这个女人把自己的噩梦变成了别人的梦想

AS IT IS 2015-06-15 Woman Turns Her Nightmare into a Dream for Others 这个女人把自己的噩梦变成了别人的梦想

French film producer Albina du Boisrouvray was born into wealth and opportunity. She had a successful career in film and the arts. Then she married a successful and rich businessman.

Her life seemed perfect.

Then tragedy hit.

In 1986, her only son died in a helicopter accident in West Africa. He was 24.

"He was a very dedicated¹ search-and-rescue pilot and he lost his life at age 24 in a mission in Mali."

His name was Francois-Xavier Bagnoud. He was a search-and-rescue pilot. His dedicated his life to finding and helping² people who were in trouble.

After her son died, Albina du Boisrouvray created an organization to fulfill³ his life’s work. She founded FXBVillage, named with his initials. The organization finds and helps people living in extreme poverty – people who are destitute⁴, who do not have even the most basic necessities. 

"So when I set up this organization, I wanted it to take on his commitment to rescuing people on a large basis, and that's why I started with those children who were so destitute and the people living in poverty."

FXB began in 1990 in Uganda. It started by helping children whose parents had died of HIV/AIDS. FXB invested in the children and the adults who cared for them so they could move out of poverty.

Today, FXB works in eight countries that have some of the highest poverty rates in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Here is how the program works.

Eighty to 100 families at a time are brought into the program – or "village," as it is called – for three years. In the first year, the families get free food, health care, education and housing. This investment allows the person making the money in the family – the  breadwinner – to focus on building a business.

FXB also buys items for the breadwinner. Maybe it is a cow, or farming tools or a sewing machine – whatever is needed to build the business. These purchases are not loans. FXB provides them all for free.

"And so the second year they have made savings⁵ and they participate in the budget, about 25 percent, we invest 75 percent. Third year it's 50-50; the fourth year they are on their own."

Albina du Boisrouvray says FXBVillage builds a family's ability to provide for itself. Over the past 25 years, the organization has helped lift more than 80,000 people out of poverty.

The program costs only $125 to $230 per person per year. But the results are huge. And the success rate is very high. Eighty-six percent of families who complete the program succeed in getting out of extreme poverty. And they stay out.

The people who take part in the program, says Ms. du Boisrouvray, are mostly woman and children. She says the experience gives them things that cannot be measured – feelings such as dignity and pride.

"It also gives women, which I see, mostly women  – and children, but mostly women, back their dignity, their pride, and it unleashes⁶ all their capabilities⁷ of creativity of work."

When people are empowered, she says, they can help themselves and their families gain a better life.

Margaret Besheer reported this story for VOA News.

Words in This Story

dedicated – adj. having very strong support for or loyalty⁸ to a person, group or cause

destitute – adj. extremely poor

breadwinner –n. idiomatic⁹ a person who earns money to support a family

dignity – n. the quality of being worthy¹⁰ of honor or respect

pride – n. a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people

empower – v. to give power to someone

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

4 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 unleashes   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• These findings qualify the common view that economic growth unleashes myriad discontents. 这些发现，纠正了一个普遍观点，即经济发展使人们尽情宣泄不满。 来自互联网
• This caster unleashes a storm of electric discharge on the enemy. 法师向敌人释放出一片电火花的风暴。 来自互联网

7 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

9 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。

10 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。