For more on Nuru and ONE, go to www.nuruinternational.org and www.one.org.
Elizabeth Atherton’s passion is helping the world’s poorest people, so much so that the Roswell accountant pretty much spends every waking moment doing it. Several years ago, Atherton quit her job at one of the major accounting firms and now works as controller for Nuru International, a nonprofit devoted to fighting extreme poverty in rural Kenya and Ethiopia. And then, in her free time, Atherton volunteers with ONE, an advocacy organization co-founded by Bono, lead singer of the band U2, and is working to end poverty and preventable diseases, mostly in Africa. The AJC caught up with Atherton shortly after she returned from a three-day trip to Washington, D.C., where she and other ONE volunteers were urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Energize Africa Act, legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to help 50 million people in sub-Saharan Africa get access to electricity, which is needed to improve their standard of living and create jobs.
Q: How did you get involved with trying to end poverty in Africa?
A: I have been really passionate about it for a long time, even when I was working in the for-profit sector. I just found the injustice of people living in extreme poverty in a world a plenty upsetting.
Q: Why don’t you concentrate your efforts to fighting poverty in this country?
A: I’ve heard that a lot. Poverty in the U.S. is a big issue and there are a lot of groups working on that. What Nuru and ONE are fighting to end is what is termed extreme poverty — people living on less than $1.25 a day and living at a level that prevents them from making any meaningful choices about their lives. Seven of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to electricity. Children are dying of very preventable diseases.
Q: Have you been to the areas in Africa that you are focused on?
A: I get to travel to the rural parts of Kenya and Ethiopia several times a year for work and see our efforts there. It is not something that a lot of accountants get to do.
Q: Has seeing that kind of poverty firsthand changed you?
A: It would be impossible for it not to. Meeting the families makes it more personal. These are people who want to make changes. They are not looking for handouts but partners. Traveling to these areas has made me want to live more simply and made me grateful for the simplest of things. I can turn on the lights here and there are always lights. If I get sick, I can call an ambulance for help. There is always water in the tap and it is safe. These things would be miraculous for millions of people.
Q: Have you met Bono and what is he like?
A: He is so passionate and knows more about international aid and development than I ever will and that’s my full time job. He is using his fame for such a good cause. I always liked U2. I like the band even more now.
Q: Do you believe that we can end extreme poverty?
A: I believe that 100 percent. We often only hear news about how desperate things are. You don’t hear how much progress has been made. In 2000, there were very few people in sub-Saharan Africa getting AIDS medication. In 2014, 10 million people living there had access to that medication. Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut in half. I believe that the legacy of our generation can be that we made poverty history.
About the Author
