Just the Facts #5

1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean, safe water. Support your local 30-Hour Famine!

Canada: www.famine.ca
U.S.: www.30hourfamine.org
U.K.: www.bugonline.org
Australia: www.worldvision.com.au
New Zealand: www.famine.org.nz

No one to support locally? Support me!

God Grew Tired Of Us

I watched a portion of God Grew Tired Of Us over my lunch hour today. It's the story of the Lost Boys of Sudan who fled the country with nothing more than the clothes on their backs because of the civil war that began in the late 80's and continues to this day. Over 27,000 boys fled Sudan and eventually found themselves in a U.N. refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya. The film follow three boys in particular who were selected to move to America to start a new life: Pather Bior, Daniel Abol Pach, and John Bul Dau. I won't go into all of the details because I highly recommend you see this documentary for yourself. A movie review does not do justice to the emotional impact this film will have.

That being said, there was one scene in particular I found particularly moving. When the three boys have landed in the U.S. and are being introduced to the most basic of items that we take for granted, it is humourous and heartbreaking at the same time. As they are being shown how to use a shower, how to turn on a light, how to use the refrigerator, etc. I couldn't help but reflect on their sheer, unfettered innocence as they drank it all in like little children.

When they visit a grocery store for the first time, they are amazed by the quantity and variety of food that is available. There were no complaints about brown spots on the apples or a long line at the checkout. These guys had lived for years with next to no food or clothing, having only each other to cling to as most of their parents had been murdered. Their utter guilelessness in a society which has made the rest of bitter, angry, and cynical was overwhelming and I found myself choking back tears.

I'm not sure if I was crying for them or for us.

While I am saddened by the story of the Lost Boys and billions of others like them who live in extreme poverty, today I am crying becuase I am ashamed. I am ashamed for taking all of my blessings for granted. I am ashamed for wanting to store things up for myself when there are so many in need. And I am ashamed of our leaders who would rather spend money on bombs than bread.

Jesus said: "When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required." Luke 12:48

Lord forgive me. Forgive us.

Just the Facts #4

Nearly 30,000 children die every day from the effects of extreme poverty. Support your local 30-Hour Famine!

Canada: www.famine.ca
U.S.: www.30hourfamine.org
U.K.: www.bugonline.org
Australia: www.worldvision.com.au
New Zealand: www.famine.org.nz

No one to support locally? Support me!

There Is Poverty At Home Too

Here's a good article from the Toronto Star about the effects of the economic meltdown on workers in Canada. We don't always see it, but there is poverty here in our prosperous country as well.

Toronto construction worker Mark Merner has been struggling to support his young family since his hours were slashed in half last fall. And he's worried it could get worse.

"The construction industry is really slowing down and I've been told there might not be much work this summer," says the father of five children age 5 and younger, including a baby and a set of twins.

"I just don't know what we'll do. We're living paycheque to paycheque now."

Read the full article here.

Here's an excellent video from the Star as well.

Just the Facts #3

Fact: In 2007, 90 million children worldwide were not in school. Support your local 30-Hour Famine!

Canada: www.famine.ca
U.S.: www.30hourfamine.org
U.K.: www.bugonline.org
Australia: www.worldvision.com.au
New Zealand: www.famine.org.nz

No one to support locally? Support me!

Just the Facts #2

Fact: In 2007, 9.2 million children under 5 died as a result of poverty-related causes. Support your local 30-Hour Famine!

Canada: www.famine.ca
U.S.: www.30hourfamine.org
U.K.: www.bugonline.org
Australia: www.worldvision.com.au
New Zealand: www.famine.org.nz

No one to support locally? Support me!

Just the Facts #1

Fact: 1.4 billion people (of which 600 million are children) are living in extreme poverty. Support your local 30-Hour Famine!

Canada: www.famine.ca
U.S.: www.30hourfamine.org
U.K.: www.bugonline.org
Australia: www.worldvision.com.au
New Zealand: www.famine.org.nz

No one to support locally? Support me!

The Justice Creed

A thought for this lenten season...

We believe that the living God is just
And that the true and living God loves justice.
God delights in just laws and rejoices in just people.
God sides with those who are oppressed by injustice,
And stands against oppressors.
God is grieved by unjust people and the unjust systems they create and sustain.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, and
God's kingdom belongs to those willing to be persecuted for the sake of justice.
To God, justice is a weighty thing which can never be ignored.

We believe that Jesus, the Liberating King, came to free humanity from injustice
And to display the justice of God,
In word and deed, in life, death, and resurrection.
The justice which God desires, Jesus taught, must surpass that of the hypocrites,
For the justice of God is a compassionate justice,
Rich in mercy and abounding in love
For the last, the least, the lost, and the outcast.
On his cross, Jesus drew the injustice of humanity into the light,
And there the heartless injustice of human empire met
The reconciling justice of the kingdom of God.
The resurrection of Jesus proclaims that the true justice of God,
Naked, vulnerable, and scarred by abuse, is stronger
Than the violent injustice of humanity, armed with weapons, conceit,
deceit, and lies.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is here, now,
Convicting the world of sin and justice,
Warning that God's judgment will come on all that is unjust.
We believe that the Kingdom of God is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Empowered by the Spirit, then, we seek first God's kingdom and God's justice,
For the world as it is has not yet become the world as God desires it to be.
And so we live, and work, and pray,
Until justice rolls down like water,
And flows strong and free like a never-failing stream.
For we believe that the living God is just
And that the true and living God loves justice.
Amen.

