Archive for poverty

Nov
23

You Want Something I Made?

by newhope

Rhonda Berry has seen firsthand the hope WorldCrafts is providing to impoverished people. Rhonda is one of the WorldCrafts supporters who traveled to Thailand and Cambodia as part of the WorldCrafts Fair Trade Tour  in October, 2011, to learn more about fair trade and tshe way WorldCrafts is meeting the needs of the poor.

 Rhonda sent me a short story of one experience she had in Thailand.  May her story inspire you to care more, perhaps even change your Christmas shopping plans to touch the lives of WorldCrafts artisans.

 …………………………………………………………………..

From Rhonda Berry:

I would imagine that many of those who have heard about WorldCrafts have the impression that it’s yet another catalog to shop from.  If this describes you, please take a minute to visit WorldCrafts.org. There you can see the faces of those whose lives are being changed because of WorldCrafts. WorldCrafts products provide income to impoverished artisans who can now pay their rent, buy food, and take care of their families.

 I have had a heart for the people helped through WorldCrafts for many years, but when I traveled to Thailand on the WorldCrafts Fair Trade Tour last year and visited The Well my understanding was transformed. The Well is one of the artisan groups represented by WorldCrafts. The Well provides job training and work for women coming out of prostitution in the city of Bangkok.

 While visiting The Well I asked one of the young girls who work there about buying something that she had made. The young lady said to me, more than once, “you want something that I made?”  She could not believe that someone would actually want something she had made.  

 I know God led me to ask about buying something she had made. He knew that she needed affirmation of her value, of the value of her work, and a little extra encouragement that day. I was humbled that He used me.  

 The experience I had at The Well has continued to remind me that I can encourage others right where I live. I can also encourage other young women like the one I met at The Well by purchasing products through WorldCrafts. WorldCrafts’ impact is far reaching as you and I not only purchase products ourselves, but also help others know about WorldCrafts and the people WorldCrafts is helping around the world. I know now that what I do with WorldCrafts has a ripple effect and only God knows how far the ripple of hope extends.

 One of my favorite pictures is of two sweet faces peeking through a window as we were shopping at The Well. I am praying they will have the opportunity for a better life unlike so many around the world living without hope because they do not have an organization like WorldCrafts to turn to.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to bring hope to the impoverished in the world on Cyber Monday and Fair Tuesday. You can learn more at WorldCrafts.org. Sign up for the emails that come with discounts and free shipping. To learn more about microenterprise and fair trade, read The Missional Entrepreneurby Mark Russell.

0 Categories : Blog
Sep
26

WorldCrafts Vision, Mission and Updates

by newhope

Listen as Emily Swader, marketing strategist for WorldCrafts, discusses the latest artisans, products and news from this great organization.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Nov
14

The Killing Fields of Cambodia

by newhope

Morning glories have forever changed their meaning for me. Instead of reminding me of a sunny day, I’ll remember our tour guide in Cambodia. He was a child when Pol Pot liberated Cambodia in 1975. Pol Pot’s regime soon took him from his parents to work in the fields. When the fields were flooded, the soldiers would boat him and other children out into the fields where they would grab a banana leaf with one arm to keep from drowning while they cut morning glories with the other. Our guide ate banana stems that he salted to fill his stomach as he was given almost nothing to eat.

 The story of the Killing Fields began when the Khmer Rouge liberated Cambodia. Two hours after entering Phnom Penh, the new regime under Pol Pot ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns, sending the entire urban population out into the countryside to till the land. Everything the people owned was confiscated—homes, housewares, eating utensils, clothing—everything belonged to the state. Thousands starved or died of disease during the evacuation. The people were allowed to own nothing. Everyone was given a black shirt and pants to wear, ate in a communal kitchen, ate exactly the same thing and same amount, and at the same time. If you didn’t like the food it meant death.

The reign of Pol Pot is described by the U. S. Department of State.

