“ In this light, partnership with the most destitute – millions of people throughout the world – must be understood within a perspective wider than that of having a say on matters concerning their lives. Full partnership leads to the development of a «culture for overcoming extreme poverty,» in which the «culture of peace» advocated by the United Nations plays a major role – with a special concern, in the decade to come, for putting the poorest children at the centre of this new culture. ”

“ Experience of exclusion endured by people living in poverty highlights the shortfall of our societies in promoting effective exercise of fundamental rights. They have no way to exercise the rights that are recognised in the Conventions and Charters signed by the Member States and to which their fellow-citizens have access, such as the right to housing, the right to health care, the right to education, the right to community life. The more destitute people are, the more they lose the possibility of exercising their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. ”

“ Anyone involved in partnership with the poorest needs to have confidence in the value of the knowledge that the poor can bring and in the possibility that their aspirations will be made into reality. People living in poverty need opportunities to build up confidence – confidence in their right to hold views, to articulate their thoughts, to have a voice, and to overcome fear or hostility towards those in power. They need to know that they are really being listened to and that their contributions are valued. ”

“ Out of their struggle and resilience, the poorest acquire invaluable knowledge and thinking. Their exclusion represents a waste of human resources and a breach of social cohesion. Experience shows that they have the desire and ability to participate in decisions about policies and projects that affect their lives. They must be "the driving force of the coalition for poverty eradication [because they] have the strongest motivation and the greatest stake in the outcome." ”

“ If some conditions to partnership seem obvious – listening to the poorest, building their confidence – they are not sufficient. A woman involved in a project in rural France cautioned, "Listening is not the same as understanding. For me, we can understand each other when we can contemplate doing something together." Listening is not a passive attitude. The ethic of «doing together, learning together» implies a discreet and demanding companionship to support the poorest families in their efforts to live up to their expectations and commitments. ”

“ Consensus building and broad-based participation Priority given to the most excluded does not mean exclusivity. Efforts by the poorest to overcome their condition are not sustainable if they are not noticed and backed by other segments of society. It is therefore important that uplifting the poorest be integrated into the common concerns of the whole community and that partnership with them be determined at the start of a project. Equally important are involving the poorest in specific events of their countries and valuing their contribution to overall social development. ”

“ Commitment to working with one another For partnership to be possible, all partners need to realise how complementary each one is to the others and to accept that they – and the others – be influenced by one another. This approach of working and thinking together is effective in programmes and projects where each participant can acquire specific knowledge or know-how and can be proud of his or her efforts and contributions. This long-lasting commitment alongside the poorest is needed to ensure that any representative role they take on will involve a real contribution. ”

“ The poorest renewing creativity and cultural achievement It is largely recognised that, for the accomplishment of human beings in all fields of human activity, culture and creativity enjoy a privileged status. However, most of the time, if not always, very poor people are excluded from the spheres of culture and creativity, in the sense that their situation deprives them of opportunities to reveal their creative potential and to be partners in potential cultural creations, be it in painting, theatre, poetry, music, etc. Creativity, including artistic activity, is common to all humankind. ”

“ The empowerment of individuals and families so poor that they have been left out of everything for generations is not a goal easily reached. It must be approached first by building a genuine and sustainable partnership between these people and the rest of society. ”

“ Their gestures of resilience and courage too often go unnoticed – like those of mothers who resort to begging to gather the amount due for school fees and school supplies, illustrating dramatically their aspiration for a better future for their children, "so that they will not undergo what we have experienced ourselves," as they often say. [24] In the face of adversity and misfortune, people develop a keen sense of mutual aid, assisting others in the same situation or offering shelter to people worse-off than themselves. ”

“ Individuals, families and communities living in extreme poverty have never ceased to fight for their dignity and their survival. In the midst of their search for livelihood, they deploy all efforts to help preserve family links and guarantee the future of the children. ”

“ As highlighted throughout Part One of this paper, there are conditions necessary for this partnership to take root and for institutions and ways of thinking to change in order to make a place for the poorest. Until all of our fellow citizens are empowered, the world is deprived of their contribution. But it is not easy to «empower» people whose families have been mired in deep poverty for generations. ”

“ When asked what she learned from the group, a health worker explained, "At the hospital, there is no opportunity to talk about poverty. We’re always in a situation of crisis and emergency. I am caught between defending people’s rights, and the demands of the organisation. ”

“ The poor strive to keep their families together even more than other people, because that’s their last hope. No matter how poor you are, as long as you have each other to hold onto, you still have that strength. ”

“ Obstacles to partnership Although participation and empowerment have become part of the vocabulary of development, the poorest are often excluded from participating in decision-making. Their representative role is often a token one and is not considered as a source of creation.
There is also evidence of original programmes that were developed thanks to the inventiveness and creativity of very poor people; and then when these programmes are extended to a wider public, they can actually end up excluding the people who were at the origins of their design. ”

