Taking Ownership
I had the privilege of meeting a young woman in the Rocinha favela in Rio. This favela is the largest in Latin America, housing over 120,000 people in 1 square mile.
Through the help of the amazing Vera Cordeiro and her team at Saude Crianca, this young woman’s life was turned around. From unemployed, with an extremely ill child and very few options, Saude Crianca’s program, over two years, taught her a profession, refurbished her house, provided medical, legal, psychiatric counseling and a myriad of training courses; and most of all support. Support that gave her the time and skills to build confidence.
Two years later, I am speaking to an owner of a hair salon in the favelas, employing her family members . . . self-sufficient, proud! Talk about a humbling experience.
Everyday, we are faced with difficulties and obstacles that seem almost insurmountable. Often, if we really look within ourselves, we spend little time taking ownership of those problems, but rather look to the causes and influences that we believe created them.
And while some of those may all be real, the ultimate reality is that if we don’t recognize that our problems are our own, our obstacles need to be faced by us, no matter what or who threw them at us, then we won’t move to improvement.
That awareness is the first critical step. With that comes a thoughtful, rational approach; an approach of personal accountability and ownership which then often requires the support of others.
When we spoke to this young lady and asked her what worried her the most, her answer was “well, I worry about my child; but other than that, I have no obstacles”. Wow. And here we are with our beautiful houses, great jobs, all the food we can eat, and worry, worry, worry. When in reality, our obstacles are so surmountable.
If this young lady can take ownership of her life and transform herself like this, there are no obstacles that we can’t tackle head-on.
Through the help of the amazing Vera Cordeiro and her team at Saude Crianca, this young woman’s life was turned around. From unemployed, with an extremely ill child and very few options, Saude Crianca’s program, over two years, taught her a profession, refurbished her house, provided medical, legal, psychiatric counseling and a myriad of training courses; and most of all support. Support that gave her the time and skills to build confidence.
Two years later, I am speaking to an owner of a hair salon in the favelas, employing her family members . . . self-sufficient, proud! Talk about a humbling experience.
Everyday, we are faced with difficulties and obstacles that seem almost insurmountable. Often, if we really look within ourselves, we spend little time taking ownership of those problems, but rather look to the causes and influences that we believe created them.
And while some of those may all be real, the ultimate reality is that if we don’t recognize that our problems are our own, our obstacles need to be faced by us, no matter what or who threw them at us, then we won’t move to improvement.
That awareness is the first critical step. With that comes a thoughtful, rational approach; an approach of personal accountability and ownership which then often requires the support of others.
When we spoke to this young lady and asked her what worried her the most, her answer was “well, I worry about my child; but other than that, I have no obstacles”. Wow. And here we are with our beautiful houses, great jobs, all the food we can eat, and worry, worry, worry. When in reality, our obstacles are so surmountable.
If this young lady can take ownership of her life and transform herself like this, there are no obstacles that we can’t tackle head-on.
Comments
Post a Comment