Many of those forced to evacuate the cities were resettled in new villages, which lacked food, agricultural implements, and medical care. Many starved before the first harvest, and hunger and malnutrition–bordering on starvation–were constant during those years. Those who resisted or who questioned orders were immediately executed, as were most military and civilian leaders of the former regime who failed to disguise their pasts.

Agriculture was collectivized, and the surviving part of the industrial base was abandoned or placed under state control. Cambodia had neither a currency nor a banking system. The regime controlled every aspect of life and reduced everyone to the level of abject obedience through terror. Torture centers were established, and detailed records were kept of the thousands murdered there. Public executions of those considered unreliable or with links to the previous government were common. Few succeeded in escaping the military patrols and fleeing the country. Solid estimates of the numbers who died between 1975 and 1979 are not available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of thousands more died from forced labor, starvation, and disease–both under the Khmer Rouge and during the Vietnamese invasion in 1978. Estimates of the dead range from 1.7 million to 3 million, out of a 1975 population estimated at 7.3 million.

Seeing the Killing Fields was difficult but necessary. Grass-covered ditches marked the places where mass graves were found—over 20,000 graves have been uncovered.  Signs throughout the fields insure visitors will know what was found and what was done in this place.

The Genocide Museum is in the prison where people were imprisoned and tortured in rooms smaller than a twin bed, and victims were made to live in their excrement and brought out only to endure the most horrific torture.  The museum has a photo of the day the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. The joy of the people is evident as the troops entered the city but soon their joy was replaced with fear as Cambodia became a land of atrocities.

The oppression of Cambodia is a significant reason for the extreme poverty today. With a yearly average income of   $270, there are few options for employment. Children sell silk scarves, journals, bookmarks, purses, throws, photos, and other items of interest to tourists.  Along most roads are makeshift markets where everything and anything is sold to passersby.

Companies like WorldCrafts can make a huge difference in places like this where there is almost no job potential. We can help develop a nation as we partner to bring both physical and spiritual hope to the people of Cambodia.  Be sure to visit the WorldCrafts Web site and join us in bringing dignity to the impoverished.

0 Categories : Blog
Nov
7

Arriving in Bangkok

by newhope

After months of planning we boarded our plane to Bangkok, Thailand, twenty-two women and men. I am finally visiting the place where WorldCrafts began and four of our partner artisan guilds in Thailand and Cambodia.

I was reminded during the nearly 24 hour flight to go half way around the world that scripture admonishes God’s people to care for the poor. In regard to trading fairly, the Bible is specific in how the poor are to be treated in the workplace. “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning” (Leviticus 19:13 ESV). The Hebrew term לֹֽא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק, oppress not, emphasizes the desperate nature of poverty—withholding wages from a poor person, even for a night, may result in a night without food, shelter, or warm clothing, or even mean the end of a life.

The reason given in the Bible for being just toward the poor is “I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:11). In other words, the Lord cares deeply for the poor and expects us to share His concern. Isn’t this enough, that the sovereign God of the universe requires us to act in this way? How we treat a poor worker has nothing to do with their worthiness, but rather God’s expectation for how we are to live. If God’s expectations aren’t enough, we must recognize the unmerited favor God has extended to us. So then our motive becomes thankfulness—gratitude to the Lord for lavishing on us immense spiritual treasures and graciousness.

1 Categories : Blog
Sep
26

The Economics of Human Empowerment

by newhope

by Mark Russell

This month’s focus on New Hope Digital is modern slavery. From the 1500s through the 1800s, the Atlantic slave trade brought millions of men, women, and children from Africa to the New World. A mind-boggling human tragedy. Yet some commentators legitimately estimate that there are more people held in some form of slavery today than were enslaved during the entire period of the transatlantic trade.

Society, and particularly Christians, must respond to modern slavery in numerous ways. There are many things we can do. Yet instead of simply fighting to free existing slaves (in all the ways we can and should) I believe we need to work toward eliminating future slavery through personal empowerment.

