When posed with the question “If the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise?” an old proverb comes to mind: give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you will feed him for life. The reason the world would still need initiatives like Arc and social enterprise is because handouts are not sustainable. If the United Nations kept on giving money that was just being consumed instead of being transformed, it would not be a sustainable practice—no problems would be solved, economies wouldn’t grow and people would be completely dependent on UN money.

This concept is perfectly encapsulated by a quote from Arielle Uwonkunda, a Sauder student who brought Arc to Ethiopia: “I presented a portfolio and impact book on Arc…It just so happened that this was exactly the solution the government was looking for. They want to invest in small-to-medium enterprises but so far have found that after being given money, these enterprises don’t have sufficient knowledge to utilize it efficiently.” If you replace the word “government” in that quote with “United Nation”, then you have the exact answer to the proposed question. Even if the UN gives money to people, without the knowledge on how to utilize that money properly, it will do no good. Initiatives such as Arc and social enterprise are more helpful than any lump sum of money could ever be, as they allow for sustainable growth and ultimately, independence.