In the field of international development, it is a well-known fact that women are powerful agents of change and development. It is important to build solutions that empower women and girls in the global community. To lift them out of extreme poverty. I recently read the book “100 Under $100 - One Hundred Tools for Empowering Global Women” by Betsy Teutsch. This book highlights low-cost, high-impact tools and practices to help solve problems that keep people impoverished when unaddressed. How global poverty and climate change in the developing world can be tackled together. It focused on low cost, low tech, engineering solutions to empower women and girls.
Teutsch has dedicated her book to “all who engage in Tikkun Olam” or “repairing the world”. Many books on this topic focus on one problem and one solution, but Teutsch offers one hundred effective paths out of poverty in eleven different domains, including technology, health services, law, and finance.
The book started with a quote by Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” This was so inspiring to me. It was a spark. I could connect my love for engineering, innovation and design with a mission to improve people’s lives around the world. Curiosity is one of the main ingredients you need to cultivate happiness. I have used every opportunity to study how low-tech, scalable, local solutions could address some of the biggest challenges in the developing world.
Through my research I learned how women in the developing world have very little spending or decision making power for their families. What brings me joy is connecting my passion for engineering and innovation with my dreams for being a social entrepreneur. Pure joy comes from serving others. I know that I can make a difference in this world.
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