When I travel, I make certain that I spend at least half of my time in the field. You have to get out to meet people that are in poverty, that are looking to improve their lives. That's something that you can't read in books.
Interpretation
Experiencing life directly is crucial for understanding poverty and making a difference.
James Wolfensohn emphasizes the importance of firsthand experiences in understanding and addressing poverty. He argues that while books can provide valuable information, true comprehension and empathy towards those facing poverty can only be gained through real interactions and engagements in the field, allowing one to connect with individuals striving for better lives.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about the importance of fieldwork in social programs.
In this time of globalization, with all its advantages, the poor are the most vulnerable to having their traditions, relationships and knowledge and skills ignored and denigrated, and experiencing development with a great sense of trauma, loss and social disconnectedness.
The only way really to influence countries, in terms of poverty, is to get them to change their policies and get them to understand what the issues are.
Too many of the conflicts which are caused today are caused by the problems that emerge from people who are in poverty.
So the first thing you need to do about conflict is to prevent it, and the best way of preventing it is by dealing with the question of poverty.
The Bank had never used the word 'corruption' at all until I got there, and the reason for that was, as the general counsel pointed out to me, that quite a number of our shareholders represented were not immune from corruption in their governments.
In Holy Cross, I came to like school, to like studying in a way I had never done before.
Today it is time for every child to have a right to life, right to freedom, right to health, right to education, safety, the right to dignity, right to equality, and right to peace.
I always think of books as being like people. Even the dull ones are worthy of decent respect, but you don't have to seek them out and spend time with them.
You can teach students how to work; you can teach them technique - how to use reason; you can even give them a sense of proportions - of order. You can teach them general principles.
The first is that good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style) and then filling the third level of your toolbox with the right instruments. The second is that while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one
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