博客來本書作者賈桂琳．諾佛葛拉茲(Jacqueline Novogratz)是知名公益創投基金「聰明人基金」(Acumen Fund)的發起人與執行長，也是所謂「市場導向的慈善事業」(market-based philanthropy)的提倡先驅。
本書從年僅二十六歲的賈桂琳．諾佛葛拉茲放棄了自己在國際金融領域的金飯碗、決心投身於瞭解全球貧窮問題談起，她從美國到非洲，努力找出有力的方法來面對貧窮的挑戰。
這一切要從她位於美國維尼亞州的家鄉開始說起。當年她得到了一件藍毛衣，這個禮物讓她愛不釋手。當藍毛衣已經小到穿不下時， 它被送進了一個慈善舊衣中心。十一年後，在非洲盧安達的街上，她忽然瞄到一位小男孩正穿著她那件藍毛衣，衣領標籤上還有她從前自己寫上去的名字。
那藍毛衣一路輾轉來到盧安達讓她明白：地球上每一個人都緊密相連，而我們每個人的行動(或不行動)或許都會影響到地球另一端、我們從未謀面的人。
從滿腔理想、前進非洲卻差點遇難，到日後開創了一個嶄新的公益機構，賈桂琳．諾佛葛拉茲娓娓道出她所遇見的各色精彩人物的故事，其中包括肯亞貧民窟裡暗 夜狂舞的女子、開設烘焙坊的未婚媽媽、盧安達大屠殺的勇敢倖存者，以及那些逆勢而為、努力為窮人提供基本民生服務的創業家。
她讓我們看到，不論是可笑或可悲，許多立意良善的傳統慈善工作最後常落得前功盡棄。然而，一種她稱為「耐心資本」(patient capital)的公益創投，卻可以幫助貧民靠自己的力量站起來，並改變了上百萬、上千萬人的生命。
《藍毛衣》不僅記錄了賈桂琳．諾佛 葛拉茲成長的歷程，更是她召喚大家一同行動的呼聲。她邀請我們一起來為全球貧民爭取生命尊嚴，並重新思考我們與這個世界的關係。
★本書中譯本由天下文化出版
The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession—until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside. That the sweater had made its trek all the way to Rwanda was ample evidence, she thought, of how we are all connected, how our actions—and inaction—touch people every day across the globe, people we may never know or meet.
From her first stumbling efforts as a young idealist venturing forth in Africa to the creation of the trailblazing organization she runs today, Novogratz tells gripping stories with unforgettable characters—women dancing in a Nairobi slum, unwed mothers starting a bakery, courageous survivors of the Rwandan genocide, entrepreneurs building services for the poor against impossible odds.
She shows, in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking, how traditional charity often fails, but how a new form of philanthropic investing called "patient capital" can help make people self-sufficient and can change millions of lives. More than just an autobiography or a how-to guide to addressing poverty, The Blue Sweater is a call to action that challenges us to grant dignity to the poor and to rethink our engagement with the world.
作者簡介
JACQUELINE NOVOGRATZ is founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture capital firm for the poor that invests in sustainable enterprises in the developing world.
