Sustainable Good

‘Working for Outreach International Not Only Changes the Poor, It Changes You'

McAdamson Nkhoma has an infectious laugh. With twinkling eyes and a big smile, you can count on him to inject a healthy dose of humor into a dull meeting.  But McAdamson is also a deeply serious man who brings wisdom and experience to his job as Outreach International’s country program coordinator in Malawi.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My family is coming in to town.  We've bought the food and will soon start preparing the squash apple bisque and my mother's famous cornbread dressing for the big event tomorrow.  Thanksgiving shows are on the radio, shared recipes abound, and I'm trying to ignore the Christmas decorations hanging on store windows and doorways --as always.

Unfortunately many people in the United States aren't experiencing a traditional Thanksgiving this year.  Jane Black in today's Washington Post states that: "Breaking the symbolically important 30 million mark [of requested food stamps] comes on the heels of government data showing that 11.9 million people went hungry in the United States at some point last year. That included nearly 700,000 children, up more than 50 percent from the year before."

Clearly, we're in an economic crisis of a magnitude that many of us have never seen.  Now that the middle class has been affected -- the government is paying attention. While that makes the people who have been working against extreme poverty a bit cynical, there is some good that comes from this.

My hope is that these hard times will get the attention of hundreds of thousands of middle-class Americans to see the hardships that some folks all over the world face on a daily, weekly, yearly basis.  We need to work on structural change.  That's the point of sustainable good:  we don't spend our weeks pointlessly shifting dollar figures around to this and that agency.  We work -- at a grassroots level -- to bring structural change  within our economy and within the minds and hearts of all.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Celebrate the hope that everyone can have 3 full meals a day.

-Karyn Wingard-Manuel 

Protesting the "School of the Assassins"

Torture, assassination, murder of innocent civilians--these practices are far from American values and ideals. However, the School of the Americas (now Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation or WHINSEC) has been teaching these practices to Latin American militaries and their leaders for years. This past weekend, I went to the 18th Annual School of the Americas Protest. Father Roy Bourgeois started the School of the Americas Watch in 1990 after the brutal murder of 6 Jesuit priests, their co-worker and her teenage daughter on November 16, 1989.

A Christian Response to Poverty

During my recent visit to Outreach International’s programs in Malawi I heard an interesting sermon by Malawian Community of Christ minister Patrick Gausi on Christian responses to social problems. He reflected in particular on Outreach International’s approach to ending poverty, which maintains people’s dignity and seeks sustainable, rather than stop-gap, solutions.

I think his sermon would make a good resource for church groups studying or reflecting on Outreach International’s work, so I have posted a transcription of it below.

-Matthew Bolton

Bombs, War, Weapons, and more...

I just got back from Dr. Atomic, an opera about Dr. Oppenheimer, the leader of the Manhattan Project to develop the Atomic Bomb. (I know it sounds odd, and it was, but it was also powerful.) And I just kept thinking that if the US ever spent as much money on any public sector (health, education, development, environmental protection) as we spend on the weapons and war machine, this would would be SO much better. I watched in anguish as Dr. Oppenheimer struggled with the morality of the work he was doing. And I was so thankful that I believe in the movements and organizations I am a part of. I wish that for everyone.

I also wish that we really would make progress on shifting budget priorities away from weapons and war toward the needs of people and the environment in this country and around the world. At a conference this weekend, a representative from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities spoke about opportunities in the next year with the new Congress and Administration, but when asked if she thought we could actually shift funding from the Pentagon to other priorities in the next year, she wasn't optimistic. Apparently, Congress has made some long-term budget committments to the Pentagon that have come due. While I appreciate her honesty and expertise, I can't accept that answer. I do not accept another year of such lopsided priorities. And I am going to work toward making sure this doesn't happen. You can too! Before Nov 26, 2008, urge your Senators to take action to ensure our priorities are better reflected in next year's budget.

Movements start with one person standing up. Let's stand together against injustice!

-Stephen Donahoe

fashion expertise from sustainable good

I was listening to NPR the other day and there was a show that featured a panel on Michelle Obama's fashion and style.  Fashion experts and historians were talking about the many critics of the Michelle's choice of election night attire (the cardigan was apparently a disaster!) and the fact that she steers away from the pantsuits that Hillary Clinton made famous.  Every once in a while these talking heads claimed that they weren't just chatting about fluff -- that talking about what Michelle wears has consequences, determines the direction of the nation in some ways.  

To Feed the Child, Nourish the Village

Almost half of Malawi's children under five are orphaned, largely due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic which has impacted the country severely. Traditionally, orphans have been incorporated into the families of relatives.  However, the current crisis is straining this support system. As a result, rural communities are struggling to feed, clothe and educate the orphans in their midst.

