The road to hell is paved in good intentions.

Let’s face it, rich people can never truly help poor people by only giving them bags of rice.

Only a poor person understands the impact of poverty and what it does to a person’s mind. And even though I was raised in a middle-class family, got a college degree, had a professional career, I fell through the cracks, ended up a single mother, and lost everything. In essence, I became a sad statistic that befalls many women all over the world. My mind got altered from poverty, I suddenly found myself having to fill two roles: breadwinner and nurturer, and if it weren’t for my parents, I’d probably be homeless and impoverished. I definitely wouldn’t be here writing this. Writing is for privileged people.

The mental scars of having nothing and feeling helpless, alone and desperate for several years left their mark on my psyche.

I will never forget it. I still haven’t fully recovered since I am afraid to buy even the barest necessities for myself: underwear, clothes, shoes. But this story is not about me. I was one of the lucky ones. I got out last year when I found Steemit.

The reason most non-profit organizations fail is because rich people don’t really understand the mentality of poor people.

Poor people need useful tools so that they can create their own solutions to their own poverty.

They need to be the drivers of their own change, because if not, they will embody the crushing victim mentality, and poverty will just continue on through their children. Poverty is a mindset, a learned behavior or a consequence of location/discrimination.

There exists something that is already helping people all over the planet help themselves, lifting them out of poverty. It may not sound like much, but earning $5 a day on Steemit.com can make a huge difference for a lot of people in the world. And I heard that people in India are flocking to Steemit right now in large numbers.

They need a solution.

It’s here now. It is Steemit, a next-generation social media platform that anyone can join and benefit from. It’s community-driven which means anyone can earn, invest or become influential within it. I’ve been earning on Steemit for nearly a year now, and I can see clearly how it could potentially change the world into a better place. The reason I didn’t write this earlier is because Steemit had a number of social problems that was causing people unnecessary grief. Those problems have mostly been solved, so I feel happy again telling others about it.

Usually, these corny-sounding proclamations are empty hopes, but I’m living proof that the Steemit concept actually works to alleviate poverty.