The New Heroes

I had a rare chance to watch TV tonight. Of course, there is only crap on. I was cruising through the 7 channels that I had and I saw something that said "New Heroes" on it. Honestly, I thought it was the heroes show that everyone talks about but I have never seen. They were showing a guy in India that was a doctor who came up with an idea to eradicate unnecessary blindness caused by cataracts. He developed these eye shops where they would repair eyes. He also developed a way to manufacture these lens things that they put into peoples eyes for $1. They called it Social Entrepreneurship. Developing the economy but in a way that serves people. The next one was two guys that developed a cheap water pump for Sub-Sahara Africa. With this pump a person would stand on it and rock back and forth to pump water. The water would go up and power rudimentary sprinklers. With this simple pump, these Africans were able to irrigate plants which improved their crops and they were able to turn small profits which changed their lives. My favorite one was a guy in Brazil that was providing electricity to Gaucho's or cowboys. A problem in many parts of South America is that the farmers move to the city to try to make a living. They live in extreme poverty in the city. This Gaucho provided electricity to electric irrigation pumps. Farmers produced rice and started turning profits and created a better life for themselves. They told a story about how a young man moved back to the country side to stay because they now had everything that the city offered but now clean water and safe places to stay.

I really liked the idea of social entrepreneurship. A way to make a profit but to use that profit or idea not only to improve your own life but everyone else's. Much like the mirco economic guy that gives out loans to poor people. My favorite saying is not profit to feed a few mouths but to feed many. I hope in the future there are more innovative ideas out there that change the world, especially for places like South America and Africa.