[ “SHARE” Sept-Oct 2012 – An Eye-Opening Experience of Poverty ] STEP INTO THE WORLD
Ram Maya lives in the mountainous area in Dhading, Nepal. She suffered from discrimination and poverty because she is Dalit. Since installing an Eco toilet set up to collect urine for organic farming, she has been enjoying very good harvests and earning good income.
With no official assistance to provide proper roads, water supply and medical care, the marginalised communities in Dhading’s mountainous areas live a desperate existence, and are often vulnerable to skin diseases, diarrhoea and fever.
CEDAR’s partner Shanti Nepal helps raise villagers’ awareness of health and hygiene, improve health care and basic medical facilities, generate income for better food security and build up support networks through community health and education programme.
With your support:
HK$250 will subsidise a household to build a toilet;
HK$500 will provide two basic health sessions for mothers’ groups;
HK$1,000 will provide four training sessions on livelihood skills to community groups
Please help support our partner’s community health and education programme to improve the lives of these marginalised communities.
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details. [2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
[ “SHARE” Sept-Oct 2012 – An Eye-Opening Experience of Poverty ] TAKING ACTION
Author> TANG Po Shan, Education and Promotion Officer
I met Tina during a ‘Deprived Community Exposure Visit’ held by CEDAR Club. She was then studying Chinese medicine at university and she wanted to know more about the world, especially the people she was going to serve.
I have seen Tina bring young people to several CEDAR Barefoot Walks. During our conversation, I discovered that Tina has been joining CEDAR events with her father since she was a small child, and members of her church are also regular supporters of Barefoot Walk. ‘I remember going to the first ever CEDAR Barefoot Walk with my father when I was a few years old, and we have been going every year since. It started as merely “something fun”. When I attended secondary school and served at my church’s youth fellowship, I encouraged fellowship members to support CEDAR and join Barefoot Walk. I changed from being a passive participant to an active promoter. My intent has also changed— I now truly agree with the idea behind the events and I want to express my care and concern for the poor through consistent action.’
Tanton, Tina’s father, has been a volunteer at CEDAR since it was founded in 1991. It was he who introduced Tina to CEDAR. Tina says, ‘Through CEDAR I have the opportunity to care about distant matters and not just the things I deal with everyday. News and information from CEDAR also helps me understand the poverty issues in the world.’ Watching his daughter mature, Tanton is very encouraged even though he did not have a predetermined goal for Tina in the beginning. ‘All that parents need to do is to lead their children to God, to nurture and to discipline them well. Our children observe what we do. We cannot force them do anything but let them explore for themselves. They will take the initiative when they find something suitable.’ ‘Actions speak louder than words’ may be a cliché, but it may exactly be the manifestion of integral mission—Believers living out biblical qualities in different aspects of life can make changes through their actions.
We cordially invite you to join this year’s Barefoot Walk:
Date> 10 November (Saturday) Time> 3pm Place> Central Registration and Enquiry> cedarwalk.org or contact us at 2381 9627
TAKING ACTION introduces CEDAR’s education and advocacy activities in Hong Kong; through participants’ sharing encourages believers to take action and practise their faith.
[ “SHARE” Sept-Oct 2012 – An Eye-Opening Experience of Poverty ] CEDAR’S BLOGGER
Author> LEE Po Ki, Kate, Project Supervisor (Disaster Management & Risk Reduction)
The happiest thing about engaging in development work is witnessing lives being changed. The Brazilian educationist Paulo Freire pointed out that education is the way to individual and social construction. Similarly, development work challenges the existing thinking of society and individuals, including the development workers themselves.
In recent years I have been working in projects in Gansu, China, and have seen the changes in the women there. These women are seldom in control of family wealth and possessions. They are illiterate and stay in their home-village all their lives. Their talents are buried by the social culture of male superiority. What we do is to nurture the women’s talents and build their self-confidence. After many years of unrelenting effort through literacy classes, leadership training, small loans, and health & hygiene education, the women have grown in their capabilities and self-confidence. They have even represented the village in negotiations with the government, successfully set up farmers’ cooperatives.
‘A year does not pass without some disaster’, many villagers used to say. A few years ago I met a minister from Nujiang, Yunnan, at a disaster prevention project. He felt it impossible for his poor minority community to deal with natural disasters. The disaster management workshop changed his thinking–-he recognised that they suffer mostly from fires and rainstorms which occur at particular times of the year. Further, he learned to make use of community resources for disaster prevention, e.g. during the dry season, volunteer mountain rangers watch out for forest fires; in rainy season, villagers who understand Putonghua will relay news of impending rainstorms. He told us, ‘Disasters can actually be prevented by enhancing disaster combat ability and eliminating the weak links.’
