Poleman, a BYU alumnus. The group was formed as a solution to the problem and to help teach the residents things such as entrepreneurship, English and math courses, basic water-filtering procedures and disease-prevention methods.

Empowering Nations believes handouts cannot solve the underlying problem.

"In certain situations, there are needs for handouts," said Sarah Carmichael, executive director of the organization, pointing to victims of recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. "Everything people had was taken from them. Typically, it's a temporary need."

Then comes the need to teach self-reliance, Carmichael said. "It gives them dignity."

Carmichael said for this summer's upcoming projects in Paraguay, Peru, Ghana and Kenya there will be fewer volunteers because of a stricter application process and a higher need for more volunteers experienced in entrepreneurship, business-related fields or a basic knowledge in the medical field.

Carmichael said there is a greater need for the two projects in Paraguay and Peru.

"I'm trying to find Spanish speakers with business skills," Carmichael said.

Prospective volunteers are required to submit a resume with two reference letters and a deposit.

Volunteers who would like to learn more about this organization or wish to participate in one of the four projects this summer can e-mail the organization at empoweringnations@gmail.com.



Copyright Brigham Young University 4 Apr 2007