My faith is small

I'm probably going to have to put
Mabel on the payroll soon

This week is Christian Aid Week.  It's no surprise to me that I've had a good run cloud-wise as I've been spending most of my working time out giving presentations and meeting supporters for the last few weeks.  I know right, I make this big play of being an introvert and I love to go out speaking in front of people.  Things just aren't that black and white folks!

Anywho, as much as this time of year is a hard slog it's also pretty amazing.  On Sunday I was sent away from three of my engagements with food for the journey and I've lost count of how many cream teas I've had...  and the whole raising money for people in poverty is important too.  Natch.

We hear so much about how much more shallow our pockets are and increasing numbers of people are dependent on aid and food packages.  You would think that special fundraising weeks like this one would be a waste of time in this climate.

I'm not saying it's easy, it is getting harder.  I'm not saying we don't need any more money, we do - it's not going as far as it used to.

But in my seven years at Christian Aid I have seen the people with the least give the most - without fail.

It follows what I'm learning about my own reflection (funny how that happens).  When I feel I have nothing, I become the most effective just in ways I wouldn't normally expect.  It's seem that when we have very little, we are forced to get out of the way and let the good stuff work through us.

It's not easy to keep encouraging those who are tired and sometimes unsupported to keep going, that their efforts are making a real difference.  We all want the wealthy and powerful to listen up and sort all this out once and for all, like we know they could.  With some sensible investment and high up decisions eventually we wouldn't need a Christian Aid Week.

But they will only do it if the rest of us use the little we have to shout.  We will only see communities start to thrive in the meantime if we stand with them.  If we all did as much as we could we would seriously be getting somewhere.

And saving the world with a cream tea.  It's not all bad...

Midnight in Bogota; escapism fail

New Year's Eve in Colombia is a day for big family reunions, so many people go out of town, throw house parties or hire tables in restaurants.  The noise throughout the evening from the houses in my street were so joyful, traditional music and people of all ages singing and laughing.  A lovely tradition.  Apparently the 24th - 26th December is also reserved for close family, lucky them.

I wandered down the street at 11.30pm, bidding 'Feliz Anos' to the armed guards stationed along the way, having their own quiet party to music on their phones.  At the bottom of Calle 10, the party I had been expecting in the plaza had been called off, for fears that the political demonstration that had set up camp there might hijack celebrations.  So I picked up pace down Carrera 7, one of the city's main streets to find the big fiesta, the one streamed live on television. The normally crowded street was mostly deserted leaving the security guards, those who had escaped their families, those who had no family and the homeless to fill the space.

It was a ten minute walk and I nearly turned back, happy that I had seen the Christmas decorations and heard the sound of private parties behind locked doors.  I've not been a fan of the midnight point of New Year's Eve for a while; it has always been an anticlimax, an unfulfilled promise.  While closing a chapter you step onto a blank page with trepidation knowing that it will be so easily soiled.  

So it was enough for me just to have a new kind of memory, a new place, nothing profound expected.  But having hesitated, looked at my watch with 5 minutes to go I decided there was no harm in a few more steps, just to see where the road led.  With 30 seconds to go until midnight I was suddenly surrounded by music bouncing off the buildings and above me the graphics on the tower shouted the countdown.  I reached the edge of the party where I could see the crowd.  I stopped and stood with those also on the edge, the street sellers hoping to make a good night's income, those who had no one to go into the gathering with, tourists and migrant workers who looked like they wouldn't belong with the crowd.  At midnight I watched an elderly homeless man rip the rubbish bag from the bin and sift through the contents, while a teenager did the same on the other side of me. As the humble fireworks lit the sky a boy no older than 6 or 7 pulled a trailer of drinks in front of me, far too heavy for him, and into the crowd.

I came here expecting some form of escapism, hoping for a break from the norm, assuming I wouldn't fit in.  As the year ended and started life came and slapped me for being so stupid, as I stood in one of the most real places on earth.

In Colombia, wealth and power is concentrated in the hands of the elite - they dominate politics, monopolise resources, and repress social movements, trade unions, political opposition and others seeking to challenge the balance of power.

Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced people in the world, estimated between 4 and 5.5 million, and in the past 20 years more than 70,000 civilians have been killed or have disappeared.

