During Wednesday evening’s “Agape Latte”, Father Richard McGowan spoke about microfinance and its relation to his observations in El Salvador. Father McGowan, an Associate Professor of the Carroll School of Management, taught economic and business forecasting at a university in San Salvador for the past three summers.

 Since his contribution to the funerals of four alumni who were killed on 9/11, Father McGowan recalled his yearning to “get out of a rut.” Influenced by a fellow Jesuit, he began the long journey to El Salvador; a journey he did not realize would be recurrent throughout his life. He recalled the barbed wire of middle-class homes, the dead bodies along the highway, and the 6.5 earthquake that occurred during only his second week in El Salvador.

From his observations, Father McGowan realized that we need things like earthquakes to “shake us up.” In terms of microfinance, he compared earthquakes to taking risks. Father McGowan indicated the need to do our part by educating countries considered less economically sound, without completely financially supporting them. Just as we are taking risks by lending our time and help, we are allowing them to take risks by creating a future free of total economic dependency on another nation.

Although Father McGowan dedicated such a large amount of time to teaching in El Salvador, he realized he too was taking risks, risks that were potentially life threatening. Father McGowan acknowledged the many American Jesuits killed in El Salvador and the uncertainty of his safety abroad. Regardless, he continues to believe in the power of service, ending his lecture with, “Everybody gains when you start sharing a little.”