If you're thinking about asking for or giving some books, coffee, chocolate, rugs or clothing for Christmas I have a few recommendations for you. I've also solicited for some ideas from a few of my friends who work in several different area of justice ministries so hopefully over the next few posts I can come up with quite a few resources for you.
Books
When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert tops my list this year. I first read this book about a year ago and have been pondering it ever since. This is also a great book for a discussion group. Each chapter has questions to consider and discuss at the end and some group exercises.
Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade - and How we Can Fight It by David Batstone is a informative look at modern slavery.
Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy by Kevin Bales another look at modern global slavery.
Everyday Justice by Julie Clawson. As the title suggests this book is about everyday choices that we make in the marketplace and how those choices effect the lives of the people who make, grow or harvest the goods we consume.
Chocolate
How about something fairly traded or single sourced? Several brands make good and very good chocolate that is also grown and harvested w/o slave labor. Theo Chocolate, Equal Exchange, Divine Chocolate, and Dagoba Chocolate are all commonly available in the US at gourmet shops, Whole Foods and other health food retailers. Trader Joe's also has a fair trade chocolate bar available.
Coffee
The best coffee is locally roasted and fairly traded. Locally roasted, so you know the beans are fresh, you can reduce fuel use in shipping and also to support your local economy. Fairly traded, so you know that not only were the farmers paid a fair price for the coffee but they also reserve their best beans for fair trade buyers. Organic and Shade grown are important too. If you can't find a good fair trade organic, shade grown coffee roaster in your area try some of the brands in your local health food store or an online retailers like Equal Exchange, Larry's Beans or Pura Vida coffee.
Next time: tea, clothing, rugs and jewelry
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Continuing in James
James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. NLT
I've always considered the word religion to be sort of a dirty little word. "Christianity is a relationship" seems to be my set response when people talk about the Christian "religion" but here in James it used twice in two verses (1:26 and 27) and means the beliefs that we as Christians agree to. So another way of putting it would be what the Amplified Bible says; religion is the external outward act of an inner faith and that caring for widows and orphans (those in our culture with little or no ability to care for themselves) and keeping ourselves from allowing the world to contaminate us and stain us (put it's mark on us) is practicing Christianity in a pure way.
This of course relates to justice issues in that our business needs to be taking care of those who can not take care of themselves. It's interesting that nothing else is mentioned here. Just simply caring for orphans and widows. That is pure and genuine religion! Want to know if someone really has a heart after God? Do they give to those who can't care for themselves? If they are simply giving to building projects or even evangelistic crusades aren't they missing something key to practicing the Christian faith? Of course I am looking at my own heart and giving while writing this and I'm certainly not advocating cutting back on any type of giving (especially not tithing!) - just wondering if I haven't missed it a bit, wondering if I haven't been as balanced as I should be. Maybe I shouldn't only give when an issue tugs at my heart but more intentionally all the time to "widow and orphan" type projects.
I know that November is Adoption Awareness Month. We are past the place in our lives to consider adopting but if you have a pull at your heart to do something personally to care for an orphan there are lots of resources for you out there to explore. iwannabakeyoubirthdaycake.blogspot.com is a blog recently started by my daughter Sarah to share her adoption story, encourage others who have adopted and educate the rest of us. Adoption is expensive and many couples seek creative ways to help fund their adoptions. A new organization called Both Hands Foundation is funding adoption while serving widows at the same time.
I've always considered the word religion to be sort of a dirty little word. "Christianity is a relationship" seems to be my set response when people talk about the Christian "religion" but here in James it used twice in two verses (1:26 and 27) and means the beliefs that we as Christians agree to. So another way of putting it would be what the Amplified Bible says; religion is the external outward act of an inner faith and that caring for widows and orphans (those in our culture with little or no ability to care for themselves) and keeping ourselves from allowing the world to contaminate us and stain us (put it's mark on us) is practicing Christianity in a pure way.