As a development worker, I can also be restricted by my own presumptions. The destitute households in Chinese villages are mostly aged and diseased, and I naturally thought that the most we could do for them was to give them rice and cooking oil during Chinese New Year. But workers at the Gansu project site showed me otherwise. They specially invited these destitute householders to be the changemakers to learn and then demonstrate how to corral sheep. An elderly couple told us, ‘We are the demonstration unit, so naturally we are to lead the villagers in corralling.’ They do not see themselves as receiving help but being a part of facilitating development. Their empowerment makes me understand that it is not the projects that build ability but we already have it in ourselves, and it can be applied to change for good if we give it space and opportunity.
I thank the women, the ethnic minority groups and the rural destitute householders for opening my eyes to their development. I hope to continue learning to challenge the old in me and in society, and that I will walk with the poor more appropriately.
CEDAR’S BLOGGER allows members of CEDAR staff to talk about their work, life and reflections.
[ “SHARE” Jul-Aug 2012 – What Has Poverty to Do with Me? ] FOCUS: INTERVIEW
Interviewer> Lam Wai Shan
The World Bank’s latest data shows that 1.29 billion people in the world live below the poverty line[1];
Human behaviours lead to frequent natural disasters;
Human dignity is constantly being trampled on….
We cannot help but ask, ‘Where are You, Lord?’
And what can we do?
God gave this vision to Hazel, a veteran in poverty relief and development, ‘It was as if I was a little girl when I saw an adult carrying some water; I offered to help and he accepted. Thrilled at being able to be of use, I then realised that it was the man himself had been carrying the weight all along.’ And God was this man.
This mental breakthrough came during a highly significant trip. Hazel was visiting the rubbish dump in Manila called Smokey Mountain and its squatter community (later moved to the outskirts of Manila). The place was filled with smoke and stench from decomposing garbage. Yet men and women, young and old, scrambled up the landfill barefooted, trying to pick through the rubbish. During the trip Hazel poignantly heard the sad news that someone from a community organisation bargaining for a higher refuse collection fee for the scavengers was killed.
Hazel remembers clearly that after returning to the commercial district of Makati, whilst attending a church meeting in a comfortable hall, she recalled the moments at Smokey Mountain and she wept out of great sadness. ‘I felt that God was very unfair. Why were the people in Makatinot oppressed and exploited, instead they could come to church in comfort, whereas the Smokey Mountain people struggled to survive, oppressed and barely had any dignity?’
Stop and hear
The Lord calmed Hazel down and then said to her, ‘Indeed you are sad and pained now, but these feelings will subside with time, but My pain, which is greater than yours, will never diminish. Where was I? I was the Word become flesh and was among the pains of the people, and I have resurrected, I have overcome all…’ This spiritual experience further confirmed the goal and direction of Hazel’s ministry, and she now no longer asks why we have human suffering, ‘All along God has been living among those who are suffering, and bringing changes to poverty and injustice, He is also inviting us to co-work with Him and strive alongside the poor, especially with those who are oppressed and exploited.’
Hazel encourages villagers to show through drawings their resources
How should we walk with the poor?
Hazel admits that application is not easy and yet she strongly believes, ‘It has to do with interpersonal contact, communication and relationship building. We cannot merely treat the poor and exploited as victims.’ Therefore, to truly walk with them, we must lay aside all preconceptions and presumptions about the poor and humbly listen to them and get to know them. ‘The poor can participate in discussions and use different ways to express their experiences, thoughts, feelings, expectations and actions, including their suppressed potentials and their efforts at surviving adversity. Only when such spaces are created can there be real participation and empowerment.’
Through this activity Africans appreciate themselves and others consolidating unity
Stop and think
Ultimately, caring for the poor is not launching a project, but an attitude to life, lived out consistently. What then are we actually trying to construct or preserve? Do our actions actually alleviate or aggravate the pain of the poor and oppressed? Hazel challenges as to biblically consider those questions: –
Saving or sharing our wealth? Why do we constantly save our wealth? Are we storing up what others have lost or been robbed of? Why are people who lack materially more willing to share?
Better and more successful than the poor? Do we often feel morally, intellectually and culturally superior to the poor? Do we only focus on reforming them that we fail to respect and listen to them?
Does poverty have anything to do with me? Have we considered that we ourselves are also a cause of poverty? Have we ever intentionally or unknowingly fostered any unrighteous dealing or system? When we choose not to respond to a problem, can poverty ever be alleviated?
Is money the answer to everything? Poverty is not a problem just about money, it also involves the dignity, security, fair participation and autonomy of the person. Can merely increasing income overcome poverty by a “top-down” distribution?
Only a medium for evangelism? What is the relationship between gospel work and community care? The gospel message includes justice and mercy but what do justice and mercy mean for the exploited poor, communities and the system?