Fishery in Kenya dug by hand

Last month I traveled to Kenya. Through the years, many well-meaning organizations and entities have contributed massive amounts of charity to Africa in the hopes that it would move the continent forward from slavery to prosperity. But, in many cases, the results have been lacking.

One of the main reasons is that charity, in many of its forms, prohibits rather than promotes human empowerment. I have been to Africa numerous times and witnessed the impotence of some of these interventions.

On my latest visit though I was pleased to partner, through my church, with two organizations, Genesis World Mission and MAP International, that are empowering locals for the future. They refer to their model as the “total health village” concept.

The goal is not only to treat people who are sick, but also to provide the infrastructure that prevents people from getting sick in the first place. The intervention in this rural village operates under a set of principles that actually empowers people rather than accidentally indenturing them as many development programs do.

For example, water is obviously a resource that is necessary for humans to survive and thrive. For those of us who have it on a consistent and regular basis in nearly unlimited capacity, it is easy to forget water’s importance. We need it to drink, cook, clean, and more. We also need it to grow our food. This is true whether we are growing plants or raising animals.

In the small Kenyan village I visited, I toured two different fisheries. Both fisheries need water in order to grow fish. But there the similarities end. The contrast will illustrate my definition of empowerment.

The government of Kenya, in an act of charity, dug out the first fishery right next to a river. The owner of the land was not accountable for what he would produce with the fishery. Months later, the fishery is now bone dry with weeds growing in it.

Genesis and MAP, in an act of empowerment, told another man that if he dug a fishery, they would help him line it with plastic, so that it would last longer and keep fish in. The man lives a mile and a half from the river. By hand, he dug a fishery 17 feet deep and 35 feet long.

I was privileged to be there on the day when the plastic liner was placed in the fishery. I spoke with the owner and there was a glimmer in his eye that only comes from the pride of a job well done . . . from being empowered.

I have no doubt that he will overcome the challenge of getting water to his fishery and raising fish. He has already dug his own personal pond. Is he going to let that work go to waste?

On the other hand, the man who has a fishery next to the river will probably never do anything with it. He never worked for it and is not accountable for its production.

As followers of Christ, we should oppose poverty and human enslavement, and we should do so by promoting solutions that really work for the long term. We should encourage interventions that empower men and women to become, with dignity, a part of their own solutions.

—Editor’s note: For further exploration of this topic, you may want to listen to Andrea Mullins discuss the work of WorldCrafts. WorldCrafts works with local artisan groups worldwide to offer men and women sustainable, fair-trade employment, which alleviates long-term poverty.  

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Mark Russell
Aug
17

Poverty Simulation (Mission Waco) Can Bring Radical Change

by newhope

by Jimmy Dorrell

In a village in Haiti where we (Mission Waco) work, a mother had to choose which of her children got to eat and which would go hungry. She ate “dirt cookies” that day so they would have more.

In a train station in Calcutta, India, near where we volunteer, another disabled beggar breathed his last breath as travelers hurrying to the platform stepped over his malnourished body. No one seemed to notice.

In Waco, Texas, where Janet and I live, poverty often involves a web of problems.

“I just paid my first light bill,” shouted Lisa (not her real name) enthusiastically, as I entered the lobby of our office. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone excited about a utility bill. But during 20 years of poverty, addiction, and sex trafficking, most of her money had gone to pay for legal fines, crack, and probation fees. That day, Lisa celebrated her first month, clean and sober, in her very own apartment after months of help from caring Christians. It was her “dream come true.”

Poverty has a way of beating the life and dreams out of millions in our world. Childhood thoughts of becoming a teacher, shopkeeper, or banker get easily sabotaged by compromises and abuse that most often lead to darker days. Choosing between going hungry or selling one’s body, or stealing a loaf of bread or leaving ones’ family in search of work are harsh realities for almost half of the world’s population, who make less than $2 per day.