This of course relates to justice issues in that our business needs to be taking care of those who can not take care of themselves. It's interesting that nothing else is mentioned here. Just simply caring for orphans and widows. That is pure and genuine religion! Want to know if someone really has a heart after God? Do they give to those who can't care for themselves? If they are simply giving to building projects or even evangelistic crusades aren't they missing something key to practicing the Christian faith? Of course I am looking at my own heart and giving while writing this and I'm certainly not advocating cutting back on any type of giving (especially not tithing!) - just wondering if I haven't missed it a bit, wondering if I haven't been as balanced as I should be. Maybe I shouldn't only give when an issue tugs at my heart but more intentionally all the time to "widow and orphan" type projects.
I know that November is Adoption Awareness Month. We are past the place in our lives to consider adopting but if you have a pull at your heart to do something personally to care for an orphan there are lots of resources for you out there to explore. iwannabakeyoubirthdaycake.blogspot.com is a blog recently started by my daughter Sarah to share her adoption story, encourage others who have adopted and educate the rest of us. Adoption is expensive and many couples seek creative ways to help fund their adoptions. A new organization called Both Hands Foundation is funding adoption while serving widows at the same time.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thinking about "How Then Should we Live" Issues 3
I started studying the book of James the other day. I've been reading and studying the Bible for many years and I know I have probably read the book of James at least twenty times, if not more. This time I decided to study it because of some of the verses from James that I have been using on this blog and some other things I've been writing. In continuing to think and pray about how to go about life here in America I think James might be the book to study for a good dose of Biblical world-view and practical advice. Right off the bat in chapter 1 verse 5 James says "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking". I don't know about you but I feel a bit foolish that for so many years very few of these issues were on my radar. How could I have not known? How should I now respond?
I am in great need of wisdom but I want to be careful about where I find wisdom, I want to make sure I am seeking God's wisdom because I know it is easy for me to jump into a cause and feel so much passion to right the wrongs and "fix things" when it might be possible that a fix would not be in the best interest of the very people I have a desire to help. I know I have operated off of misdirected mercy before when I've jumped into something that looked like it would take care of a need. The biggest one that stands out to me was about eight or nine years or so ago when I gathered clothing for some very impoverished people in Romania. We sent over a huge amount of used clothing only to hear later that instead of providing warm winter clothing for children in some cases we were providing something for their parents to sell to buy vodka and had created a huge headache for the pastor who had to secure release of the goods and then get people to unload, store, sort, etc.
Here's a interesting thought; wealth is not the answer to poverty and success in God's economy has nothing to do with how much "stuff" one has. It's possible that when we get to heaven that many of the popular, powerful wealthy people will get asked to stand at the back of the crowd and then the biggest crowns will be passed out to those who in our culture's estimation would be considered impoverished nobodies who worked entirely under the fame radar. James says something else very interesting in chapter 1 verse 9. "Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field....In the same way the rich shall fade away with all of their achievements." The poor believers aren't rejoicing because they have little. Instead they are constantly aware of their dependence on God and His miraculous provision and are rejoicing in His care for them. We on the other had need to be humbled because we rely on our own provision and abilities to get us through each day. We do not see that it is God who keeps us and God who provides. We somehow believe that it is our own goodness, intelligence and abilities that keep us. Here's the big question for me - can I approach the issue of social justice in faith knowing that God is calling and fashioning me for being a part of His blessing to those in places of need or will I rush in with the idea that I have the resources, intellect and power to make a difference and tackle something out of my own strength?
I am in great need of wisdom but I want to be careful about where I find wisdom, I want to make sure I am seeking God's wisdom because I know it is easy for me to jump into a cause and feel so much passion to right the wrongs and "fix things" when it might be possible that a fix would not be in the best interest of the very people I have a desire to help. I know I have operated off of misdirected mercy before when I've jumped into something that looked like it would take care of a need. The biggest one that stands out to me was about eight or nine years or so ago when I gathered clothing for some very impoverished people in Romania. We sent over a huge amount of used clothing only to hear later that instead of providing warm winter clothing for children in some cases we were providing something for their parents to sell to buy vodka and had created a huge headache for the pastor who had to secure release of the goods and then get people to unload, store, sort, etc.
