How does a culture change for the better? How can the everyday problems of a society be effectively addressed for the long term? In other words, more than just a quick fix, the kind of band-aid solution which can actually be counterproductive? For an example, take Haiti’s poverty. After $10
Tag: Poverty
“Why does Africa import $50 billion worth of food that it could grow itself? Jon Vandenheuvel can give you the answer in one word.” So says Mike Metzger. The call upon my life has been to engage with the world of poverty. A question central to that endeavor has been
A friend lived in a remote village in northern Thailand where the people did not know what it was to dream of a better future. In response, he began to “dream out loud” sitting around the communal fire in the evening. Over time, as people began to hear his vision
Dr. Bryant L. Myers, for years a leader in the development arm of World Vision and now a professor of international development at Fuller Seminary, has written a thoughtful piece on development titled: Progressive Pentecostalism, Development, and Christian Development NGOs: A Challenge and an Opportunity. In the executive summary of
The book of Ruth contains wonderful lessons about work, personal responsibility and poverty. In parts 1 and 2 we started examining the relative responses of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz to economic realities which are very relevant today. This final post picks up where we left off. ~ What did Ruth
Our first installment ended by noting Naomi’s bitterness of soul upon returning to Israel, a widow bereft of her children. But what did Ruth do? And what about Boaz? Naomi heard that the famine had lifted in Israel, so she and Ruth returned to her village. Hebrew law required the
Poverty is rooted in lies at the level of culture. One of the greatest causes of poverty in the world is the lie that “Work is a curse!” This lie is manifest globally in the lives of individuals, communities and nations. Yes, you read that correctly. The economic poverty of
For several generations the “social service” model defined the nature of helping the poor in the Global South and elsewhere. In this model the development industry provides relief and development “services” to aid the poor. Development workers go into poor communities and ask, “What do you need?” Then they provide
Is Haiti’s poverty about insufficient funds? When it comes to fighting poverty, we tend to rely too much on money. We equate poverty with the lack of money, so naturally we want to give money. This is especially the case with government anti-poverty programs. Governments have access to lots of
“A lack of money.” That’s probably how most people would define poverty. But those who actually live in poverty may be more qualified to answer. If so, what might they say? A few years ago, someone from HOPE International interviewed 20 people, most of whom lived on less than $2