Projects to end poverty have never worked.  It is time to move beyond  projects that address one or just a few of the prevailing conditions of poverty as experienced by adults and children living in slums (i.e., lack of: clean water, sanitation, literacy, health care, …) and wake up to the truth that poverty can only be eradicated if all the underlying, systemic conditions are dealt with – all at once and in one location.  Mr. Miller presents a simple framework for such a solution that is both scale-able and ultimately doable. I know of no other “war to end poverty” initiative that even comes close to attacking and conquering all the conditions of poverty that prevail in the many places where absolute poverty persists throughout the world.

— Michael Lanier, CEO Business Integration Advisors

How many different projects to you know that are claiming they are working to end world poverty?

There are food-banks, crop development, lending programs, training programs, projects for housing, clean water, sanitation, education, political reform and more. And yet, have you noticed that none has been able to end world poverty.

Pope Francis, in his June 2015 Encyclical, pointed out that the only way we will end world poverty and environmental problems is with a comprehensive approach. That doing only highly focused projects (band-aids on symptoms) will never resolve the complex problem called poverty. A comprehensive approach is exactly what is described in the book Poverty as my Teacher – Learning to Create Sustainable Family Communities by Robert E Miller Amazon E-Book Link. In that book, Miller describes how for countries to have a healthy economy and society, they must have more healthy communities than unhealthy communities. He explains how over 800 volunteers, universities and other organizations have contributed their ideas on how to create poverty-free Communities that have a sustainable economy, environment, food-supply and society. They have created the path out of poverty for those who will follow it. This is a way of Leading the Way Out of Global Poverty® without using government money or ongoing donations.

The most life-changing experience in my life was a volunteer opportunity to help at an orphanage in Mexico. Little did I know that would change the course of my life. After continuing to volunteer at that orphanage whenever I could over a period of two years, I found myself in the process of adopting two of the children.

During the five year adoption process I found other volunteer opportunities at the orphanage that helped me see the socialization differences between children who are raised in orphanages and those who are being raised in a family. I began to learn that poverty and its effects was the reason over 90% of the children were in that orphanage. Some due to abuse, some neglect and many because their parent(s) could not afford to care for them.

This became the starting point of what is a new initiative of Sustainable Family Communities® that are Leading the Way Out of Global Poverty® and a new E-book release explaining its importance – Poverty as my Teacher – Learning to Create Sustainable Family Communities https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-As-Teacher-Sustainable-Communities-ebook/dp/B01I0G33U4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468359590&sr=8-1&keywords=poverty+as+my+teacher by Robert E Miller. As it describes, by lowering poverty, more children will be able to stay in their families and fewer will need to experience life in orphanages.