Poverty programs should stress jobs, not 'dole-outs,' Filipino nuns argue

September 08, 2010

Missionary nuns in the Philippines have denounced an anti-poverty program that provides cash payments to needy families, saying that handouts do not solve the problem of poverty.

“The poor should not be treated like beggars,” said Sister Elsa Compuesto, executive secretary of the Sisters’ Association in Mindanao. Rather than “dole-outs,” she called for agrarian reforms and efforts to stimulate job creation, saying that these would be more long-lasting answers to poverty.

 

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Further information:

• Hand-outs hurt the poor, Mindanao nuns say (UCAN)