Here's a interesting thought; wealth is not the answer to poverty and success in God's economy has nothing to do with how much "stuff" one has. It's possible that when we get to heaven that many of the popular, powerful wealthy people will get asked to stand at the back of the crowd and then the biggest crowns will be passed out to those who in our culture's estimation would be considered impoverished nobodies who worked entirely under the fame radar. James says something else very interesting in chapter 1 verse 9. "Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field....In the same way the rich shall fade away with all of their achievements." The poor believers aren't rejoicing because they have little. Instead they are constantly aware of their dependence on God and His miraculous provision and are rejoicing in His care for them. We on the other had need to be humbled because we rely on our own provision and abilities to get us through each day. We do not see that it is God who keeps us and God who provides. We somehow believe that it is our own goodness, intelligence and abilities that keep us. Here's the big question for me - can I approach the issue of social justice in faith knowing that God is calling and fashioning me for being a part of His blessing to those in places of need or will I rush in with the idea that I have the resources, intellect and power to make a difference and tackle something out of my own strength?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Water:A Basic Need Unmet for Billions
Today is Blog Action Day 2010 . Thousands of bloggers all over the world are blogging about how nearly one billion people on our planet have no access to clean drinking water and 2.5 billion have no access to sanitary toilets which in turn causes raw sewage seepage into steams and lakes contaminating drinking water and causing disease.
On the African continent 109 million hours will have been spent by women and children searching for, collecting and carrying water (many times polluted) back to their homes today. This is 109 million hours not spent in school or in a some pursuit that could better their lives.
More people die from the diseases caught from drinking unsafe water every year than from all the deaths from violence and war. 42,000 people lose their lives from not having access to safe drinking water and sanitation every week.
We are so blessed and so blind. Many of us have no idea that so many suffer from something we so take for granted every day. The average American uses 159 gallons of water a day without ever being concerned about the quality or quantity of their water. Remember the verses in Matthew 25 that talk about the righteous being those who provide a cup of water to "the least of these". By taking action and giving to organizations that provide clean water and do it in Jesus name we are obeying Christ's desire that we become those who see others in need of something so basic to life and rush in to help meet the need.
Please consider engaging your church in a conversation about water. One organization that is giving 100% of all money raised to the drilling of wells by groups already active in third world countries is charity:water. Charity:water was founded by Scott Harrison who in his own words says " I desperately wanted to revive a lost Christian faith with action and asked the question: What would the opposite of my life look like?" God answered his prayer by giving him a mission to bring clean water to everyone who needs it.
At our church any profit from our coffee shop goes to charity:water and we also actively raise money all year long through events and awareness activities. We have found that providing clean water and sanitation is an issue that everyone can agree with and get behind. It's also an issue that has opened dialog both within and without our church about issues of faith and justice.
On the African continent 109 million hours will have been spent by women and children searching for, collecting and carrying water (many times polluted) back to their homes today. This is 109 million hours not spent in school or in a some pursuit that could better their lives.
More people die from the diseases caught from drinking unsafe water every year than from all the deaths from violence and war. 42,000 people lose their lives from not having access to safe drinking water and sanitation every week.
We are so blessed and so blind. Many of us have no idea that so many suffer from something we so take for granted every day. The average American uses 159 gallons of water a day without ever being concerned about the quality or quantity of their water. Remember the verses in Matthew 25 that talk about the righteous being those who provide a cup of water to "the least of these". By taking action and giving to organizations that provide clean water and do it in Jesus name we are obeying Christ's desire that we become those who see others in need of something so basic to life and rush in to help meet the need.