Despite being a middle-income country, one in three Colombians lives in poverty. Poverty is widespread in rural communities and particularly affects those who have been forced off their land.

A recent UN study indicated that just 1% of the population owns 52% of the country’s land, which has contributed to making Colombia one of the most unequal nations on earth.

The reason for the heavy military and police presence in this part of Bogota is to encourage the tourist industry.  I have no problem with that, even the poorest in this part of town are relatively safe compared to those behind the tourist curtain and there is plenty of potential for work and prosperity for all the social classes.  

I went into the party, through security to the carefree revellers.  I enjoyed the traditional music and the apparently well known pop anthems blasting out.  Several tipsy couples did the 'we're the only two people in the room dance', except here they don't sway - they merengue.

I expected to feel like I had walked into to a different world, but those in the city identify themselves as Colombians and they are connected to their country.  There is a very real sense that the majority stand on the edge of the party, struggling and oppressed in one way or another.   The danger of a thriving tourist industry, and the glossy representations of the country on TV, is that the real Colombia is swept under the carpet with problems blamed on militants and small guerilla factions.  The people of Colombia aren't fooled.  Their cries as the New Year rolled in were ones of hope and change, of dignity and progress.  Those inside the party evidently feel lucky, but they are not blind.

I walked back through the quiet streets (heavily policed still, it's ok parents) wondering whether the reason I found New Year's Eve so disappointing was that I had hoped it would be a moment of freedom, of pure hope and expectation.  Maybe it's the realness that takes away the fear of the blank page, the opportunities not to keep it perfectly neat but to get dirty hands, trip and struggle, rifle through the rubbish for something good... that makes New Year an occasion.

So much for a care free holiday.  Thank God.

Imagine

Imagine that your town is being occupied by a military power which then denies you access to your natural resources, taking them and draining them in ways that are irreparably damaging to the environment. They take the water from your land then sell it back to you, even denying it completely sometimes. Imagine living as a second class citizen, you can see the electricity cables stretching from pylon to pylon across the desert but bypassing your village entirely. Imagine that the ways your family have made a living for generations have been taken away, because your land has been taken, and your transportation and movements restricted. Imagine paying taxes on every drop of rain that falls in your water tank –the tank you built because you couldn’t afford to buy water from the authorities. Even that rain, isn’t yours.

This might be a stretch of the imagination. But I’m sorry to say, the reality is even more unbelievable.

In the Jordan Valley I met people so truly poor – that is, with no options or choices left – they pay for transport each day to the settlement of the illegal settlers nearby, the settlement that is taking their water and selling it back to them, taking their ancestral land and doing all they can to drive them out. They then stand in a line up while the man in charge picks who will work that day. They pay this man for his service, if they’re lucky they’ll be picked to work. Imagine. Swallowing all your pride to do that, because you have no choice.

Poverty is not just about economics. It’s being forced to just about survive, to be at the mercy of those who care so little for you, to have no way out.

It seems unbelievable, but I saw it. Realities like these are only challenged when people know. And now you know.

I was a bit ranty when I wrote this one...

Someone once said to me ‘wow look they’ve got brick homes, lights and a school building and a doctor that visits’. I told her that this village in Africa she was talking about had electricity for 2 hours a day, school classes of 60 and the hospital was miles away with no access to an ambulance.’ She replied ‘but what they’ve got is still quite good for a poor village, they’re the lucky ones aren’t they?’

The more I think about it, the more I get a bit annoyed. I know things have been hard financially for our country recently, and hopefully that helps us empathise. But I can’t help wondering whether we have some double standards. While we worry about the state of our school playgrounds, 75 million children are not in primary school at all. While we complain about the state of the NHS, a woman dies every minute because she can’t access healthcare. I don’t mean to sound preachy or self righteous, I am ashamed that I am guilty of this. Just yesterday I was complaining about the road works in my street, when over 220thousand people died in the Haiti earthquake and the rebuilding from that will take years.

There’s been a lot of talk in development circles about how we can measure poverty, is the dollar a day line ignoring the many different dimensions of poverty? More and more people talk of a ‘moral poverty line’, how poor is too poor? Scraping by is not life in all its fullness, and it is not OK that the majority of people in our world struggle to survive day to day. We do not deserve more than anyone born anywhere else.

