“The Power of Half’’ is a spirited chronicle of the family’s search for ways to make a meaningful contribution to help the less fortunate. The Salwens spend a year studying homelessness, hunger, illiteracy, and other issues, eventually deciding to focus on world poverty.
One of the best parts of the book is the Salwens’ conscientious effort to determine what type of aid programs actually work. Kevin Salwen, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, discovers that Western nations have poured $2.3 trillion into Third World countries since the late 1950s, with little to show for it. He learns that aid works best if local people decide for themselves how the money will be spent and if they stay fully involved from beginning to end.
After completing their research, the Salwens take the unusual step of interviewing executives at four aid groups before finally settling on the Hunger Project. That organization sets up “epicenters’’ that serve groups of nearby villages. Epicenters typically include a meeting hall, a microloan bank, a food storage facility, and a health center, and run programs aimed at helping villagers become more economically self-reliant.
The Salwens agree to fund the construction and operation of two epicenters for five years at a total cost of $800,000 in Ghana, a West African nation where four out of five people live on less than $2 a day, according to the United Nations. Much more than a story about a family’s generosity, “The Power of Half’’ celebrates the way the Salwens come together to complete the project. From the start, they agree that every aspect will be a group decision.
