Recently I caught a red-eye flight to Michigan to work on a curriculum part of a larger project called PovertyCure. Led by the think tank Acton Institute, based in Grand Rapids—the campaign is designed to join our hearts and minds to address the problem of poverty from a free-market and faith-based perspective. See the one-minute clip below.
In the video I share the story of Florian, my neighbor in Rwanda whom I had helped to start a small business. Though he increased his income, it had no impact on his family or the improvement of his home. (It turned out he spent his profits on women and alcohol.) It was through that experience that I realized that economic solutions aren’t enough.
Just yesterday I had the chance to hear a contrasting story of one of our clients in Rwanda named Donatill. Donatill admits she was an alcoholic, spending all of her money on her addiction. She also had affairs, was involved in witchcraft, her home was dirty, and she often neglected her own children. A few years ago Donatill’s husband died, and she became the sole provider for her children.
Joining a savings group to increase her income, she experienced the power of Christ’s love through biblically based business training. She is now sober and clean, able to provide for her children, and reconciled to her neighbors. Not only is she more fully integrated in her community, but she has been released from the bondage of witchcraft. Donatill said she has been transformed.
“Now… I feel clean, inside and out,” she says.
Contrasting Florian’s story to Donatill’s makes me so thankful I have the opportunity to work with an organization focused on the intersection of faith and sustainable economic solutions and looks to change hearts as well as wallets.
(Journalist Matthew Parris has an interesting perspective on the intersection of faith and development work in his article, “As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God”.)
What is your perspective of the intersection between faith and development work?
October 6, 2011
I have gone to Acton University for the past two years and think the churches need to be more challenged in their approach to missions.
As a campus minister on a small college, we are planning some events called “Skype Nights.” We would like to hear from speakers that will challenge us with new ways to think about things and give students and people in the community a way to ask questions.
Our goal is to create a venue that will engage local churches and build a bridge between the campus and community. We believe we can utilize technology (Skype) to facilitate this event and keep costs low and eliminate travel and time away from family for speakers.
We would like you to be a part of one of these. We would like you to choose a topic you can present in about 30 minutes related to the issue of poverty, missions and how churches ought to approach this. We would then like to have 30 minutes for Q and A. We would promote this event on campus and through local churches, would ask a local church to sponsor the honorarium costs and purchase a couple of your books to give away as door prizes.
If you would be interested in being a part of this, please let me know about times that would work and what your standard honorarium for something like this would be.
Thank you,
Ty Waardenburg