Escaping Poverty

In this speech, author Jacqueline Novogratz discusses poverty in the slums of Africa. She shares a particular story a young woman named Jane, who she met in a mile-long slum in Nairobi, where over half a million people live in metal shacks. As Jacqueline Novogratz shares this young woman's story, she asks the audience to reconsider the traditional definition of poverty. While this Nairobi slum is below the poverty line, it also faces enormous issues of violence, prostitution and drug abuse.

Jacqueline Novogratz shares Jane's story to demonstrate how similar individuals are working to create a self-sustaining life for themselves. Jane repurposes secondhand clothing and jewelry to make new, original pieces to sell in the slum's markets. She has managed to save enough money to move her family to a new housing development that promises to match her savings from her small business.