Frederic G. Corneel Memorial Lecture

 
Paul Polak with Jasmine Waddell
Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail

Thursday, September 24 at 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
C. Walsh Theatre, Suffolk University
 
What makes poor people poor? What can they do about it? And why have traditional international aid programs fallen so short of their promise? These questions drove Dr. Paul Polak to work with thousands of farmers in countries around the world — including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe — to help design and produce low–cost, income–generating products that allow individuals to create their own wealth and build better lives. Innovations such as the $25 treadle pump and $3 small farm drip–irrigation systems have already generated enormous sums of money and helped to raise millions out of poverty. Dr. Paul Polak, writer and founder of International Development Enterprises, joins Dr. Jasmine Waddell, Senior Officer for Research & Learning at Oxfam America, to discuss how innovative entrepreneurial practices are empowering individuals to address poverty at its roots.