“ Bringing culture, creativity, and art into areas of extreme deprivation does not mean that all will or should become great artists. But it means creating an indispensable environment where the treasures of original creativity that lie uncovered could emerge and enrich humankind.
Through varied and extensive experiences, ATD Fourth World together with other NGOs [14] can affirm today that the ambition of partnership with the poorest means building bridges between the world of art and the world of the very poor, who are completely cut off from the noblest forms of art. ”

“ The partnership of the poorest guarantees full citizenship for all To recognise the unique contribution of the very poor to building a more equitable society, we must begin by creating the equal footing necessary for any genuine partnership with the rest of society. ”

“ Strengthening the family unit The experience gathered from working side-by-side with very poor families shows that, from their viewpoint, development should uplift the well-being of the whole family. The sense of family ties is very strong among underprivileged populations. The family, whatever its model, is the last stronghold against social exclusion. A mother in the United States shared her thoughts in a testimonial [6] :
"Poverty can destroy families. But in times of deep trouble, the family is a source of strength. ”

“ The goal of his project was to develop a process whereby farm workers and academics would become researchers together, in order to analyse the socio-economic situation and to define a method that could be used in other development projects. After a period of eleven years with the communities in question – and after adding a specific focus on extreme poverty – this professor came to realise that in communities where everyone is poor, some not only are poorer than others, but also are pushed to the fringes and excluded from discussions concerning the community’s future. ”

“ Part of breaking out of isolation or near-isolation involves building more lasting and constructive contacts with others: neighbours, other families or organisations. An essential feature of these contacts should be that the very poor do not only serve others but are also seen and see themselves as being able to contribute to the world. One example of this indicator of empowerment is the gatherings of people of different backgrounds who come together to listen to testimonies from very poor people, and renew their common commitment to the struggle against poverty. ”

“ The poorest constantly remind us that human beings thirst for beauty and creative expression as much as they require food, clothing, and shelter. In Bangkok, a Fourth World Art and Poetry [16] workshop was set up inside a shantytown as a path toward cultural development. Very poor adults and young people who participate in painting sessions there find an opportunity to reveal to themselves, and to communicate to people from other backgrounds, their most cherished thoughts and values. ”

“ Through a trusting relationship built over time, the project officers understood that focusing directly and solely on combating malnutrition would stigmatise the parents’ inability and increase their feeling of failure. A pre-school was opened instead, in view of the community’s aspiration for the children’s education and its ability to mobilise itself for this purpose. A nutrition programme included in the pre-school programme enabled the parents to involve themselves in following the overall development of their children. ”

“ In areas severely marked by poverty in New York City, in Guatemala City, and in Manila, volunteers come regularly to sit with children on the roadside or in a vacant lot in order to read books and to do creative activities such as painting, woodwork, photography and so on. The children’s parents are rarely involved in community organizations. The Street Library tries to establish links with the wider community by inviting artists and others with specific skills to share their talents and knowledge with the children. ”

“ When this situation is acknowledged as a reality that is shared, rather than as individual, the same people stop living the lives of forgotten people on the fringe of society. Their self-esteem is strengthened. ”

“ Specific measures designed to improve the situation of people living in poverty can be counter-productive if they are not part of a comprehensive policy. They can be an obstacle to partnership with the poorest when they «cream off» the most dynamic and articulate participants, who move on and leave their community behind. ”

“ People living in poverty and vulnerable groups must be empowered through organisations and participation in all aspects of political, economic and social life, in particular in the planning and implementation of policies that affect them, thus enabling them to become genuine partners in development. ”

“ Parents have made efforts for their children, and have had expectations for them. They legitimately feel frustrated and hurt by the children’s difficult situation. Their efforts as parents need to be recognised and valued. A development worker wrote: "Through several visits to the family of a child who had fled his home and arrived recently in our training centre, I discovered what the father had undertaken – enrolling him in school, paying for his courses in mechanics and his apprenticeship in building. ”

“ The poorest specifically need the tools to be able to analyse their rights, and to take on responsibilities. Care must be taken not to rely on the most dynamic participants in such a way that their success might humiliate others. Training of project workers is also essential, and must be based on the knowledge gained from the poorest. ”

“ Sharing of knowledge is another factor conducive to partnership. It makes it possible to create new avenues for action. A working group in Canada [13] of professionals from different fields (social services, community development, literacy programmes, churches, shelters for homeless people) gathers with very poor people to speak about each other’s experiences. ”

“ By contrast, speeding up an approach in order to implement a solution more rapidly is an obstacle to the long-term partnership goal. The experience of social workers in one municipality of Burkina Faso is enlightening in this regard. Working with children in outreach projects, they put emphasis on taking into account the rhythm of the children to ensure their effective reintegration into the family:
"We are convinced that building trust and confidence is a prerequisite if we want to avoid requests for material help. ”