Hazel often checks herself for a sense of superiority towards villagers
Combine living with action
Apart from self-examination, it is also very important for more Christians to care for their neighbours. Hazel believes that this caring need not be about doing extraordinary things. We can start with paying attention to and caring about the people and things around us. Through sharing and talking about our faith and poverty Hazel encourages brothers and sisters to actively participate. ‘Search the Scriptures to understand what “integral gospel” means, and dispel one by one the myths about poverty and the poor. Further, pray that God will open our eyes to examine other people’s daily situations which we might have once dismissed, and then step out of our comfort zone, bravely choosing to do what is good. Believers can also talk about matters relating to poverty, explore its causes, and amass power to do what needs to be done.’
When asked if there have been times of frustration during her many years of ministry, Hazel replied firmly, ‘Frustration is often there, but I remind myself that God has a strong hold on me, He never changes and He is always with those who suffer. I also remind myself not to be self-righteous but to do the best I can trusting God will Himself bring about deliverance and transformation to individuals, groups and the system.’
When Hazel saw the picture of the child and adult carrying water together she responded to God’s calling without hesitation. Twenty years have flown by and she has persisted along this path. In her daily life she is constantly learning to overcome her own pride and limitations, doing her best to put her belief into practice. God invites not only Hazel, but you also, to co-work with Him who is victorious, to build a world of righteousness and loving kindness. Poverty definitely concerns you!
Extended action
If you have practical ways to care for the poor, log in to CEDAR’s site to share your views.
Hazel Wong has been involved in poverty relief and development for over twenty years. Experienced in frontline implementation of development projects, training and research, she has particular interest in gender issue and is devoted in integrating faith with justice and social development after obtaining her Master in Christian Studies at China Graduate School of Theology, (CGST). Hazel has been a consultant to CEDAR since 2010.
[ “SHARE” Jul-Aug 2012 – What Has Poverty to Do with Me? ] STEP INTO THE WORLD
Many poor Indians live in rural villages in the forests of Orissa State. These villagers are mainly low castes or tribals with their different religious beliefs. Conflicts among such groups are always happening and that worsen their desperate plight. In 2008, Hindu-Christian violent clashes resulted in many casualties and much economic loss. Tribal hatred has simmered on.
Communities are further marginalised by illiteracy which hinders them from learning new farming or other skills. Moreover, their villages are too remote and they rely only on oxcarts for transportation. This makes it difficult for them to leave and find work in towns and cities.
CEDAR partner Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR) launched community development projects in twenty villages in Orissa. It organises women literacy class and improves farmers’ livelihood by building their capacities. Leadership training helps facilitate sustainable community development and network among the castes and lead to an inclusive community.
HK$100 trains up one teacher for adult literacy classes
HK$300 supports ten farmers in agricultural training
HK$850 improves the quality of one hectare of farmland soil.
You can donate to support this integrated community project, helping rural communities in Orissa Stateto build up a sustainable development project.
[1] CEDAR is an approved charitable institutions and trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please click Inland Revenue Department website to check for details. [2] Donations over $100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts. [3] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.
[ “SHARE” Jul-Aug 2012 – What Has Poverty to Do with Me? ] TAKING ACTION
Author> Willis
Each visit would make me feel confused and embarrassed about my identity as a Christian.
Every time we meet, Old Man A would ignore all my questions and repeat his same old story; Old Man B is a man of few words and we try constantly to start a new topic of conversation; Old Man C keeps on asking about “Scheme $6000”.
Nothing new ever comes out of the visits and our presence seem to cause annoyance. But when we say goodbye, their response is always, ‘Thank you for visiting today.’
These aged ex street-sleepers may have a past that is too painful to recall, or they may have become awkward with conversations because they rarely talk to strangers, yet deep down they yearn for some attention – they cherish even the most trivial chats for they feel loving care from others.
For me, used to living an ever-changing material life, it has not been easy to adjust quickly to or speak kindly to elderly people living in hardship. I may express willingness with my mouth but feel challenged in my heart. Time passes and the once-poor generation of believers has now become more prosperous and the church is becoming middle-class. Thus when a group of well-off Christians like us get together, invisible walls come up which separate us from the world beyond. When the church is happy to stay within the walls, who will look after the lonely and the helpless in the society?
In contrast, Jesus walked with the marginalised and lived among them. Thus the Word became flesh and lived among us. Yet, when we worship and sing ‘Holy! Holy!’ do we understand why Jesus was born, or know what He did while He was in the world?
I fervently hope one day when a street-sleeper comes into our gathering, we will not be offended by him and reject him for what he wears or how he behaves, because whatever we do for one of the least of these brothers, we do for the Lord.
Since mid-2010, CEDAR joined the Salvation Army in a “street-sleepers visit project”, taking note of the street-sleepers’ needs through regular visits. 28 participants are divided into small groups and regularly visit 15 street-sleepers or former street-sleepers. Willis is one of the participants.
TAKING ACTION introduces CEDAR’s education and advocacy activities in Hong Kong; through participants’ sharing encourages believers to take action and practise their faith.