As we accept that the poor in our world are whole human beings with the same rights as the rich, who are so vastly in the minority, our response to the need we see becomes a lot more generous. Fewer coppers, and more calls for change.

Goldfish

So much of life seems to be hit and run, fads and trends, fashion and shock driven. Our attention spans are ever shorter as we are fed a diet of sound bites and fast living. The danger with that is that we short change ourselves and those around us.

This year has seen some of the most heartbreaking disasters of a generation. In January in excess of 220 thousand people died as a result of the earthquake in Haiti. This summer a food shortage hit West Africa, leaving ten million people facing the prospect of severe food shortages across the region. The death toll following severe floods in Pakistan will continue to rise as food prices increase, disease spreads and people are left without shelter.

People across the world have wasted no time in giving generously to the appeals and to the desperate need of the families hit by these disasters. It’s been incredible and if you have given to any appeal then thank you. Yet it’s now, as the immediate shock has subsided, and the media has left and our attention turns to something else, that the need is greatest.

Agencies like Christian Aid are in it for the long haul whether it be a disaster situation, or long term development projects in communities completely ignored by the world’s press. Rebuilding countries, and lives, is a lengthy and delicate business but one to which we are committed.

1.5 million people are still living in makeshift shelters in Haiti, nearly half a million children are still facing malnutrition in Niger, and tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have seen their whole lives washed away. Please don’t forget them.

Just a snippet...

Is the floor in your home just dirt? Because if your floor is anything other than dirt, you’re in the top half of the world’s population.

I wonder if your home has a roof, a door, windows and more than one room? If it does, you fall into the top 20% of the world’s population. If you have a fridge – you’re in the top 5%.

And if you have a car, a microwave, DVD player, computer and your toilet has a door… you’re in the top 1% in the world.

For 99% of the world’s people life has no luxury, and a third of our world live in desperate poverty.

But poverty is not a statistic, it’s a person.

I couldn't say it better...

This is the PowerPoint I used today having spoken at Brentwood Baptist Church, the church from whence I came...

Click here (will take you away from this page, do come back...!)

Numbertastic

It feels like we live in a world of statistics sometimes doesn’t it?

Meaningless big numbers whether we’re talking debt and deficit or population or distance. Here’s some more big numbers: If we woke up today with more health than illness, we are more fortunate than one million people who will not survive the week.
If we have never been shot at, or imprisoned, or tortured, or starved, we are more fortunate than 500 million people in the world.

Recently I heard a wonderful way of making a certain statistic a bit more manageable:
A billion people live on less than a dollar a day, and two billion on less than $2 – that’s a third of the planet’s population. I know a billion is a big number – but do you know how big? If we counted to one million, at a rate of one number per second, it would take us 11 days.
With this in mind, how long do you think it would take us to count to 1 billion?
It’s actually 32 years. But if 10 of us do the counting – it’s only 3 yrs.
If 100 it’s about 4 months… and a 1000, brings the task to 11 days.
The seemingly impossibly big challenges can be cracked if a community of people say – together, in a loud, clear voice, enough – this must be done.

And this is what happens every year in Christian Aid Week, when a third of a million people – another enormous number – take to the streets to collect money house to house, and many, many more run coffee mornings, events, sponsored walks – all sorts of things that raise money and awareness for the work of Christian Aid and our vision to end, yes END, poverty. It’s a huge task, but one we’re undertaking together.

When your body says no more...

... it gives in to a cold.

I'm not the type of person who takes time off work with a cold, but I am very empathetic when others have one because the fuzzy yukkiness of a cold is truly awful! I have a mild cold right now, mainly through exhaustion but now I come to think of it I've been surrounded by ailing folk for weeks now so I suppose the inevitable has simply hit.

Something as inconsequential as a cold can really take the wind out of you - you suddenly wonder how you ever took breathing through your nose for granted or if it's always been so hard to listen to people talking to you... you ponder if you'll ever taste again or how if you'll live your life feeling like your head weighs the same as a house. It's all a bit pathetic really.

But actually, not at all long after a cold has cleared, you've forgotten it was even there and everything is 'normal' again. Hurrah.






It's been over 3 months since I returned from Uganda.

I run a campaign based on my experiences in India which encourages a symbolic act as a reminder of the state of the world.

