Christmas comes to us each year as a reminder that hope often arrives quietly, not with power or spectacle. The story of Christmas is not one of abundance, but of humility — a child born into poverty, welcomed by ordinary people, and entrusted to those who had little by the world’s standards.
In my years of working with poor communities, I have learned that real change often begins in similar ways. Not through grand theories or dramatic promises, but through small, patient acts — clean water reaching a village, women gathering to save together, families protected from illness, children staying in school.
As we reflect this Christmas, I am reminded that poverty reduction is not only an economic challenge. It is a moral and human one. It asks whether we are willing to see, to listen, and to walk alongside those whose voices are rarely heard.
The Poverty Reduction Knowledge Portal is slowly taking shape as a space to share such field-based lessons — not as finished answers, but as lived experience offered in humility. This Christmas, my prayer is simple: that our work, in whatever form it takes, contributes in some small way to dignity, justice, and hope for the poor.
Wishing you and your families a blessed Christmas.
#Christmas #PovertyReduction #Hope #HumanDignity
Rajaratnam Abel 