Sugar Land resident, Meena Pyatt, is an intern for a nonprofit called The Borgen Project which is working to help reduce poverty. Meena explains what the non-profit does and what Sugar Land area residents can do to get involved.
“Started from a grassroots effort in Seattle, The Borgen Project has become an influential national campaign, mobilizing individuals to make poverty a priority by advancing legislation. However, it is the voices of everyday, local citizens like those of Sugar Land even, who can come together to make these changes. By taking advantage of the organization’s many volunteer and internship opportunities from here in your own community, you can make a difference in this initiative. There are always various openings for different interests and skill sets.
In order to secure Congressional approach for effective legislation, constituents must express their concerns. The Borgen Project is designed to help people voice these concerns and put a response into action.
Recent passed legislation that The Borgen Project has helped advocate for include The Electrify Africa Act which improved Africa’s access to electricity, Global Food Security Act which promoted global food security and nutrition, and Foreign Transparency and Accountability Act which required government agencies to evaluate foreign aid and publicly share the data. Through advocacy we can help people by the millions. Donations to The Borgen Project can support meeting directly with congressional offices in order to shape policy. With the amount an aid agency needs to support a few hundred people, The Borgen Project can help pass bills that will help millions more. These funds can ultimately provide better living conditions, security, vaccinations, education, and more to those who live on less than $1 per day.
As citizens of one of the most powerful nations in the world, it is important to realize that since we have the ability, we should be doing more because we do not do enough. Although it is true that we have poverty present in our own nation, it is also true that our domestic and foreign policies do not compete. The Borgen Project focuses on foreign policy and points out that investment in the poor can result in a big return for the United States. That is, when providing aid and stability for the poor, we also help open new markets and jobs as well as more security for our own nation. When people are no longer uneducated, vulnerable and desperate there is room for solidity and strength – something that we could all benefit from and want to be a part of.
For more information on The Borgen Project and ways that you can help, please visit www.borgenproject.org.
Let’s help downsize poverty.”