Giving well (or sharing nicely)

Late last week I wrote to my local MP (again) highlighting the need for Australia to increase our aid in order for countries like Cambodia to have a fighting chance of meeting their Millennium Development Goals. Apparently, there is talk in the latest federal budget of cuts to international aid.

Aid cuts would be devastating for many lives and even small increases in aid makes a huge difference in people’s lives. This is because the purchasing power of each dollar is so much greater in developing nations meaning you get much more for your money.

For example, through project funds Steve has paid for laminectomies for patients plus three days of inpatient care for US$600. In Australia, this operation costs at least $15,000.

Then, this note pops into my inbox shouting “Aid to Cambodia rarely reaches the people it’s meant to help”.

This emotive little opinion piece in the Washington Post is basically saying that the aid money that goes into Cambodia will invariably build bigger and better houses for its leaders and that donors should refuse to give any more aid until corruption is addressed.

Honestly, I can’t refute any of it. From what we hear on the ground, the article speaks a version of the truth. However, I am concerned that such articles only serve to create greater distrust and reduce giving.

Already, Australia is giving well below the agreed 0.7 per cent of gross national product and groups such as World Vision have given up on this target now only asking for the Australian Government to meet the 0.5 per cent target. And an embarrassing amount of this is tied to the purchase of Australian goods and services (dubbed “boomerang aid” – the aid that gives back).

The solution is to give aid in better ways. There is much research and many policies written to address these (see The Reality of Aid as an example) but all boil down to a simple few rules.

1. Share your toys nicely – no need to give them all away just one in every two hundred.

2. Give. Don’t rent them out or lend with interest.

3. Make sure there aren’t unfair rules with how they can play with the toys or that they have to pay daddy to fix the toys.

4. The struggling families need to agree to treat their children well and share the toys fairly, being honest with how they are used.

5. Don’t use your wealth to make huge numbers of toy boxes or toy parts at a loss and then dump them on other poorer families who are trying to make these for a living.

While the parents argue over these rules, I am encouraged to see is that there are an increasing number of kids who recognise already that they have plenty of toys and are willing to share. However, I am amazed as to how many (even amongst our own supporters) still distrust organisations to manage toy distribution.

Giving to well established organisations with a proven track record in these countries is always a very very good start.

Celebrating Easter

It’s the most significant event within the Christian faith, however Easter is often seen by many Aussie Christians as an opportunity for a break at the beach and enjoy an Easter egg hunt or two (or seven).

In Cambodia, it generally occurs just after Khmer New Year. The new year celebrations are the largest on the Khmer calendar and so when Easter rolls around most people are just a little partied out (and chocolate melts terribly fast in the current 40 degree heat).

What makes celebrating Easter so difficult?

Fundamentally, the message really is a tough one for marketers. Talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection is a problematic because you need to mention the “s” word (sin) in a world where most people would rather think of themselves as basically good.

The Christmas message of God humbling Himself to become a baby gives us warm fuzzies. The Easter message of this God being murdered for our sin is horrifying and that He rose again sounds like the stuff of Hollywood movies.

Indeed, a nativity scene can be cute but a Jack in the box Jesus as he rises from the tomb goes beyond tacky.

So, if you’re like me, you’re stuck with melted chocolate (fair trade even if you are finally convinced that it’s worth paying the extra $2 for slave-free fair priced products – see World Vision’s Chocolate Buyers Guide) feeling somewhat at a loss as how to celebrate this deeply significant event with my neighbours and friends.

Buying an Easter chicken might help ease the conscience throughout the self-indulgence and is a whole lot better for the waistline (see TEAR), but there’s got to be a better way to share the best news ever.

No condemnation. Peace with God. Eternity with Him.

Preferably with something ice-cold.

Cast your bread

On Sunday afternoons, we attend a little home church with another Australian family who live around the corner. At around 3pm they set up the laptop and the adults listen to a sermon while the children play in the next room. Last week the church grew by 50% when a new family from the UK joined in.

Last week we finished a series on Ecclesiastes where the ongoing theme has been gift (being gifted with the life we have) rather than gain (trying to achieve). With this perspective, the verses about the meaninglessness (or temporary nature) of life are no longer depressive but freeing. When everything we have is viewed as a gift (time, possessions, relationships, grace), we are able to stop chasing the wind and live with contentment and generosity with these gifts we have received.

The final sermon focused on Ecclesiastes 11. Here are the first two verses from the NKJ version which struck me. “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth.”

According to a number of commentators, casting bread is thought to be a symbol of being generous with what you have because it will return to you. Give widely because (as the CEV version stated) “you never know when disaster will strike”.

This flies in the face of conventional wisdom which encourages us to save for the rainy day (check out the NIV translation for a typical modernised view on how to manage our money). However, in such uncertain times, with floods and earthquakes, tsunamis and cyclones, we are encouraged to be generous which, according to the Message, is a high yield investment.

For those with not much to give, the preacher encouraged generosity of spirit – extending grace to someone who has done you wrong, being generous with your time, slowing down and being wholly present with whoever you are with, and view each day as on opportunity to bless rather than a compulsion to achieve.

But I think that most of us do have money to share. For us, the message is particularly timely as we are currently making financial decisions regarding our abundance.

Jesus, please give us the courage to give while we can because times are uncertain. After all, it is a gift not something we have achieved.