The fight against poverty is a global one. Thousands of philanthropic organizations and individuals focus their efforts on poverty-stricken communities across the globe. A portion of these worldwide impacts have roots in Kansas City. Started here almost 50 years ago, Outreach International has witnessed tremendous results with their strategic approach, leading with intentional listening and empowering people.
They hold fast to the belief that people in poverty have capacity and abilities like everyone else, if given the opportunities and tools to launch their own pathways out of poverty.
“Our founders were very much determined to make it an organization that focuses on sustainability. The idea was to work with the person in a dignified way to reactivate their inner potential and then path out their lives the way that they want it to be without us superimposing it upon them.”
Their methodology is based around participatory human development, which supports people to shape their own lives and to be their own decision makers. CEO Elene Cloete describes this mindset as seeing people experiencing poverty not as poor people, but as people living in poverty.
“For the most part, they experience poverty not because they choose to live in those conditions, but because of systemic injustices,” she said. “We support people experiencing poverty to identify what it is they want their communities to look like and what they want their communities to be and strengthen their inner capacity to be the leaders of their own change.”
Cloete is the first female CEO of Outreach International. She grew up in South Africa and started her journey eight years ago as a project manager in Southeast Asia. With boots on the ground, she spent time with local women and witnessed the tangible success of the organization.
“I couldn’t believe my luck. I got to learn about this part of the world I had never been to. On top of that, I got to live out an anthropologist's dream,” she exclaimed. “When I transitioned into my current role of CEO, again, I couldn’t believe my luck. I have learned a lot. What I have learned most in this past year is there are so many people involved in this kind of work. I have been honored to meet the people who support our work, the people we serve and the practitioners who are brave in facilitating this work in and with rural communities.”
Currently, Outreach International works actively in seven countries: Bolivia, Malawi, Nepal, India, Cambodia, Haiti and the Philippines. The work in each country is done by independent, local teams, including practitioners. Communities are chosen based on important criteria, including —the presence of poverty, support from the local government and agencies and the safety of the practitioners. Each practitioner spends 4 to 5 years in their assigned community, intentionally listening and working closely with its people to develop sustainable projects.
“The practitioners and their teams are indigenous to their areas. That is very intentional because they have local knowledge, speak the local language, understand the context and know the people best. They take that intentional listening and turn it into a collaborative plan,” she shared. “Then, the communities prioritize the issues that they want to focus on within their community. Those issues will become community-led projects, and those projects are owned by the community, managed by the community and implemented by the community themselves.”
To date, Outreach International has worked in more than 200 communities across the world. When their work is complete in one community, they host a graduation. Since 2000, eighty percent of those communities are still actively engaged in their projects, the success gauged in their ability to decide the value of those projects and their commitment toward keeping them alive.
“The community-led projects include water projects, sanitation projects, food projects, livelihood projects, so that they can have income–the kinds of projects that will help them thrive and speak to their inherent needs as a community.”
Cloete carries a responsibility not only to the world around her, but also here at home. As they spread the word of the work at Outreach International, she and her team are often overwhelmed with the generosity of Kansas City’s people and encouraged by their deep belief in a world beyond poverty.
“What blows me away every time I meet a supporter is that they trust us to do good in the world. I take that as such an honor and also as a massive responsibility.”
Thankful being based in a city full of innovation, Cloete attributes much of Outreach International’s effectiveness to the intentional place where it was planted 47 years ago.
“It's often seen as this fly over city. It is no more, because innovative spaces in Kansas City are pushing against that and saying, ‘No, we are a city that should be recognized because there are amazing things happening in our city’.”
The success of Outreach International is made possible by the people who choose to partner with them, not only financially, but also by encouraging curiosity about the work of they do. Sharing on social media or initiating a conversation is a great place to start. Learn more about the opportunities to give and for education by visiting outreach-international.org/
Take a deeper dive into the work of the organization and hear the heart behind Elene's leadership on the Beyond Poverty podcast.
“What blows me away every time I meet a donor...is that they trust us to do good in the world."