Most Americans don’t understand and rarely care to take time to learn the true facts. Worse yet, in the midst of scores of myths and anecdotal stories used to prop up our false beliefs, it becomes easier to blame the victim for his or her own poverty instead of engaging in compassionate efforts to help. In our world of affluence, even well-meaning Christians tend to be uninvolved with the 1.4 billion absolute poor, many of whom have never heard the name of Jesus.

But one weekend can help change that! More than 25 years ago, a weekend experiment for a middle-class youth group opened their eyes to the hurting world. Using a blend of experiences and teaching, the Mission Waco Poverty Simulation quickly became a popular tool for student directors and adult groups wanting to engage their people in God’s call to the “least of these.” Since then, thousands of participants have been impacted by this 42-hour training event. 

As more and more groups from around the US asked for a guide to help them create their own weekend simulation, we decided to write Plunge2Poverty. Using Plunge2Poverty, which includes clear directions and ways to customize the event for one’s own context, the poverty experience now has been replicated all over the US, with similar results.

We constantly hear testimonies from the weekend impact.

  • “I realized how selfish I am and how material things had become too important in my life,” said one 17-year-old.
  • “Best weekend of my life!” said another.
  • “I’ve already made some lifestyle changes and started volunteering in my own community,” shared one adult.
  • “My youth group was radically changed,” said a youth director, who quietly listened to the conversations on the van trip back to his state.
  • “We’ve already made plans to bring another group!” One group returned home and raised $5,800 for two water wells in Haiti.

The early church admonished the Apostle Paul as he prepared to go into the Gentile world, “Don’t forget the poor!” His response was profound: “It’s the very thing I planned to do.” (See Galatians 2:10.) In a culture of affluence, the church in America must heed those same words. Using Plunge2Poverty is one way to encourage that journey.

Jimmy and Janet Dorrell have dedicated their lives to understanding and responding to poverty firsthand. Jimmy Dorrell is the executive director of Mission Waco and the author of Trolls & Truth: 14 Realities About Today’s Church That We Don’t Want to See. During a span of more than 20 years, the Poverty Simulation experience they developed has trained thousands of students. The Dorrells have four children, all of whom also minister among the poor.

0 Categories : Articles
Aug
8

WorldCrafts Releases Fall Catalog

by newhope

WorldCrafts, a ministry partner of New Hope Publishers, recently released its new Fall 2011 catalog featuring more than 200 handcrafted, fair-trade gifts from artisans across the globe. A diverse mix of items graces the catalog pages from these categories: Christmas, home decor, stationery, jewelry, accessories, and children’s.

WorldCrafts develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. The WorldCrafts vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth.

Artisans represent more than 30 countries on 5 continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Many of them are part of the Set1Free campaign, which highlights those groups working to free women involved in or at risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Lives are changing. Women leaving dire poverty and even sexual slavery are being trained, given fair-trade employment, and told of joy that lasts for eternity. Whole families can escape desperate circumstances.

WorldCrafts encourages its customers to host parties to support the artisans and to raise awareness about fair trade and human exploitation. More information is available at WorldCrafts.org.

For a free catalog, individuals may call 1-800-968-7301 or email customer_service@wmu.org. A pdf of the catalog is also available at WorldCrafts.org.

Enjoy free shipping on WorldCrafts orders of $75 or more from August 3 through August 17, 2011. Online orders only. Use promo code NEWYR1.

—New HopeDigital

 

1 Categories : News
Aug
1

August 2011: The Power of Small and Other Upside-Down Kingdom Values

by newhope

This month on NewHopeDigital.com our theme will be The Power of Small and Other Upside-Down Kingdom Values. What does that mean? Allow me to quote from Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s upcoming release, not coincidentally titled The Power of Small: 

“Like Alice’s adventures in Looking Glass Land . . ., where everything she encounters is mirror-image opposite of what she thought to be true, the kingdom of heaven seems upside and inside out when we first enter. . . . The way up is down. The way to life is through death. The way to greatness is through servanthood.

      Kingdom living turns all of the world’s platitudes and conventional wisdom on its head. The two are diametrically opposed. . . .

