In medicine, patients go to their doctors or to the hospital with a host of symptoms – numbness, fatigue, swelling, pain. Their doctors take stock of their symptoms, the physical manifestation and presentation of the patient’s illness. The doctors look at previous medical history, at various tests they’ve ordered – MRIs, CTs, x-rays – before they begin to rule out causes and finally narrow it down to the source of the patient’s symptoms.  They search continuously for the problem, so that they can fix it for good. They treat not the patient’s symptoms, but their underlying condition. They treat not what’s on the surface, but what’s on the inside. The rest falls into place.

Doctors treat the root of the problem, but it seems that the rest of us forget to do the same. Whether it’s in our personal lives, in the public sphere, or in policy – we often try to treat only the symptoms and expect the rest to fall into place. But treating only the symptoms isn’t a permanent fix. It repairs the surface-level damage without finding the source of the problem.

Disadvantaged Young Children’s Issues

In the United States, high levels of crime and incarceration and disturbingly large amounts of teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates are major problems. Policymakers are constantly vying over the right way to deal with these issues, constantly working to find solutions to these problems.

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But are these issues really the problem, or are they the surface-level symptoms of a deeper cause? Is there something we’re missing?

Between the two issues, there is a common thread: disadvantaged children. According to Professor James Heckman, of the University of Chicago, providing support for disadvantaged young children is the best thing that policymakers and society can do to lower the high rates of crime, adolescent pregnancy, and high school dropouts. Underprivileged kids that are forced to fend for themselves are the root of our problem, and investing in them is the best, most economical and efficient way to treat the cause. The rest will fall into place.

Treating Only the Symptoms Isn’t a Permanent Fix

Currently, the majority of policy is focused on dealing with the consequences of leaving disadvantaged children out in the cold – retribution and rehabilitation for criminals, GEDs for high school dropouts, etc. But studies show that remedial programs such as these are far more expensive and far less effective as programs that help young children develop not just cognitive skills, but more importantly character-building and social skills. Two experiments in particular, the Perry Preschool Program and the Abecedarian Program, demonstrate the significant correlation between early environments for children and their adolescent and adult outcomes. It turns out that the most important factor in predicting how a child will end up is not cognitive ability, nor socioeconomic class. It lies in their environment, and in the foundational skills and relationships that children develop in the earliest years of their life.

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The Perry and Abecedarian programs investigated the results of enriching the early environments of children living in low-income families. The data that they collected found that intervention provided long-term positive effects on the children’s academic achievement, job performance, and social behavior. The economic rate of return was at 14%, as compared to the standard return on stock market equity of 7.2%. Meanwhile, the public job training programs, adult literacy services, and other remedial services that are provided long after the harm has already been done, provide low economic returns. Because the individuals have a poor foundation filled with cracks and crevices, it is extremely difficult to build a strong house. The longer society waits to help, the less good it does for the people that need it.

What Is the Best Approach?

So what is the best way to deal with the root of the problem? What’s the best way to fix the central issue, so that the rest will fall into place?

It’s already been established that the earlier we start intervention, the more effective it is. The time between ages zero and three are the most critical and most significant. It’s in their baby and toddler years that the most good will come from intervention. However, that doesn’t mean that we can abandon them the moment they’ve lived three 365 day cycles. The benefits of investing in disadvantaged children are best sustained when it is followed by quality care. That means having strong schools and communities, and it means ensuring that the families are able to continue providing the environment necessary for fostering successful outcomes. We have to build strong character and motivation in the formative years, and we have to extend support beyond the children themselves to their parents.

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However, such a task isn’t easy, and it’s important that we ensure we respect both the family and the cultures of the communities in which we’re present. To do this, Professor Heckman advocates for engaging private industry. Collaborating with the people and companies that exist in the areas that most need our help is a good way to provide support without crossing boundaries and invading people’s homes.

We could all stand to think a little more like a doctor, especially when it comes to the subject of our society’s most important resource – our children. Investing in disadvantaged youth is not only the moral thing to do, it is economical and efficient. It treats the underlying condition. The rest will fall into place.

