The United Nations, the Arc, and social enterprise share a common objective, which is the initiative to improve the living standards of society. However, their affects vary over time.
The United Nations focuses on the bigger picture, committing to maintaining international peace and providing assistance in humanitarian crises. Although the United Nations has significant influence upon the world, its key responsibilities and goals first target the developing countries most in need of aid. This tremendously helps out those countries to achieve their first but ginormous step towards economic and political stability.
The Arc and social enterprise rely on the concept of educating people instead, targeting a more narrowed range of people in order to make a difference. This could be arguably more effective because in the long run these people are provided with a set of tools and knowledge about business management and leadership capacity that they can further apply to their business or teach. This positively impacts their community as a whole, later reflecting its growth internationally.
This demonstrates how the two different approaches intertwine to further advance each other’s work. Without the Arc and social enterprise, the assistance from the United Nations might only last temporarily.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
-Maimonides
Sources:
http://news.ubc.ca/2014/06/30/upward-arc/
The Arc representatives from Sauder managed to make a difference in Uwonkunda’s, Kassahun’s, and Tesfaye’s life by enriching their skills and knowledge. They will forever be grateful for this experience, as will the people that will learn from them.