From: www.brianmclaren.net

Help Shape The G8 Agenda

The G8—the “Group of Eight” nations representing the world’s major industrialized democracies—will meet at their annual summit this July in Italy. This is a great opportunity to let your voice be heard by sending a letter to Prime Minister Harper requesting that the welfare of millions of children living in poverty around the world be on the agenda. Follow the link below to add your name to the list:

Shape The G8 Agenda

Aid Agencies Expelled from Sudan

From today's Globe & Mail:

Sudan's president, wanted by an international court on war crimes charges, danced and waved a cane defiantly in front of thousands of supporters Thursday, denouncing the tribunal, the UN and aid agencies as part of a new "colonialism" that aims to destabilize his country.The warrant against President Omar al-Bashir was having its first repercussions on the ground, after his government ordered 10 leading humanitarian aid agencies to leave Darfur in retaliation for the International Criminal Court's decision. The agencies on Thursday were starting the process to move out.Aid workers warned that the expulsion order could spark a humanitarian crisis for up to two million people in Darfur who are directly served by the 10 agencies, receiving food, shelter and medical supplies.

At least 2.7 million people in the large, arid region of western Sudan have been driven from their homes in the war between Darfur rebels and the government since 2003 — and many more depend on international aid to survive.

Speaking for the first time since the warrant was issued Wednesday, Mr. al-Bashir told a cabinet meeting that the tribunal, the United Nations and international organizations operating in Sudan were "tools of the new colonialism" meant to bring Sudan and its resources under control. Mr. al-Bashir said the aid organizations were trying to disrupt peace efforts in Darfur and interfere with foreign investment and that his government ordered them out of Darfur because they violated the law.

The international aid groups ordered out of Sudan were Oxfam, CARE, MSF-Holland, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Action Contre la Faim, Solidarites, and CHF International.

Full article is available here.

Canada Lets Down Africa

From Friday's Toronto Star:

Don't Skip Africa In Our Foreign Aid
Canada doesn't spend that much on foreign aid: $4.8 billion this year. That's roughly 0.3 per cent of our economic output, well below the 0.45 per cent target the Conservatives themselves set in 2006. Within the G7, we were last in 2007 in absolute donor dollars and just middling in relative terms.

Given this modest spending, Prime Minister Stephen Harper can't be faulted for focusing on fewer countries, to have more impact. But the shift unveiled this week by International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda isn't just about identifying 20 priority countries that we intend to help. It's also about stepping up Canada's involvement in places where former U.S. president George W. Bush wanted more help to bolster American interests.

Canada's new tilt is toward the Americas, and away from Africa. Colombia will get more aid, as will Peru, Haiti, Bolivia, Honduras and the Caribbean. Only Haiti made the list of Canada's top 20 bilateral aid recipients in 2005. Canada enjoys growing trade with this group. But we'll also be a higher-profile, U.S.-friendly presence in an unstable region. Anything we do to close the huge rich/poor gap will undercut the region's anti-American radicals and blunt their appeal.

This shift, while significant, is not seismic. Of the top 20, 13 were on the old list. Still, the Conservatives risk being criticized for adopting a Made-in-the-U.S.A. approach to aid that reflects Bush-era thinking, especially with respect to Africa, where poverty is far greater, by dropping places like Cameroon, Zambia and Congo from the top 20.

I have tried for a very long time to hold my tongue and be apolitical on this blog, but this story just makes me pop. The Conservative government of Stephen Harper is cutting back on aid to Africa? The article compares this to Bush style politics but I would argue that it's worse. Despite all of the negatives during his administration, George Bush did display a commitment to treating AIDS in the poorest nations in Africa, not because it was politically expedient, but because it was the moral thing to do. Apparently Mr. Harper has no such moral compass.

The Conservative Party got my vote last time primarily because I felt pressured by friends and family to vote Conservative...it's what all good Christians do, right? Well, sorry Mr. Harper but you have lost my vote. Your party has morphed into the Republican party north and I will not stand for your imperious, manipulative, and callous tactics any longer. I have spoken to people who work for NGO's or for refugee settlement agencies, and to a person, they bemoan the fact that Canada (narrowly) elected the Conservatives back into parliament in the last election. I don't think we'll make that mistake again.

Shake Hands With The Devil

While I haven't yet read the book, today I watched the documentary Shake Hands With The Devil: The Journey Of Romeo Dalliaire.

I don't know that I cam adequately comment on General Dallaire's story or the remarkable failure of developed countries and the United Nations to intercede in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Over 800,000 Rwandan's were murdered in 10 days while the world did nothing. I can only leave you with these quotes from the film:

"Are all humans, human? Are some more human than others?" - Romeo Dallaire

"Africa was Africa. It was black. So all of the unlovely racist impulses could also come into play. Africa had nothing to sell, nothing to buy. You just wrote off the continent and Rwanda in 1994 was the apotheosis of that feeling." - Stephen Lewis

Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre