EndorsementS

Jack Sim
Founder, World Toilet Organization

Capitalism is supposed to give the world equal opportunity and deliver social justice. However, the developed world's growth model seems to be focused on consumption as a symbol of progress. In short, our rat-race means we spend our entire life trying to one-up each other with our ostentatious lifestyle without any real profound meaning for our souls. Each purchase may give us a temporary high but we feel hollow after that. Consumption has become an addictive drug of capitalism. Excessive consumption depletes our earth resources.

Yet, while we are busy buying gadgets we don't really need, 2.7 billion of the world's population are living on less than US$1 a day. 

We need more altruism, more social justice and more meaning in this world. We can help the poor to help themselves. We can create a fairer distribution of wealth and of the earth resources. Many of us are now are searching for a redefinition of progress, human development, and even the fundamental question of what the purpose of life is. 

The good news is that today, there are passionate groups of people everywhere looking for and working on solutions to these issues. They are part of what is called the social sector, and their numbers are growing as they inspire others to join in the journey of redesigning a better world.

The bad news is that the social sector is messy and fragmented. And it is not because I am in the sanitation part of the sector. In fact, some parts of the social sector are messier than toilets. A major part of every donor dollar does not end up with the poor. The humanitarian industry is full of elaborate conferences, declarations with little action, business class flights, 5 stars hotels, glorious meals, expensive consultancy, heavy “bureaucrazy,” and other overheads cost. Many have drifted off their original altruistic mission into self-preservation mode.

It's great to know that there is now a book that makes sense of all the crap that moves around in this sector.

The World that Changes the World has created a framework by which all the disparate, fragmented pieces of the social sector are made understandable and coherent. It gives us more credit than we may deserve, but, nevertheless, the book reinforces the hope and spirit that drives many of us. 

Read this book. Be inspired by it and join us in building a fairer, gentler and more sustainable world.