First we have to See the Need

A really great thing happened on the bus today--a woman saw the need of another passenger and responded without even hesitating. The person she helped was a tattered-looking woman who boarded the bus with a trash bag full of something. She sat her bag down and began to put change into the machine, but the bus driver told her it wasn't enough and that the pennies she put in the machine were useless. It was obvious that the woman didn't understand and that the driver wasn't going to give in. So the woman next to me got up, put money in the machine and walked back to her seat.

This made me think. I bet most people would respond in that situation. I would have given the $.35 if I had the change. And I bet if no one else paid, several other passengers would have paid for her if she was going to get kicked off the bus. However we wouldn't have the urge to respond if we didn't see the need.

Community-Organizer-In-Chief!

I have hesitated to say much about the elections, for fear of making Outreach International look like a partisan organization. And today I realized something...Barack is our president (elect) now and there is nothing partisan about loving your president!

There are so many things to be excited about this election, so I am just going to mention a couple, and I want to hear what you are excited about in the comments section. I am excited that we have elected the first African American as president! I am excited that we have elected a man that lived in Indonesia for a few years during his childhood! I am excited that we have elected someone who knows the constitution!

And most of all, I am excited that this was the most participatory election in my lifetime! I am excited that WE elected him. We elected a community organizer--someone that knows that if anything is going to change in this country we are all going to have to be involved. And he got us involved. He mobilized the masses. And now we have to continue to mobilize him.

New WorldService Corps Website

The WorldService Corps, a volunteer agency affiliated with the Community of Christ, launched a new website this week (http://www.worldservicecorps.org), providing information to young adults who are searching for service opportunities.

I must admit that I found the old website rather dull, which stood in direct contrast with how exciting, challenging and engaging my time as volunteer was.  Thankfully, the new website is very cool – well designed with lots of multimedia resources telling the stories of past volunteers.

It was my experience as a summer WorldService Corps volunteer in Kenya that first got me really excited about Outreach International. I had never been in the developing world as an adult and the immersion into extremely poor communities in the midst of a fraught political environment grabbed me like no other previous job or assignment.  I found going back to college after the summer very hard – nothing in class seemed to match the level of education I had gotten out in the field.

It's just an election -- what could happen?

Today is a big day.  Lines of people are weaving in an out of polling places.  "I voted" stickers are the newest fashion accessory of the day.  Radio stations, news channels, and blogs are all talking about the election non-stop.  Websites like www.fivethirtyeight.com obsessively count and recount the polls and are predicting the winners of the various campaigns throughout the country. This is a pretty big deal (understatement of the year.)  

I was watching the Daily Show the other night and Bill Kristol, conservative op-ed writer for the New York Times, muttered (jokingly?) “It’s just an election”.  Jon Stewart looked flabbergasted and replied, “Yeah, it’s just an election, what could happen?”  Truth is, the person in the White House for the next four years will have a lot of power. And yes Bill Kristol, a lot can happen.

Which Presidential Candidate will Work to End Global Poverty?

Still undecided on the eve of this momentous occasion? Well we can't tell you who to vote for, but you can check out this great comparision that One Vote did that hightlights their positions on poverty-related issues.

So far I have been hesitant to blog about the presidential elections for fear of seeming biased. But I do think that there is something that everyone should realize before they vote tomorrow--the enormous possibilities and risks of the elections.

If you look at the comparisons, you will notice that both candidates are saying pretty lofty things about fighting malaria, HIV, TB; providing primary education for every child; ending hunger; and more. Because of these strong stances, there is tremendous opportunity for true progress in ending extreme global poverty. However, recent comments by both candidates also point to the risk that virtually no progress will be made by either candidate. John McCain has said repeatedly that he would institute a one-year spending freeze. And Barack Obama said that due to the global economic problems, he will have to delay his proposed doubling of foreign assistance.

Witches, Witch Doctors and Exorcisms

Conversations about real-life witches, witch doctors, exorcisms and the like are some of the most uncomfortable moments in my travels. Before I went to India for two months to teach English with World Service Corps, I was told that I would definitely be asked to do exorcisms. So, I was sitting in the last church service thanking God that I was not going to have to do an exorcism in India. And then after the service, one of the congregation members came up to me and said through translation that he was plagued by a demon. That was my cue to stumble and fumble through a prayer for the man's wholeness.

This brings to light one of the most difficult challenges of international development--being culturally sensitive. The belief in the supernaturally evil is not common in Western culture. However, it is normal in a lot of the world. This means that when Western organizations are working in other cultures, they must balance their criticism of some culture norms (such as female circumcision) with their respect for local customs.

This balance of respect and critique in local cultures is one of the best things about Outreach International. Because local people who work with Outreach International carry out their own community development, it is easier to work in culturally sensitive ways. Outreach International dialogues with local human development facilitators to challenge some of their own cultural norms, especially repressive practices that prevent everyone from participating fully in the community.

-Stephen Donahoe & Karyn Wingard-Manuel