I just went to the fridge and whinged I had no food.

Right.

It's easy to rant about the world (particularly when it's a big part of your job), it's even easy to really mean it when you do. But taking the attitude and making it stick, taking the pledge to be counter-cultural and letting it seep into your lifestyle, not feeling sorry for yourself when you have a lapse of perspective... that takes time, and will power.

So keep me in check please.

That ending poverty thing

If you look at the word ‘poverty’, you may notice something within it if you look really closely? There in the middle is the word over. This is the focal point of the new Christian Aid campaign, - poverty over. It came about when a secular marketing agency looked at everything we produced and all of our hopes and dreams, and came back to us simply saying – you believe in ending poverty don’t you? Well then that’s all you need to say. No gimmicks, no gloss. They effectively took us at our word.
It’s a brave thing to do – we really have risked being a laughing stock; no bases covered, no plan B, no excuses.
But when you consider it, human history is made up of instances where massive social change has occurred because of a determination to act. The ending of slavery, the collapsing of apartheid, and the eradication of smallpox within a decade are all examples. The scandal of poverty must be added to that list. The world has more wealth, more knowledge, greater interconnections and a greater capability to do so than at any other time in human history.
We are not calling for marginal improvements on what has gone before, instead fundamental changes in the global, national and local structures that create poverty are needed.

Christian Aid’s determination to end poverty is driven by the belief that the work of building the Kingdom of God is continued by his followers today. So, the church surely has a key part to play in all of this. Are we ready to really act with determination, regardless of what others say? Are we ready to take the gospel and put it into action? Are we ready to be taken at our word?

Wear black tomorrow to stand in solidarity

I’ve had the privilege of meeting some incredible people around the world, particularly in India and Uganda who have become the inspiration for an idea called Thursdays in Black. Gender inequality is one of the key factors hindering the eradication of poverty and there are people working in this area across the world who wear black on a Thursday as a personal protest and stand of solidarity, and I wanted to be one of them. This idea grew into an initiative which is fast becoming a movement of people from all backgrounds wanting to stand with those affected by injustice and effectively bringing about change to the structures and systems which favour some over others on the basis of gender.
I want to put the conversation on the table – the world is unfair. Men and women can work together to end the inequality between them, and then we can start to end poverty.

I don’t think it’s enough to have a campaign message though. Any campaign with such high hopes has to be shot through with integrity. That’s why for Thursdays in Black it’s as much about our ethos as it is about the message.
We want to stand out not just because of the cause but because of the way we operate – we will be ethical, transparent, eco friendly and deliberately un-glossy.

I probably sound a bit idealistic – I am. I have to be… the world needs some ideals to live up to, an un-cynical dream to grasp, and I just thought it was worth giving it a go.
We will be outspoken for the sake of those who are silenced. We will be outraged alongside those who are oppressed. We will be different because it’s about time.
Only with these high standards can we begin to be effective and most importantly be true to those inspiring women we represent.

Boxed up

People tend to have all sorts of expectations when they meet me, before I've even spoken I can tell when I've been mentally put in a box. Whenever I throw in that I'm originally from Essex people seem to have an altogether different perception of me! I get all sorts of responses when I travel around the South West, turning up at a church to preach or lead a workshop, simply because I am a young woman. We have many preconceptions - which is not always a bad thing and it's certainly natural - but just as I have to so often prove myself beyond my first impression, I equally have to spend time dispelling the myths surrounding the poor.

Many people believe that the poor are lazy. I'm sure that, just as in this country, developing countries have their fair share of idleness but from what I've seen and known, those in the poorest countries are determined to change the futures for their own people.

Many people think that the money they give to development agencies like Christian Aid go to corrupt governments. It doesn't, we give money straight to partner organisations that account for every penny and are monitored and supported by us.

Many people know that throwing money at the poverty problem won't change things long term - and actually if you think that, you're right. And that's why Christian Aid is a development agency and not just a charity. We don't just give money, we give money to projects and local partners who are determined to tackle the roots causes of poverty. That's why we campaign and lobby the powers that keep the poorest poor and the powerful dominating.

That's why the continuing support through money, campaigning and solidarity from communities across the UK are actually changing the world because there are no quick fixes, just the long haul. Despite any preconceived ideas you may have, hope in action is what is changing our world.

An absolute nightmare. Or not...

I can’t count the number of ‘worst day ever’s I’ve had or how often I’m ‘starving’… Even when I say ‘I don’t have enough money’ what I mean is I don’t have extra this week, and why do I insist so often that things were a ‘nightmare’ when actually things were just a bit tricky?!
We all use exaggeration for effect. To make a point. Especially when we want to show how unfortunate we are. Why is that? And the danger is that we can begin to believe our own script.

So here’s a reality check:
• If we woke up today with more health than illness, we are more fortunate than one million people who will not survive the week.
• If we have never been shot at, or imprisoned, or tortured, or starved, we are more fortunate than 500 million people in the world.
• If we have food in the fridge, clothes on our back and a roof overhead, we are more fortunate than 75% of the people on this planet.

And here’s the big one - If we have money in the bank, or in a wallet, or even spare change in a dish somewhere, we are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthiest people!

Working with those who are really poor, I have seen the world through their eyes. And they have taught me that real poverty is not about having too little food, or nowhere to live. Real poverty means having no choice. No way out. No hope for the future. No real life before death.

I thank God that there are people out there who are willing to live their lives as a thank you, rather than a please or a shrug. Who put the needs of others first, and dare to make a difference. No exaggeration necessary.

He did not just say what I think he just said... oh yes he did...

There's no chance of me getting complacent in my work, and not just because of the state of the world, but because people never cease to amaze.

I was doing a presentation with a young chap who'd come back from Asia recently and wanted to share his photos and experiences. I'd been asked to add to his thoughts and inspire some new supporters. He threw some odd asides during his slideshow - 'there's one of the locals just watching us work, that happened a lot...' and listing lots of depressing facts about the poverty he'd seen. I didn't worry - I was there to give the wider context and the hope element. He went over time and I had to choose whether to move on, or fill for five minutes before the break. He'd originally wanted to do a Q&A so I didn't think there'd be too much problem asking him a few questions on the spot.

So I asked what the hardest thing about his visit was, (totally seriously:)'doing my own washing.'
And what will change now he's back after such an eye opening experience? 'Nothing. I was really into raising money for charities before I went, but now I've seen the rich and the poor... I really don't think I will. Sorry.'

Sense the change in atmosphere in the room...

(Voice in My Head: 'Maybe I'm the only one who picked up what he actually ... no everyone got it... do I just go straight to the break... no that would be a cop out... I'm gonna have to say something... like what?! It's now been five seconds... speak Laura... they're looking at you in expectant shock ... SPEAK'

I said something about how it's great and important that we are reminded how complex poverty is, and how we shouldn't be afraid to struggle. I told them how when I came back from Uganda I seriously struggled to get motivated and find the hope in what I did. Many of us have been plugging away for years, and how has the world changed? For every small victory there seems to be another set of challenges... why do we bother?

(Voice in my Head: 'I really hope you're going somewhere with this...')

We bother because when you've seen the world as it really is, you have a choice: to do nothing, or do something. And the compassion and righteous anger planted in us simply means we cannot stand by and shrug our shoulders.

Yes, there are lazy people in the developing world - there are lazy people here too. Yes there is corruption in poor countries - ... who are we to speak on that one?! And we could give up. But there are millions of people who don't have that option - who get up every day despite the odds and bloody well get on with it.

Or words to that effect.

I am so grateful to my young friend for throwing the cat amongst the pigeons and frankly - saying what everyone was probably thinking. Let's not keep pretending with some kind of unrealistic niceness that we can pat ourselves on the back and keep smiling. We should be confused about the state of the world - it's confusing. And we should be downright angry too, and struggling.

And sometimes we just have to cling on to that scrap of hope. That's the most profound act of solidarity I can think of.

Shhh

In this day and age there still seem to be so many taboos - sex, death, money. But I'm one of those people who is unafraid to take things head on, it can get me into trouble but I can't help it! So here's one for you - HIV.

Poverty will never be history unless we fight the underlying causes of HIV. A lack of education in schools, public clinics and hospitals; the increasing need to migrate in order to find work; the desperation that drives women and girls to work; and the lack of access to lifesaving treatment all point to the same conclusion: HIV is fuelled by, and is fuelling, the vicious cycle of poverty.

