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Black and white photo of a young ethnic girl

The Name

The name Profugo means Refugee in Italian. The word Refugee conjures up images of displaced people fleeing from oppression. Historically, persecution has taken place in every age and culture. It happens due to race, religion, nationality, association with a particular group or class, and many other reasons. Persecution can be experienced at a societal level as well as an individual one.

What Profugo means, to us

We see the name Profugo applying to two groups of people - one group in the developed or first world communities and the second in third world, developing or under-developed communities. Refugees in developed communities, how is that possible? To us, the word Profugo simply means 'the feeling of being displaced', 'not belonging' or 'of being alienated'. In developed communities the isolation may be more likely due to psychological issues, while being both physical and psychological in developing ones.

In first world or developed communities, some people may sense a strong feeling of alienation because they seek a greater purpose or alignment for their lives. They may have a career and a plan, but feel displaced even so.

Photo of a young man in thought
Questions like – “What am I here for (of what consequence is my life)? What am I to do with the skills and resources that I have? How does my current job fit into the BIG picture?” hound them. Other individuals in the community may not share these feelings or questions, hence the sense of isolation. This sense of isolation is deepened by a marketplace that invites people to seek comfort in material things. But material things never satisfy. They may offer a sense of excitement initially, but may also create a sense of greater loss in the longer run.

On the other side of the spectrum are people in developing or under-developed communities. We live in an increasingly complex society that is, at once more connected and disconnected than ever. As technology has allowed persons and economies from all corners of the world to interact on a daily basis, those without resources are more and more isolated. People in developing and under-developed communities are bound to their situations as they struggle with challenges on multiple fronts. They live and plan for one day at a time. They do not have the ‘luxury’ of a welfare system. When faced with a calamity in their lives they have to rely on local money lenders for help. Local money lenders extort very high interest rates for the ‘help’ they provide. Unable to pay back the money they borrow, individuals have to give up the little they possess, even their children as repayment. Depression takes firm root as they are unable to see a better tomorrow and judge themselves incapable to shape their family’s future. They are oppressed by their circumstances.

Photo of an ethnic gentleman

The Bridge

Profugo seeks to create a platform for collaboration between like-minded people from around the world, who seek to “invest” their resources and actively participate in shaping the future of people in the developing world. The core of Profugo’s ‘Center of Development’ (COD) model consists of a Health Center, a Business Development Center and a Micro-Finance Center. These three components will drive infrastructure development in target communities. The Health Center will monitor and improve the health and wellness of individuals so that they can participate in creating their own ‘Life Plan’ and also in shaping the development of their local community. The Business Development Center will focus on Entrepreneurship. While developing new business ventures for the community, the BDC will equip local entrepreneurs with required skills. The Micro-Finance Center will provide the financial support needed by the local population to grow their ventures. The Center of Development model is being created with the intention to replicate. The strength of the model will be in the number of successful implementations around the world. Each COD will collaborate with local authorities and share information and ideas. Our hope is that we will be able to fuel better policy decisions, especially around healthcare. Profugo’s goal is not to ‘reinvent the wheel’, but rather to build upon and integrate existing business ideas and technologies. We believe that in the long run, each COD will not only be self-sustaining, but also profitable.