Give a Chicken for Easter at TEAR

TEAR is all organised for Easter, with live chickens! Here's the blurb from their own promotional emails.

Chocolate bunnies have nothing on real, live chickens as an Easter gift.

For only $5, a pair of chickens can provide a family from a poor community in Burma, Cambodia, India or Uganda with a source of eggs to eat and sell. So, they’ll be healthier and on the way to earning a small income.

When you order, you can choose a traditional printed card or an e-card to give to a friend or relative for Easter – or any occasion. You’ll also receive a tax-deductible receipt.

The End of Poverty - Book Review

'The End of Poverty', a book by economist Jeffrey Sachs is a fantastic resource for those interested in The Way of Justice, and particularly the issue of Extreme Poverty.

Jeffrey Sachs is a leading economist from the USA. He was involved in bringing about free-market reforms and associated development in Bolivia, Poland, Russia, China, India and Africa. He works at Columbia University and often consult to various governments.

The book addresses extreme poverty, the fact that 2.7 billion people survive on less than 2 dollars per day. Sachs argues that we know how to end extreme poverty and have the resources available to end extreme poverty. He claims that extreme poverty will eventually come to an end, but making an effort to end extreme poverty soon will save millions of lives.

The book outlines the facts of extreme poverty and tells enough stories to visualise the effects easily. The facts of various nations being successful in eliminating extreme poverty were surprising and encouraging.

The middle part of the book is a bit slow, as it describes the various big projects Sachs has undertaken over the past twenty years. It serves to establish his credentials and are interesting to a student of economic history, but are a diversion from the current problems of extreme poverty. More space could be devoted to current, successful, projects such as micro-credit schemes and global free-trade.

The last part of the book build a very careful and comprehensive argument for an approach that would eradicate extreme poverty. There is enough here to address the major concerns of sceptics. It is important, but long-winded for someone who is already keen for action to happen.

Sachs is an advocate for free-trade, open markets and a form of globalisation, as he sees it as a necessary pathway to material improvement for those in extreme poverty. This will set him at odds with those who oppose globalisation in any form. I found Sach's arguments convincing and I am now much less cynical about globalisation than I was before.

This is a great book, it goes beyond the hype that is a necessary part of charitable fund-raising and it provides a strong critique of current approaches to ending extreme poverty. Well worth having a copy for reading or referring to.

The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs website
The UN Milleniunm Development Goals website

Work and Sabbath - week 7 Household Covenant

The question is: "What impact does your 'work' (whether paid or unpaid) have on your time for family, commnunity and service? Do you have adequate space for spiritual reflection and renewal?"

The suggestions include setting aside time regularly for reflection, restricting distractions and urgent messages at certain times, and even taking a year off to consider life goals, etc.

Funnily enough, I'm on a career sabbatical at the moment. I'm working a couple of part-time jobs that are in areas of interest to me, mainly to research on which area I will focus on in my next, full-time role. Even though I'm quite deliberate about this, a few things make me worried. I worry a bit abouot whether I am contributing enough, about whether I (and, more importantly, my family) are going backwards in terms of prosperity (which may affect our long-term health and my daughter's education oportunities), whether I'm losing ground in terms of social status and whether that will make my voice marginal in times to come.

Overall, though, it is a good thing. Most of the reading I've done on leadership and personal effectiveness do recomend setting aside time to reflect on your own life and how you can plan to make it happen.

It's hardest to do when you have some responsibility, whether with parenting or at work. It's easy to feel that you are letting others down by not being busy all the time. But, other people have to solve their own problems; a few hours spent on sabbath each week may well mean you increase your effectiveness for the rest of the week; and working is not the only thing we are on the planet to do.

We've got a reasonable handle on this topic in our household. I reckon we'll address some of the anxieties we feel about taking down-time and also be a bit more deliberate about when we do down-time so that it happens before we crash in an emotional and physical heap.

Social Justice and Spirituality

For me, getting involved in social justice has two main elements: it's right, and it helps me be complete.

I have no doubt that following Jesus means (in part) trying to be a moral person. One out-working of my personal morality is to help others. I see that social justice is a means of doing that. I like Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan and I take it to mean that all people are my neighbours (whom I should love), even if I'd like to screen them out on the basis of race or distance.

But I am not completely altruistic about social justice, I say that there is a benefit to me.

Being involved in justice demands that I consider the plight of others. This helps me feel empathy for others. I reckon that being able to feel empathy is a great sign of health and maturity. If I ever managed to focus on my own needs to such an extent that I simply did not feel anything when I heard of another's suffering - I reckon something would have died within me.

So, I can see that I will me more alive if I feel empathy, I can keep working my sense of empathy by considering the plight of others (especially those I may be tempted to ignore), and I can make sure that I consider the plight of others by being involved in social justice.

Others receive justice, and I get to be more alive. That's a fair and healthy way of living!