      The mind-set of the world tends to value big. The bigger the better. Flashy—sparkly big. . . . But, small is where all the action is in the kingdom.”

I truly have been challenged and encouraged by reading Jennifer’s 28-day devotional experience. She gets at some issues regarding faith, giving, leadership, competition, value, and anxiety that challenge our preconceived notions of how we should live and what we should strive for. With illustrations from the Old Testament and New Testament as well as contemporary life, she guides and nudges readers to rethink their thinking (and doing), based on the values of God’s kingdom.

When we truly wrestle with our Lord’s words, it’s hard not to be redirected, reoriented, and reshaped. He gets to the heart of the matter in Matthew 10:39 (ESV): “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Wow, that’s not what the world’s marketers are trying to sell us, is it?

Right now you can read Day 1 of The Power of Small (releasing September 5; available later in August) by downloading it here.

To further flesh out the theme this month on NewHopeDigital.com we plan to feature:

And there will be more content on a variety of other topics as well!

Scripture quotation marked ESV is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Randy Bishop
Jun
30

Discipling Women Around the World

by newhope

 

As we bring the month of disciple making to a close, I’d like to introduce you to Women of Worth International and Marilyn Orton. In 1986 Marilyn attended the International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists, known as Amsterdam 86.   She worked in the Prayer Room, and prayed with hundreds of the 10,000 participants.   A few weeks after returning home the avalanche of mail began.  For 17 years, she wrote letters of encouragement to some of the poorest evangelists in the world “just be a cheerleader for them and their ministries.  They were doing so much with so little, while we in the Western world were doing so little with so much.”

In 2003 Marilyn and her daughter went to Nigeria.  Over 100 of her evangelist’s friends were at the airport to greet them.  They traveled throughout Nigeria for a month and it became evident that the women played a lesser role in the country, even in the churches.   Marilyn began to ask “Do you have a Women’s Ministry?”  The answer was usually “What is a Women’s Ministry?”   Upon leaving Nigeria she agreed to come back to help her friends start a women’s ministry that would link their churches together.

In 2005 Marilyn returned with a program that took under an hour to write.  It showed how to form a team under the leadership of their Pastor and divided the traditional roles of women within the church into seven groups whereby women could easily identify their spiritual gifts and use them to edify and build up the body in the local church.   She named the program Women of Worth and before she knew it the program had spread like wildfire among all denominations. In 2006 the first, small national WOW Women’s Conference was held.  The Pastors then wanted a men’s program and so the Marilyn Orton African Alliance (their chosen name, not hers) Leadership program was born.  This summer WOW and MOAM are each expecting over two thousand people at their conferences.

WOW is now in 73 countries and is comprised of hundreds of coordinators and thousands of women, who are not only using their gifts within the local church, but are forming teams  to take the Good News of the Gospel out into their communities.   Hundreds have been led to Christ by WOW women.

Marilyn explains, “No persons or organization could have started, orchestrated, and spread Women of Worth International, for it is the vision of the Spirit of God.  As He directs the work, we simply move forward in obedience trusting Him to do what only He can do. WOW is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our sight.   To God be the glory – great things He has done!”

Recently, Women of Worth decided to give their support to WorldCrafts as a ministry that can help women out of poverty. We are deeply grateful for the invitation that WOW sent to their members.

You can learn more about Women of Worth at http://www.wowintl.net/.  You can learn more about WorldCrafts at http://worldcrafts.org.

0 Categories : Blog
Jun
18

Jamoat (Community) in Uzbekistan

by newhope

As we consider discipleship this month on New Hope Digital, we can learn what discipleship includes through the ministry of missionaries in other countries. I asked to share this recent news from a mission servant in Uzbekistan. His report provides an excellent example discipleship, the approaches we can use, and the impact it can make on a life. I’ve included a reminder of the persecution believers face in Uzbekistan.

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Like anything with life, growth and change are inevitable. What we find God has for us today is very different than it was when I first came, and even very different than last year, or last week. It’s a constant effort to resist doing what we have always done and always ask the questions:

1. What is most needed in the Kingdom effort in our region?

2. What are we uniquely gifted to do?

3. What opportunities do we have to serve?

4. What roles and responsibilities do we have to maintain?

Most obvious for us is something that began in the spring of 2005. A Bible study with our teammates and a handful of Uzbek believers quickly morphed into a weekly fellowship. Jamoat as we refer to it, meaning “Community.”This fellowship has gone through many changes and currently meets in a home each Sunday doing a study through the book of James. The children have a story time and games or drawing connected to the day’s theme. There are now 3 families, a married woman with her 3 children and one single lady that come rather consistently. That gives us 12 adults and 6 children excluding our family.

We spend most of every Sunday together, having a meal after our gathering and sometimes going to a park or swimming on hot summer days. It’s more like a family than the traditional idea of a gathering. In addition to Sunday, a ladies’ prayer time has become standard each week with 4 or 5 ladies attending, including one all-nighter each month.

We have been part of a network of workers since 2000. We still maintain those relationships and have partnered to run seminary classes, a marriage retreat and a youth festival in recent years.

In our effort to train leaders locally we are restarting a seminary program which runs once a month for 2-3 days year round all in Uzbek without translation.

Last year we held our first marriage retreat with 10 Uzbek couples attending. That retreat was led by an Uzbek couple from Uzbekistan and turned out to address a real needy area. We followed up by gathering for Valentine’s Day this year and hope to further disciple marriages to forge Biblical marriages in the blossoming Uzbek believing community.

We also hosted a youth festival last summer, mostly coordinated by Uzbeks with one young pastor addressing the youth. Godly relationships among the youth are critical and finding those with a passion for that ministry was a delight.

A women’s prayer group has since grown to 2 groups meeting in various homes in the city. Many women come who can not attend weekly fellowships due to family pressure.

Another aspect of the network is shared resources. We have come into a rather large supply of books and videos, as well as audio materials. These are always made available to leaders in other villages or fellowships across the city. Currently our primary role in this task is CD and DVD duplication with literally thousands distributed. Over 100 cases of new Scripture portions also came in January which were promptly sent to 5 leaders for safe keeping and use in their own ministries.

We have a conviction that all brothers and sisters in this city and region are placed here by God, that we are ONE and that God intends us to work in cooperation for the furtherance of His Kingdom among all peoples.

One ministry is that of radio. Programs are written and recorded nearby for every language across Central Asia, including Uzbek. We have provided them with every resource we have in Uzbek so they have everything available at their fingertips should the need arise.

Last year while talking with a pastor in a village who has a great concern for the growing Uzbek believing community in his region he mentioned that they all have trouble providing for their families. That led to us giving a $1,000 interest free loan thru this pastor to buy a cow that could serve as additional income for an Uzbek man leading a house group in a nearby village.

Than another family came with a similar situation and we gave another loan for livestock. Then a loan for seed to plant in spring to a believing Kurdish family with no income. One turned out extremely well, one OK and I think one was a failure. We have learned from those experiences and now look for opportunities to give loans or partner with others to get them on their feet rather than the age old practice of handouts which have done so much damage.

We bought a fixer-upper last year and are now remodeling that house to resell. We go to the worksite almost every day, pray together and are learning how to seek each other’s good and even resolve differences, all under the constant view of our families and the 3 unbelieving Uzbek men who work for us.

We are seeing many advantages to this type of setup:

1 Getting our friends on their feet financially

2. Living and working together as a real life discipleship

3. Giving us a great witness before unbelieving workers

4. Giving us a presence in a new Uzbek neighborhood and already dozens of new friends.

5. Giving me another understandable identity as a businessman

 

With the understanding that as always, God is more concerned about growing us as His servants than about the work we do for Him, we constantly struggle to make time for a growing relationship with God. Growing in intimacy and developing habits that keep us moving in that direction is a priority.

0 Categories : Blog
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