I wanted to share some interesting words I heard this weekend...
People often ask 'if there really is a God how can He let so many people suffer?'
Instead of trying to defend your belief in God, this question can be replied to with another question... 'as a North American blessed with having all your needs met and more, how can you sit back and do nothing while so many people suffer?'
I think this is a fantastic way to respond because regardless of someone's beliefs or non-beliefs it gets right to the point and puts the responsibility of helping back where it belongs, on us as individuals!
I'm sure many have had similar thoughts but I can't stop thinking about how many conveniences we have in our lives. We take so much for granted that I think we'd be surprised how much we could afford to give if we took a closer look at where we spend our money. Lately I've begun to think this way every time I go to Tim's or Starbucks for a coffee, eat out for lunch instead of making my own or buy the kids take-out food on trips. These little bits of money here and there could actually pay for a child's food, education and medical! I'm not saying we should give up everything and always feel guilty about the things we enjoy, but instead, keep the thought of those in need present in our minds. Maybe this means rather than buying a coffee every day we decrease the frequency to every other day and put the money saved into a 'feed the poor fund' or even sponsor a child.
For those that are curious about what Christians believe about God and suffering, a message from Adrian Rogers...
"If there is a God and that God is a good God, then why is there suffering?" "What kind of a God is it that has created evil?" Ever heard those comments? Ever made them yourself? You're not alone. Many people have thought the same thing. But that's not straight thinking. Let me tell you the way it truly is. God did not create evil. God created perfection. God made man perfectly free, and freedom therefore gave rise to evil. In order to love, we must be free to choose to love. Then, in order to choose to love, we have to be able to choose not to love.
Which kind of love do you want from others? A forced love or a free love? Which sounds better, "I have to love you" or "I love you"?
Monday, September 21, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
My Thoughts on International Community Development….
A web search of international community development or poverty or human rights produces pages of websites, from a wide-range of countries. There are so many organizations trying to help end the poverty and social injustices faced by millions and millions of people around the world. Some of the ways these organizations provide aid is through food, health care, education, economic programs and policy changes. However as you click from one website to the next you quickly become aware of the enormity of the problem. In fact it’s overwhelming, and often leaves people wondering, “what can I possibly do to make any noticeable difference”.
It’s a known fact that throwing money at social problems only fixes them temporarily by alleviating immediate needs. To produce long-term changes it’s necessary to dig to the root of the problem and/or go back to the source to address the initial cause. Poverty and social injustice in a country are usually caused by a combination of factors, such as war, corrupt governments, natural disaster, etc. These are not easy problems to eliminate or resolve and often take years of intervention by other governments or policy changes to produce any visible results. In the meantime, the poor and disadvantaged people in the country are left suffering the consequences. So essentially, to make meaningful, noticeable difference in these types of situations it’s important to ‘burn the candle at both ends’, by tackling the root of the problem while still addressing basic human needs.
For an organization to be successful in their efforts to help, they must realize that they have a responsibility to do more than just provide the aid. They need to teach the people in a community how to be sustainable so that if and when the aid runs out or the humanitarian organization leaves they aren’t plunged right back into poverty. To teach sustainability an organization must involve the people in the community and make them take ownership and responsibility for projects. Some of the most successfully relief efforts include those that are able to restore a sense of community and give people hope.
Hope is why I believe Christian organizations are so important, they help everyone in the community by providing aid, however they also reach out and encourage the people to know Jesus and experience the love and hope a relationship with Him brings. I recently read an interesting article that supports this, surprisingly written by an atheist:
I am still exploring my areas of interest in international community development, but I do have a few ideas. In the future I can see myself involved in larger-scale international projects, looking at an area of need and coming up with ideas and strategies to make big changes at the root of the problem. In terms of existing humanitarian organizations, I feel there is room for improvement. I think more could be accomplished by connecting aid efforts that are working for the same cause and building relationships between them. With combined cooperation and resources, a more focused effort could be directed to tackling the issues.
But for now I plan to continue to educate myself on international community development and look for opportunities to be involved where I can. I hope to continue participating in mission trips over the next few years while my youngest son finishes high school, and then eventually expand those trips into longer-term efforts. I know from my experience so far the tremendous reward I receive from providing help and support by involving myself with a community of people. Building relationships and being able to witness first hand how even small efforts can change a life…what’s better than that!?