Please consider engaging your church in a conversation about water. One organization that is giving 100% of all money raised to the drilling of wells by groups already active in third world countries is charity:water. Charity:water was founded by Scott Harrison who in his own words says " I desperately wanted to revive a lost Christian faith with action and asked the question: What would the opposite of my life look like?" God answered his prayer by giving him a mission to bring clean water to everyone who needs it.
At our church any profit from our coffee shop goes to charity:water and we also actively raise money all year long through events and awareness activities. We have found that providing clean water and sanitation is an issue that everyone can agree with and get behind. It's also an issue that has opened dialog both within and without our church about issues of faith and justice.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Thinking about "How Then Should we Live" Issues 2
When considering justice issues and relying in part on our consciences to help us decide where we stand on issues there is one major point we need to factor in. In 1st Corinthians 4:4 Paul says "My conscience is clear, but that doesn't prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide." (NLT) In other words, sometimes our conscience in a matter is faulty. Our conscience may not be pricking us, but that does not make everything we do right. Sometimes we don't have enough information on a topic and other times we have deadened our conscience by making excuses or continuing to make choices contrary to what it is telling us.
Let's consider coffee. I might know that many people who farm coffee are exploited due to their lack of knowledge, poverty and that they work for very low wages on large plantations. Also, some small coffee farmers accept very low prices for their crops, but even knowing all that might not be enough for my conscience to bother me when I go to buy the cheapest can of coffee I can find. Maybe I really don't have the correct information for my conscience to be informed enough to understand the issue. Maybe I have reasoned away the pricks to my conscience because after all coffee growers are so far away, mostly in poor countries anyway and after all if they were smarter they would be able to figure out how to get out of that cycle of poverty right? Besides if I don't buy their coffee they won't make anything at all. Those are a few of the arguments I've heard that might come from dulled consciences.
Here is how I think the processing of that information about coffee should probably go: I should be thinking "What scriptures tell me how I should react to this knowledge?". Well, there is the second "commandment" that Jesus gave in Matthew 22:39 "Love your neighbor as yourself." If I was a coffee farmer who worked hard to produce a crop of coffee would I want to be treated like many coffee farmers are? How about the very strong admonition given in James 5 verses 1 through 6. The language is very in your face when James says in verse 4 "For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies." On the basis of these two verses I can see that if I want to live in a way that would please Christ I must consider my actions in the marketplace - I need to line up with the values of the kingdom of God.
I picked coffee as the subject of this blog post because I have more than just a passing interest and knowledge on the subject. In 2005 my family opened a fair trade, organic only coffee shop in Durham. In researching coffee, after deciding that we wanted to attempt opening a shop, I learned a lot about coffee as a crop and how it is brought to market. We decided there really was no choice to be made even though the cost to us would be up to double the cost of regular beans and we could not sell a cup of fair trade coffee for more than the going local rate. Even so we just could not sell something produced by what sometimes amounts to slave labor so knowing we might be shooting ourselves in the foot we chose to sell only organic fair trade beans and coffee. I think our shop may have been in front of the organic, fair trade movement by a few years - now many more people have become interested in both organic and fair trade. We enjoyed the shop but after 18 months decided that selling it was in the best interest of our family.
Here are a few resources for more information on coffee if you're interested http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/ , http://www.equalexchange.coop/ , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade
Let's consider coffee. I might know that many people who farm coffee are exploited due to their lack of knowledge, poverty and that they work for very low wages on large plantations. Also, some small coffee farmers accept very low prices for their crops, but even knowing all that might not be enough for my conscience to bother me when I go to buy the cheapest can of coffee I can find. Maybe I really don't have the correct information for my conscience to be informed enough to understand the issue. Maybe I have reasoned away the pricks to my conscience because after all coffee growers are so far away, mostly in poor countries anyway and after all if they were smarter they would be able to figure out how to get out of that cycle of poverty right? Besides if I don't buy their coffee they won't make anything at all. Those are a few of the arguments I've heard that might come from dulled consciences.