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We sometimes see traditional charitable efforts to deliver social services as a one way flow – one dollar to feed my neighbor is one less dollar to feed my own. However, new, innovative and bold minds, coupled with greater awareness of global struggles, have paved the bridge where underprivileged communities can access temporary monetary relief and the means to extend the reach of such largesse. Social enterprises are at the vanguard of marrying the financial and management expertise of global bodies with local talent to spur sustainable social and environmental projects.

If there is a single person who embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of today’s bold stride towards making a difference in local communities, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the social impact body Virgin United, has shown all of us how ingenuity and a passion for helping others alone can create a lasting impression on the world. Having sculpted his first magazine business at the age of 16 and successfully launched and signed the signature artists Rolling Stones and Sex Pistols through his flagship company Virgin Records, Sir Branson has incorporated an innate sense of entrepreneurship in his day to day life.

The true artistry of his knack for creativity came into play when Sir Branson entered the humanitarian world by supporting public health efforts to alleviate some of the most formidable infections like HIV/AID, malaria, and tuberculosis in deprived regions at the grass root level. By establishing the nonprofit Virgin Unite brand under his venture capital firm Virgin Group, individuals in poverty-stricken countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, have not only received access to tools to mitigate the spread of life-threatening infections, but also the dual benefit of being able to use these resources to create sustainable businesses that can improve local livelihoods.

Heaven’s Angels Campaign

One deeply rhapsodizing movement by Virgin Unite is captured in its Heaven’s Angels Campaign, which challenges the lack of proper inland infrastructure in South Africa and Kenya that is obstructing healthcare products and services from reaching thousands of people who could otherwise avoid victimization by communicable diseases. The team equips previously unemployed locals with motorcycles to deliver batches of medicines, equipment, and medical services to rural and isolated districts. However, the story does not end here. With each motorcycle averaging $5,000 in costs, the entrepreneurial spirit of the employees has inspired them to employee this capital to upstart their proprietary taxi and transportation enterprises. As a result, the campaign acts as its own funding source while delivering humanitarian relief. Individuals flirting with the thought of creating their own or participating in established social welfare projects can look to Sir Richard Branson as an epitome of how society can sidestep the pitfall of charity models in which we transfer resources for temporary relief that do not carry the added benefit of self-sustaining those efforts in the long run. People in all tranches of society, whether working on public policy initiatives or incubating private campaigns, can assimilate some aspect of United Virgin’s approach to give more families the amenities that we sometimes take for granted.

Along with promulgating public health campaigns across underprivileged rural communities, Virgin Unite champions its social enterprise approach to challenging environmental distresses impacting us on a personal level. Four years ago, the team introduced the Carbon War Room venture to tackle the hemorrhaging emission of Co2 in a progressively urban period. The CWR spawned an innovative online platform that gauges the level of gas emission efficiency of individual vessels across the global shipping industry, responsible for 1 billion tons of annual discharge of Co2. Budding and established corporations are employing this framework to make conscious decisions in regards to the makeup of their maritime fleet. While most of us may not consider this initiative in a traditional philanthropic light, it quintessentially underpins how pressing social concerns can be mitigated while igniting ways for these efforts to fuel themselves or provide ancillary benefits that can help sustain social impact projects.

While we all may have our differences in opinions about how we can best serve society at large, Sir Richard Branson reminds us that the most critical ingredient to a meaningful cause is that initial momentum and sense of initiative. If we do not take the stand to involve ourselves with the opportunities to make a material impact flying right by us, then there is no chance that marginalized groups of people can receive any alleviation. We might feel it impossible to make a dent in the larger scheme of the world, but if we overcome that apprehension, then we can see how entrepreneurial spirit at the grass root level can drive some of the most profound movements taking place right now.

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Everybody do that, whether it’s politics or some minor sociological issue such as the problem of stray dogs on the streets. However, we usually end up these debates realizing that we either don’t have enough time to deal with such matters, or that no one truly cares. Somebody else must have thought of solving such problems before, but it’s impossible to do anything about it in this country, we often conclude. Things like pessimism, mocking the system and the people, come next.

