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Can We REALLY Make Poverty History? TONY CAMPOLO

Happy Belated St. Francis of Assisi Day

"Preach the Gospel always. Use words if necessary." - St. Francis of Assisi

Yesterday was St. Francis of Assisi Day.  He's one of my heroes so I thought I'd share a little piece of his wisdom here.

Helping Others

This past week I had the good fortune to be able to hear Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder speak at North Carolina State University.  Among other things, he discussed his recent book, Strength in What Remains, an incredible story about Deo, a man who escaped from war-torn Burundi, spent time as a homeless man in New York City, graduated from Columbia University, and eventually returned to his homeland to build medical clinics.  Tracy Kidder also wrote a book entitled Mountains Beyond Mountains about Dr. Paul Farmer, a man who has devoted his life to fighting infectious diseases, first in Haiti and then around the world. 

In the meantime, I picked up a book at the library - Be the Change by Lisa Endlich.  This book profiled several individuals who made fortunes and were in a position to spend the rest of their lives in extreme luxury.  Instead, they chose to give back to their communities and to the world.  These individuals included people like Bill and Melinda Gates, and Donna and Philip Berber.

All of the individuals featured in the above-named books are such an inspiration to me.  Although most of us could never fund a large program, we can do small things in big ways.  After all, Mother Teresa said you have to begin with the first person.  Several things I got from Endlich's book were:  you need to have passion about what you do; you need to research the organizations you support to see where the money is going and what impact you can make;  you need to ask benefactors "what do you need?" rather than deciding what you will give; and you need to realize that you will make mistakes - it's part of the learning process.

My experiences this week have made me more committed than ever to helping others, even in small ways.  The old cliche is true:  I feel I get much more out of it than I give.

Story of Stuff

A simple, yet effective video about how our consumer society is impacting the world. (Thank you Rachel for bringing it to my attention!)

Make A Difference

Haves and Have Nots

I've had a lot of mental conflicts since returning from Haiti.  I find myself in stores, picking up things I *need*, paying for them, bringing them home, and then feeling guilty.  Because I've seen real needs.  They're not the things that we in the industrialized world see as needs.  I don't really need a new blouse or a new pillow as the ones I own are perfectly acceptable and functional.  Some things I can somewhat justify:  I need a new pair of running shoes so that I don't damage my feet or knees.  And running is important because it's a way for me to keep healthy in a couch potato world.  However, real needs include clean drinking water, sufficient food to fuel our bodies, clothing to protect our bodies from the elements, shelter over our heads, access to education, and affordable health care.  I already have all of those things.

I understand why it's such a struggle to separate needs from wants.  Several years ago, I read a book called Why We Buy:  The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill.  It's a frightening read and makes one understand the irrisistable need to buy, buy, buy.  You see, the marketeeers know us better than we know ourselves.  They use psychological tricks to get into our heads, to make it impossible to venture into a store or mall and leave either without buying anything or with just what we set out to buy in the first place.  It takes superhuman strength to overcome some of the tricks utilized to turn on the desire to acquire things.  

For many years, I've strived to live a simple life and avoided acquiring a lot of stuff.  But now, I'm finding simple, everyday purchases as suspect.  When I think about the fact that a casual purchase at the mall could instead be turned into an opportunity for a child to go to school and eat for a monthy,well, it changes everything.