ABSTRACT
Poverty is complex and multidimensional, therefore, it calls for a comprehensive approach to eradication, addressing all aspects of a family’s life including meeting their basic needs, educating the children, having access to affordable healthcare and, most importantly, helping them to develop a skill and/or trade to generate income. A system is a complex environment of interacting components, together with the networks of relationships among them, that identifies an entity or a set of processes. Systems thinking are the habit of mind that considers any social entity as a complex interaction of individual and institutional actors, each with conflicting interests and goals and with several feedback loops. The difference in using a systems model is the requirement to consider multiple perspectives, that is, trying to access the mindset of each group of stakeholders from their point of view. A truly imaginative approach to poverty alleviation will engage a wide range of partners with overlapping interests and networks.