Here is how I think the processing of that information about coffee should probably go: I should be thinking "What scriptures tell me how I should react to this knowledge?". Well, there is the second "commandment" that Jesus gave in Matthew 22:39 "Love your neighbor as yourself." If I was a coffee farmer who worked hard to produce a crop of coffee would I want to be treated like many coffee farmers are? How about the very strong admonition given in James 5 verses 1 through 6. The language is very in your face when James says in verse 4 "For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies." On the basis of these two verses I can see that if I want to live in a way that would please Christ I must consider my actions in the marketplace - I need to line up with the values of the kingdom of God.
I picked coffee as the subject of this blog post because I have more than just a passing interest and knowledge on the subject. In 2005 my family opened a fair trade, organic only coffee shop in Durham. In researching coffee, after deciding that we wanted to attempt opening a shop, I learned a lot about coffee as a crop and how it is brought to market. We decided there really was no choice to be made even though the cost to us would be up to double the cost of regular beans and we could not sell a cup of fair trade coffee for more than the going local rate. Even so we just could not sell something produced by what sometimes amounts to slave labor so knowing we might be shooting ourselves in the foot we chose to sell only organic fair trade beans and coffee. I think our shop may have been in front of the organic, fair trade movement by a few years - now many more people have become interested in both organic and fair trade. We enjoyed the shop but after 18 months decided that selling it was in the best interest of our family.
Here are a few resources for more information on coffee if you're interested http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/ , http://www.equalexchange.coop/ , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Thinking about "How Then Should we Live" Issues
When I started exploring questions of justice in more depth a few years ago I was quickly struck by the fact that what I was learning was going to either force me to change how I live or I would have to make a conscience decision to live in apathy or worse. One thing I do not want to be is self righteous. I've pretty much discovered after 54 years that my righteousness is just what scripture says it is in Isaiah 64:6, filthy rags. That's because my own efforts at being righteous create self righteousness. It is only when I understand that Christ has provided a righteousness for me and allowed His Holy Spirit to convict and cleanse me that I begin to get it right. We are called as Christians to walk in a righteous way. My way may look a little bit different that yours just because the things that I am convicted about and convinced of may be a bit different. Of course I'm not talking about the things listed in scripture. Instead I am referring to those things we can call points of conscience. Since I know that chocolate is mostly produced by child slave labor in the Ivory Coast can I buy chocolate if I know it was most likely produced using slave labor? Aren't I then becoming part of the problem? How about buying a beautiful rug from India or Pakistan that is not labeled child labor free? What about sugar, coffee, tea and cotton? How far do I have to go not to abuse my conscience? Does buying fair trade coffee or chocolate make a difference? What do you think? I'm going to take a stab at discussing all of these issues. Hopefully the process will help me solidify my own convictions...
Monday, October 11, 2010
Exploring Helping w/o Hurting in Durham
My husband and I are going to a twice monthly group that is part of our church's small group ministry for this fall. We are doing a book study on the book When-Helping-Hurts: how to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor or Yourself. The study group is made up of people who are members of Grace Church as well as members of the community. I am very impressed with the book which was written as a collaboration between Brian Fikkert and Steven Corbett and forwarded by John Perkins.
Fikkert and Corbett set the book up to be a study by an individual or a group with group exercises and questions at the end of the chapters so it is perfect for a small group study. I appreciate that the gospel is central to their work instead of just being peripheral. We have made it through the first chapter and have started on the second after two meetings. The discussion has been good and honest. I read the book shortly after it was published a little over a year ago and thought at the time that it would make a challenging book to discuss in a group. It has certainly challenged me on some issues and made me rethink some of my attitudes towards domestic as well as global missions efforts. I am looking forward to continuing on with the study.
