Rick Heidick from the Stillwater Rotary Club gave an overview of The Fast for Hope campaign. The Fast for Hope Initiative is based on the belief that while project-based funding is critical to address immediate needs in developing parts of the world, a new model needs to be created in order to more effectively address the problem of systemic poverty in the world. This new model is based on a belief that the local community knows best what they need and that the community must take ownership of any solution in order for it to be successful. Instead of doing a project in multiple communities, this is intended to be a multifaceted effort simultaneously addressing the myriad of needs that are interconnected and which cause the residents of one or two particular communities to live in extreme poverty.
The goal is to create a replicable and sustainable model to address extreme poverty in the developing world. Based in part on the book” The End of Poverty,” which maintains we are the first generation with the ability to end extreme poverty in the world. The premise is that this cannot be achieved by doing projects. Rather we need to work on a community-wide basis addressing the myriad of issues that cause a community to be in extreme poverty and that once the community achieves a basic level of economic success than they can continue to grow without further assistance. The issues will vary community to community but may include lack of access to education, lack of access to transportation and markets, limited experience organizing as a community, culture of dependence on charity.