HIV is a virus, not a moral issue.

The response to HIV must therefore be based on public health measures and human rights principles, and not on judgements about what we perceive to be right or wrong.

Christian Aid supports partner organisations in developing countries working to provide treatment to the people who need it. They provide support groups and education, meeting the needs of people at every level. Globally we are calling for an end to stigma afflicted on those diagnosed as HIV-positive. We are asking for the church to step up and courageously take action alongside the world's poor as well as those people in the UK and around the world living with HIV.

HIV may not be at the top of many UK churches' agendas but raising the issue helps those infected to escape their isolation, it increases education which promotes prevention, and it makes us look outward to one of the most vicious epidemics crippling the world's poorest communities.

I may be a taboo, but this world needs those people bold enough to speak out, stand up and stand alongside those who deserve it.

Spare change

Did you know that if you have any disposable income at all, you are in the top 8% of the world's richest people? I don't mention that to play down the trauma of the current financial situation but it's always nice to be given a little perspective don't you think!? Did you know that £3 could buy a month's supply of beans for a family following the disaster in Burma?

One of the most common comments I receive after I give a presentation or talk is about not having the resources to do anything about poverty. Another one is not being able to do enough to make a difference. My mum used to tell me that I had an answer for everything and I'm happy to say that it's no different in this case!

Firstly, we can all do something. Whether it is looking at our lifestyles (which can save us money by the way) and remembering that the way we live has a huge impact on people all around the world, or giving as much as we can to an organisation like Christian Aid who then transform pounds into sustainable solutions for the world's poor, or we can take part in a campaign to challenge the rules and structures that mean that the world favours some and not others... we can all do something.

And as to whether is makes a difference, absolutely. I've seen it. I've seen £5.25 loaned to a family to buy their first set of cloth and dye and start a business which is now independent, and that loan has been paid back. I've seen £10 worth of trees producing fruit preventing soil erosion in Senegal. A little does go a long way...

Tricky business

Do politics and faith mix? Faith based organisations like Christian Aid come in for a lot of stick for our campaigning and political work. We have the ear of the government on issues like Climate Change and International Trade Rules. But shouldn't we just stick to raising money, and maybe a bit of prayer?

The God I believe in has a heart for the poor that hasn't changed. The Christianity I subsribe to teaches that no one is disposable to God. Christian Aid's gospel driven work is led by the belief that everyone deserves a future, refusing to be compromised by the world's complacency about poverty. Everything Christian Aid does come back to the responsibility laid by God at our feet, and the mandate to care for the vulnerable and speak up for the silenced.

Just as Jesus ministered outside accepted social barriers, healing people regardless of their beleifs - we are unafraid to get involved in complicated places. And while responding to people in need is vital, we believe that God does not want the world to be this way, so we campaign to change the underlying structures that make and keep people poor. It means challenging the people who have the power to change things, not trying to hide anger when the poor are exploited and pushing forward the values of justice, peace and love to change the world's values.

Becoming involved in politics helped people like William Wilberforce bring an end to slavery 200 years ago. It enabled campaigners to persuade rich governments to cancel the criplling debt if some of the world's poorest countries in the run up to the millennium. And so it is exactly because we are people of faith that we must continue to speak out.

Why I'm wearing black today

Let's get this straight, I'm not a militant man hating fembot, honestly. I do however believe in people's right to do more than scrape by, to be treated with respect and to be free. I believe in choice, joy and life in all its fullness. I know that discrimination on the basis of gender is wrong, and that violence and oppression do not belong in this world.

It's hot today, and wearing black certainly isn't comfortable. I'll leave you to make your own link on that one...

I wear black so that I don't forget the stories I have heard, the people I've cried with and those fighting for justice despite the challenges. In itself, this statement won't change the world. Together maybe we'll raise a few eyebrows and engage with a certain audience. Maybe we ourselves will be be changed a little as we feel the weight of solidarity on our shoulders.

But put simply, I wear black because I must do something. I cannot be silent, I cannot shake from my mind what I know, I cannot go back to ignorant bliss.

I will be uncomfortable today, and every other Thursday and if I'm really lucky - every day I live until this world changes. Like so many people, I have no choice but to fight.