Wrestling with World-sized issues: Christian Responses to Global Poverty and Oppression

1. Wrestling with World-sized issues:Christian Responses to Global Poverty and Oppression Grace Chapel Spring 2012

2. (Week 3) Poverty and poverty reduction • Why are some people poor? • What barriers prevent people from leaving poverty? • What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • Why isn’t this easy? What can go wrong? • What does good stewardship in poverty reduction work look like?

3. Themes • Many kinds of change are required to bring about widely-shared poverty reduction • Christians and Christian development organizations can help bring about needed changes in many ways: • programs of diverse sorts • advocacy and partnership in developing countries • advocacy in developed countries

4. Themes • Generosity is important and has brought grace into many lives • Generosity is not enough, because: • well-intentioned efforts may fail • well-intentioned efforts may even do harm • Christians should be especially well equipped to avoid the pitfalls, and to play special roles, because good work requires: • humility, investment in relationships, nurturing of trust and cooperation, long-term commitment, more humility

5. Today • Motivation • Why are some people poor? • What barriers prevent people from leaving poverty? • What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • The importance of humility • Book report

6. Motivation (Deuteronomy 15) • “There will always be poor people in the land.” (Deut 15:11) • “There need be no poor people among you.” (Deut 15:4)

7. Definitions • Living at a level of well-being below some minimally acceptable level • How good or bad a person’s life circumstances are, paying attention (at the very least) to: • what she is able to consume • how long and arduously she works • her health • the quality of her housing • the social services to which she has access • her hopes and fears regarding the future • Poverty • Well-being

8. What determines a family’s level of well-being? • Assets • Market opportunities • Non-market opportunities

9. What determines a family’s level of well-being? • Assets • able-bodied adults, health, education, training • land, animals, tools, vehicles, market stalls, inventory, natural resources • technology • housing • Market opportunities • Non-market opportunities

10. What determines a family’s level of well-being? • Assets • Market opportunities • for selling crops, buying fertilizer and seeds • for earning wage income • for buying consumer goods • Non-market opportunities

11. What determines a family’s level of well-being? • Assets • Market opportunities • Non-market opportunities • for cooperating with other farmers • for mutual assistance • for security and honest dealings • for equal treatment

12. Why are some people poor? • they have few assets and limited opportunities • many are born into this • many are thrust into this by devastating events

13. What barriers prevent people from leaving poverty? • barriers to building up assets • barriers to creating better market and non-market opportunities

14. What barriers prevent people from leaving poverty? • barriers to building up assets • incapacitation • immediate costs that are too high to bear • difficulties saving • lack of credit • risk • lack of knowledge • legal, social, bureaucratic barriers • barriers to creating better market and non-market opportunities

15. What barriers prevent people from leaving poverty? • barriers to building up assets • barriers to creating better market and non-market opportunities • need for local cooperation • agricultural cooperatives, building schools • need for larger-scale cooperation/government • roads, water systems, other infrastructure, ag research • need for change in societal rules and norms • need for change in government institutions

16. What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • long-term assistance for the incapacitated and children • programs that provide individuals with opportunities to build up assets: • programs that help catalyze useful local cooperation, coordination and trust • advocacy and partnership with developing country governments • broader partnerships to encourage change in societal norms • advocacy with rich country governments

17. What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • long-term assistance for the incapacitated and children • transfer programs, nutrition interventions for pregnant women and young children, pre-schools • programs that provide individuals with opportunities to build up assets: • programs that help catalyze useful local cooperation, coordination and trust • advocacy and partnership with government • broader partnerships to encourage change in societal norms

18. What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • long-term assistance for the incapacitated and children • programs that provide individuals with opportunities to build up assets: • public health, health care, education, agricultural extension, training, modes of saving, credit • programs that help catalyze useful local cooperation, coordination and trust • advocacy and partnership with government • broader partnerships to encourage change in societal norms

19. What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • long-term assistance for the incapacitated and children • programs that provide individuals with opportunities to build up assets: • programs that help catalyze useful local cooperation, coordination and trust • promoting creation of health agricultural cooperatives, community water committees • efforts to bring farmers together with supermarket chains or exporters of organic vegetables • advocacy and partnership with government • broader partnerships to encourage change in societal norms

20. What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • long-term assistance for the incapacitated and children • programs that provide individuals with opportunities to build up assets: • programs that help catalyze useful local cooperation, coordination and trust • advocacy and partnership with government • infrastructure, agricultural research • legal and law enforcement systems • capacity-building so communities can hold government institutions accountable • broader policies • broader partnerships to encourage change in societal norms

21. What can Christians and Christian development organizations do to help people escape poverty? • long-term assistance for the incapacitated and children • programs that provide individuals with opportunities to build up assets: • programs that help catalyze useful local cooperation, coordination and trust • advocacy and partnership with government • broader partnerships to encourage change in societal norms • race, gender, religion, harmful traditional practices

22. The importance of humility and real interest • poor people are diverse • no single type of program is a panacea • the “poorest of the poor” often fall through the cracks • poor people may face multiple barriers, some of them subtle • it is easy to make incorrect guesses about what is needed • it may be impossible for one organization to do all that is needed well

23. Case studies • spreading the use of insecticide-treated bed nets • getting all children into primary school in Ethiopia

24. Jesus’ example of caring and meeting multiple needs • Matthew 8:1-4 (NIV) • 1 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” • 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

25. Book report • Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor and Yourself, Moody Publishers, 2009.