I have to say, you are all wrong

Only four months ago, one of my friends and I came to the very situation I’ve mentioned above. We were strolling through the city center. We saw street beggars there, asking for some money, sitting in the cold. There were also street musicians playing some sad love songs, although it was freezing outside, and homeless people rummaging through trash cans looking for food and clothing. At the same time, we were warmly dressed, not feeling hungry, holding hot coffees in our hands. Sounds familiar? At that moment you probably think of nothing else but how lucky you are to have so little, and yet, comparing to others, so much.

An explosion of feelings happens inside. First of all, there’s this feeling of guilt, for instance, because you had complained about something the day before, but nothing was really wrong with you. Then there’s compassion for the pain and sorrow of these street people who are obviously in much more trouble than you. Finally, we come to the crucial point, a certain crossroad, with two different ways. The one is to share your feelings with a friend. After a short conversation about the issue, you make up your mind to take your old clothes to the Red Cross or some drop-in-center (to get rid of guilt) and continue your life as nothing has happened. The other way is to do something that will really make a difference!

It didn’t take us long to come up with the idea.

We had a vision to partially solve the problem. How about sharing our mixed-up feelings and emotions with all the people from Serbia and the rest of the world? Why don’t we start a chain reaction of generosity and thus inspire others to do the same? We decided to make a motivational video and show how little it takes to bring a smile to someone’s face. People in Serbia are known for their compassion and interest for tough moments others are going through. However, It’s no secret that the world is circulating the wrong image of Serbia and stereotypes attached to it. There is also so much pessimism around us. Therefore, we had enormous inspiration to make a big step towards stopping the abovementioned problems.

It was worth trying.

We set our idea in motion the very same day! We invited one of our friends with an excellent knowledge of video production. So, there were three of us, all students with less than a thousand Dinars (9 EUR) in each pocket. But, we had a vision how to make some changes in our society with the knowledge, time and experience we have. We filmed and edited the video in two days. Then we posted it on YouTube. Within two hours about 40,000 people saw it. The phone started to ring and our Facebook page was full of messages and comments. All web portals were writing about us and the media supported our idea.

We have bought some food to homeless people. They were so grateful. Quite a simple thing, but this meant a lot to them. In this video we also invited others to join us, do something good and thus inspire more people to act in the same way. You could hardly imagine how many people contacted us with a desire to help. There were those from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and from all parts of Serbia. People called and explained their ideas and visions to do something even bigger and better. Our hearts were full!

Honestly, we have never dreamed of the fact that so many people would react in such a positive way. We were prepared to face with failure. We did not have much faith, yet it turned out that we are still the nation full of compassion for others. We have awareness and it doesn’t take us long to do something good and to move forward. We’ll not stop here! We still have the vision and idea how to solve some issues and how to make the world a better place. We still want to inspire others, to help those in need, and those who have remained in streets for reasons and circumstances unknown to us. We want to give them a second chance and send to the world a better image of people from Serbia. Luckily, now we can achieve our cause with ease. As more and more people want to join us, there are less sad faces on the streets. Smiles are everywhere.

So far we have succeeded to encourage people to do something good and be generous on everyday basis. For example, in the bakery people now buy a loaf of bread over and give it to the homeless when they are passing by. In one of our campaigns we have invited people to bring old clothes. Thirty bags of warm clothing have been collected for children from Home for Infants, Children and Youth, drop-in-center, and for the Red Cross. Furthermore, we have invited people to organize a charity gig and raise money for the treatment of nine-year-old Biljana Stojković. There were more similar campaigns and appeals to help those in need.

We are not heroes of these stories!

The true heroes are all these people who gladly respond to such appeals. It doesn’t take much to react positively and do something good for others. Like we said before, we will not stop here. On March 20 we are planning to organize another campaign and collect plenty of clothes for children from shelters and drop-in-centers. We invite all of you who want to help others in any way to do so every time you have a chance! It does not have to be a homeless person. It can be your next-door neighbor or an old woman crossing the street. Or you can comfort someone who is sad by giving him/her a smile!

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