Year in Review 2019
Dear Friends,
The many aspects of our lives and communities can be complex and challenging, but can also bring us opportunities and fulfillment. For families and individuals faced with poverty, though, the countless challenges overtake the few opportunities that come along. Life becomes a struggle to get by, a struggle for dignity, and a struggle for a better life. In our Multidimensional Aspects of Poverty (MAP) report, one part of this struggle is described as being “determined not to give up on what you’re striving towards.”
Every day, we see this determination to not give up: families working to stay together in situations that separate them; parents finding ways to enhance their children’s learning when schools don’t have the resources to reach all; young people and adults, who have been stigmatized their whole lives because of poverty, daring to speak to others about their challenges and ideas; and communities rallying together to ensure that resources reach where they are most needed and that everyone’s dignity is recognized.
ATD Fourth World Movement is part of these efforts to overcome poverty. Through projects that advocate for changes in policies and practices, and that build the skills and capacity of people to do that advocacy and be change makers, we engage people from all walks of life to make their community inclusive and dignified for all people. This work to end poverty doesn’t happen through isolated efforts or one single program; it’s as complex as our lives can be. When these efforts to overcome poverty interact in coherent ways to impact the whole picture of poverty in our communities, outcomes also bring great richness.
We are grateful for the involvement of so many of you this past year in these efforts with us and invite you to look at highlights from 2019.
ATD Fourth World National Team
Guillaume Charvon, Virginie Charvon, Maria Sandvik, Karen Stornelli