Why I dread telling people where I work

Inevitably, the question always comes up when you meet someone new or see an old acquaintance. “So, where do you work?”

I love my job. I love the organization I work for, Unbound.

But how do you explain all the incredible work that Unbound does? We work with families in poverty to help provide opportunities to move forward. The causes of poverty are diverse. Our program is just as diverse. We have more than 300,000 families in our program, and we know every single one. We know what they need, what is challenging for them. Once someone decides to start supporting them by sending $30 each month, the options they can receive are endless. In rural Uganda, its standard to make sure every new family receives a latrine over the first few months they receive funds. Having a latrine close to the house means not having to go into the wilderness to take care of business. In Mexico, sometimes families elect to immediately receive food or pay for education or buy their kids a new pair of shoes. Or they can save money to buy something their family might need, like a gas powered generator to be able to farm more land and raise their monthly income. In India, money goes into a personal bank account where the mother decides if she will save it or use it for more urgent needs. Our work with families to break the cycle of poverty has endless nuances because it is so individualized.

Some families choose to receive food, but that is no longer the norm

We foster relationships, friendships really, between a donor and the specific person their money supports. We encourage you to exchange photos and letters, and to learn about each other’s realities. What is a typical day like in Manila? What crops do they grow in Madagascar? People who give to Unbound enter into a relationship with a family in another country, and know exactly who is receiving their donations and for what purpose. In addition, for a teen growing up in a small town in Mexico, sometimes knowing that someone somewhere is cheering for them makes all the difference in their studies and life choices.

And to make explaining all these depths and nuances more challenging, I desperately want everyone I know to join us, to financially support an individual and their family, to give them opportunities they could not have otherwise. Because it’s life changing for you and for them. I never want anyone to feel pressure or guilt, but there is urgency. I have met the families who are waiting. Some have been waiting for two years for a helping hand.

Some of these lovelies are part of our program and some are still waiting.

As part of my job, I hear inspiring, heart-warming stories from my co-workers around the world. But to only share these stories makes light of a very difficult reality. I also hear tragic stories that are incredibly challenging every week. Because when you walk alongside 300,000 families, you hear both the beautiful and the terrible about life in a developing country.

So that is where I work. What I do there? That’s another story for another time.

A neighborhood where we work. It's precariously balanced on the side of a hill.