Dignity is more important than wealth. It’s going

to be a long, long time before we can make

everyone on earth wealthy, but we can help people

find dignity this year (right now if we choose to).

Dignity comes from creating your own destiny and

from the respect you get from your family,

your peers and society.

A farmer able to feed his family and earn enough

to send his kids to school has earned the respect of

the people in his village—and more important, a

connection to rest of us.

It’s easy to take dignity away from someone but

difficult to give it to them. the last few years have

taught us just how connected the entire world is—

a prostitute in the slums of Nairobi is just an

important figure in your life as the postman in the

next town. And in a world where everything is

connected, the most important thing we can do is

treat our fellows with dignity.

Giving a poor person food or money might help

them survive another day... but it doesn’t give them

dignity. There’s a better way.

Creating ways for people to solve their own

problems isn’t just an opportunity in. It is an

obligation.