One of my favorite websites (http://www.orphanagesforafrica.org/canada/)
has a tag line at the top of the page that says ‘Changing one life at a time’. I think this is so important to remember, to keep from feeling overwhelmed and to keep focused on how one person can make a difference.
It’s a known fact that throwing money at social problems only fixes them temporarily by alleviating immediate needs. To produce long-term changes it’s necessary to dig to the root of the problem and/or go back to the source to address the initial cause. Poverty and social injustice in a country are usually caused by a combination of factors, such as war, corrupt governments, natural disaster, etc. These are not easy problems to eliminate or resolve and often take years of intervention by other governments or policy changes to produce any visible results. In the meantime, the poor and disadvantaged people in the country are left suffering the consequences. So essentially, to make meaningful, noticeable difference in these types of situations it’s important to ‘burn the candle at both ends’, by tackling the root of the problem while still addressing basic human needs.
For an organization to be successful in their efforts to help, they must realize that they have a responsibility to do more than just provide the aid. They need to teach the people in a community how to be sustainable so that if and when the aid runs out or the humanitarian organization leaves they aren’t plunged right back into poverty. To teach sustainability an organization must involve the people in the community and make them take ownership and responsibility for projects. Some of the most successfully relief efforts include those that are able to restore a sense of community and give people hope.
Hope is why I believe Christian organizations are so important, they help everyone in the community by providing aid, however they also reach out and encourage the people to know Jesus and experience the love and hope a relationship with Him brings. I recently read an interesting article that supports this, surprisingly written by an atheist:
Parris grew up in Africa, and returned recently to cover a nongovernmental
development organization for The Times.
“Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do.
Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.” http://powertochange.com/discover/world/atheistgod/
I am still exploring my areas of interest in international community development, but I do have a few ideas. In the future I can see myself involved in larger-scale international projects, looking at an area of need and coming up with ideas and strategies to make big changes at the root of the problem. In terms of existing humanitarian organizations, I feel there is room for improvement. I think more could be accomplished by connecting aid efforts that are working for the same cause and building relationships between them. With combined cooperation and resources, a more focused effort could be directed to tackling the issues.
But for now I plan to continue to educate myself on international community development and look for opportunities to be involved where I can. I hope to continue participating in mission trips over the next few years while my youngest son finishes high school, and then eventually expand those trips into longer-term efforts. I know from my experience so far the tremendous reward I receive from providing help and support by involving myself with a community of people. Building relationships and being able to witness first hand how even small efforts can change a life…what’s better than that!?
One of my favorite websites (http://www.orphanagesforafrica.org/canada/)
has a tag line at the top of the page that says ‘Changing one life at a time’. I think this is so important to remember, to keep from feeling overwhelmed and to keep focused on how one person can make a difference.
Some of my favorite websites
There are so many great sites out there that it is truly hard to narrow down my favorites to only a few. Three sites deserving of mention that I use almost daily are:
www.google.com - helps me find anything
www.rbc.com - online banking is so convenient
www.facebook.com - fantastic communication tool and easy way to share pictures
I discovered a unique humanitarian organization called Orphanages for Africa. What I love about them is that they are a Christian organization that partners with and supports already existing projects. They do not ask people for money, but instead rely on prayer. There is a section on their site where you can donate but the cool thing is that in addition to sponsoring a child, you also have the option of choosing to buy a chick, a pig, a cow, etc for a specific project. Check them out...
http://www.orphanagesforafrica.org/canada/
Another website I love is Charity village, you can find a variety of not-for-profit jobs available across canada:
http://www.charityvillage.com/
Haha and a not so serious site, but interesting all the same is the post secret project, where people post their secrets to a blog:
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
http://www.postsecretcommunity.com/news-faq
www.google.com - helps me find anything
www.rbc.com - online banking is so convenient
www.facebook.com - fantastic communication tool and easy way to share pictures
I discovered a unique humanitarian organization called Orphanages for Africa. What I love about them is that they are a Christian organization that partners with and supports already existing projects. They do not ask people for money, but instead rely on prayer. There is a section on their site where you can donate but the cool thing is that in addition to sponsoring a child, you also have the option of choosing to buy a chick, a pig, a cow, etc for a specific project. Check them out...
http://www.orphanagesforafrica.org/canada/
Another website I love is Charity village, you can find a variety of not-for-profit jobs available across canada:
http://www.charityvillage.com/
Haha and a not so serious site, but interesting all the same is the post secret project, where people post their secrets to a blog:
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
http://www.postsecretcommunity.com/news-faq
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