Introducing an organization called Catalyst.
- Catalyst is an advocacy program for Baptist churches in Australia. It enables churches to introduce advocacy as a focused area of local church ministry.
- The concept is simple - a church forms a Catalyst group and this group takes the lead in lobbying government, corporations and the wider community to effect justice for the world's poor and oppressed.
In these small groups they are taught the best methods of approaching governments and corporations in an effort to convince them to give money overseas. To Catalyst, social justice is getting other people to do something and then get credit for that something being done. How noble of them.
What about doing something yourself? At least overseas aid agencies such as World Vision are doing something. But even they miss an important aspect of the big picture.
The facts are that
- Our country does give aid
- Is it enough? It will never be deemed enough by aid organisations
- These countries have wealth
- Problem is that the wealth is distributed to 10% of the nation
Is that the fault of our country?
Why not teach people in the ways of lobbying the Mugabe’s of this world to stop their tyranny and let the nation have some food. Unfortunately it would take a military invasion to stop that, and I’m guessing Catalyst aren’t fans of that occurring. That is as hard as it will be for us to get rid of poverty.
The corrupt leaders of these poor countries have the power to get rid of poverty right now. Do you think they want to do that? Absolutely not. That would mean that they lose some of their wealth and power over others. They don’t want to lose their shiny new Merc that they bought with the last aid cheque.
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2 comments:
Could I suggest that you learn how Australian aid is distributed? Some money that is designated as aid funding never leaves Australia. It pays Australian consultants or purchases Australian products or in other ways benefits Australians or Australian businesses. You then have to look at what countries are recipients of aid and why? I am not against a degree of self-interest in aid allocation. It would be foolish not to consider it. But self-interest can become selfishness so that in aid allocation our own national interest can be put so far in front that the health and well-being of men, women and children in dire need in other countries doesn't even rate.
For the Catalyst proponents, I would diagnose a good sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. "[But we urge you] that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commended you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing."
That should do the trick...
LB
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