Poverty looks at us and changes us

It’s not about criticizing or criticizing. We already hear things like that every day, and they can unintentionally harden us. The horizon that this day offers: possibilities, beginnings, This is a starting point that allows us to see poverty not only as suffering, but also as a place of encounter and opportunity. It is an opportunity to include, transform, listen, accompany, and build from below the structures that many communities have begun to rebuild with patience, creativity, and humanity.

When we talk about the poor, we are talking about specific people. It’s not about numbers or categories or abstract issues. We’re talking about families living on the edge, workers unable to support themselves on their own earnings, immigrants seeking safety, young people without real opportunities, and older people surviving beyond life. And we also talk, and sometimes don’t talk enough, about people who live deprived of their liberty, who are held captive not just by court decisions, but by a series of circumstances that begin long before they enter prison. A story of abandonment, instability, and silence. Making these faces visible also opens an important chapter in human dignity.

This day has not only symbolic power, but also the power to promote very real processes. Today is a day to reconsider what it means to be an escort. Accompanying someone is not just about offering help or covering their needs. Being present means engaging, listening, walking together, recognizing capabilities and allowing the person to be the protagonist rather than the passive object of intervention. Being present means understanding that the poor are subjects, not recipients. It’s not a problem, it’s a possibility;It’s not a limit, it’s a possibility of encounter. When real support is provided from individual to individual and from organization to community, avenues for change emerge that policies in isolation cannot create.

This conference also challenges us to rethink work, a vital space on which our everyday dignity depends. Decent work is about more than a minimum wage. It is the possibility to build, feel recognized, grow and participate in life projects.. Without rights initiatives and humane conditions, inclusion efforts will remain incomplete. There is a great opportunity here to build bridges between sometimes divergent sectors, such as businesses, trade unions, social institutions, educational centers and public administration. This day can be a privileged moment for concrete initiatives, such as inclusive employment programmes, vocational training for people with a history of exclusion, job placement dates inside and outside of prisons, and social entrepreneurship projects. Where decent work is created, poverty is reduced.

But the changes are not only external, but also spiritual, cultural, and symbolic. For communities to sustain the process of inclusion, they must first see reality differently. We must leave behind the clichés and stigmas that weigh so heavily on the poor and prisoners. We must assume that no one builds themselves, that we are all vulnerable in some way, and that vulnerability is part of the human condition. This day will help you develop new sensibilities: listen before you judge, understand before you categorize, and see before you label. As your outlook changes, so will your decisions. If your decisions change, your reality will also change.

This new sensitivity also opens the door to lasting alliances. No organization, no matter how well-intentioned, can single-handedly change the conditions that create exclusion. That’s why this day can be an opportunity to strengthen collaboration between civil society, religious organizations, universities, government, and business. Each makes a different contribution. Some offer intimacy and community structure. Other professionalism and resources. Other research and evaluation. Other ability to create employment. Synergistic effects double your results. Conferences can be meeting places where common visions are drawn and concrete steps are agreed that move beyond good intentions and become a stable project.

But there is also a deeper aspect. This day is a reminder that poverty challenges everyone, not just organizations and governments. It challenges us to ask ourselves what we can contribute from our daily lives. Sometimes we believe that it takes big gestures to change society, but intimate cultures are built with small movements: Responsible consumption, planned volunteer work, serious listening, active participation in community activities, words of support, and a dignified look. This day reminds us that we all have a role, that we are all needed, and that no one is too small to make a difference.

The important thing is not to reduce this day to a specific moment. Yes, that day may be a memory, but more than anything, it may be a momentum. It can be the beginning of an annual cycle of commitment, recognition, and social creativity. It may be the day we begin to transform the temporary into the stable, the caring into the structured, the spontaneous into the organized. It could be an opportunity to affirm that human dignity is non-negotiable and that mutual consideration is the basis of a truly human society.

If we open the door today, if we reach out today, If today we hear stories that we didn’t want to hear or didn’t know how to hear before, we’re already changing something. And changing something, no matter how small, is the beginning of changing everything. This day invites us to do just that. Rather than lamenting what’s missing, it’s about building for what’s to come. Rather than remaining within the diagnosis, become a craftsman in that field. Rather than looking at poverty from a distance, it’s about walking very close to the men and women who deserve to live fulfilling lives just like anyone else.

If World Day of the Poor is an opportunity to restore our prospects, strengthen our hands and expand our heartsthen it won’t be enough for just one day. It will be the beginning and a turning point in the way we interact with people living in vulnerable situations. It starts with small gestures, concrete encounters, tangible decisions, and even inner changes that teach us to see things differently.

Because what truly changes history is not the intensity of the moment, but the perseverance that inspires us to continue acting in the moment. If we can take this day as an opportunity to maintain the process, maintain the intimacy, and create a truly inclusive space, we will be building something lasting. And by taking perhaps small but deeply human steps every day, we can turn this beginning into a life together, a growing community, and a hope that extends to all.