Fikkert and Corbett set the book up to be a study by an individual or a group with group exercises and questions at the end of the chapters so it is perfect for a small group study. I appreciate that the gospel is central to their work instead of just being peripheral. We have made it through the first chapter and have started on the second after two meetings. The discussion has been good and honest. I read the book shortly after it was published a little over a year ago and thought at the time that it would make a challenging book to discuss in a group. It has certainly challenged me on some issues and made me rethink some of my attitudes towards domestic as well as global missions efforts. I am looking forward to continuing on with the study.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Considering the Unthinkable
Tomorrow I will be helping out with the Stop Child Trafficking Now fundraising walk in Chapel Hill. Stop Child Trafficking Now was formed to attack the problem of child sex trafficking in America by going after the demand side. Stop Child Trafficking Now believes that by building cases against men who purchase sex w/ minors they can make a large dent in the sex trafficking of minors in the US.
It is interesting that everyone I talk to about child trafficking agrees that it is an incredible evil. This issue has absolutely no political divide. Everyone is for doing everything that can be done to rescue children (both boys and girls) who are trafficked in the sex industry. The problem comes because too many people after their initial expression of disgust and agreement will say something like "that' is so evil that I'd really rather not think about it" and they don't.
I'd like to challenge you to think about it. Think about the fact that the Justice Department says at least 200,000 young children and teens are trafficked during any one year in the US. Think about the fact that the statistics show that most runaways are picked up by traffickers within 24 hours of running away. Think about all of the children trafficked by their own relatives - the ultimate betrayal. Think about the young men in high schools paid by traffickers to convince young teens to leave home with them. Think about the fact that all over the world children are trapped in trafficking and that many of these children will die of disease, drugs, alcohol and violence all because there is a market for their services by the demand side, the men who do not believe they will suffer any consequences for buying a 10 year old girl and raping her. If these men were prowling our neighborhoods, attacking our children we would do anything and everything in our power to have them captured and put in jail for a very long time. For some reason since we can compartmentalize trafficking to something that happens to someone else, somewhere else and not to our children and not in our neighborhoods it is also easy to push it to the back of our minds and demonize only the traffickers while disregarding the depravity of a man who would purchase a child for his own pleasure.
After you have thought about trafficking please do something to help stop it. There are several excellent organizations working tirelessly all over the world to bring child trafficking to an end. This weekend Stop Child Trafficking Now is holding walks all over the United States. It may not be too late to join the one near you. Beyond this weekend; talk to your pastor about what your church could do to educate church members, read some books on the issue, check out the web links to the right of my post and pray for those who are in the trenches combating this issue and the children they rescue.
It is interesting that everyone I talk to about child trafficking agrees that it is an incredible evil. This issue has absolutely no political divide. Everyone is for doing everything that can be done to rescue children (both boys and girls) who are trafficked in the sex industry. The problem comes because too many people after their initial expression of disgust and agreement will say something like "that' is so evil that I'd really rather not think about it" and they don't.
I'd like to challenge you to think about it. Think about the fact that the Justice Department says at least 200,000 young children and teens are trafficked during any one year in the US. Think about the fact that the statistics show that most runaways are picked up by traffickers within 24 hours of running away. Think about all of the children trafficked by their own relatives - the ultimate betrayal. Think about the young men in high schools paid by traffickers to convince young teens to leave home with them. Think about the fact that all over the world children are trapped in trafficking and that many of these children will die of disease, drugs, alcohol and violence all because there is a market for their services by the demand side, the men who do not believe they will suffer any consequences for buying a 10 year old girl and raping her. If these men were prowling our neighborhoods, attacking our children we would do anything and everything in our power to have them captured and put in jail for a very long time. For some reason since we can compartmentalize trafficking to something that happens to someone else, somewhere else and not to our children and not in our neighborhoods it is also easy to push it to the back of our minds and demonize only the traffickers while disregarding the depravity of a man who would purchase a child for his own pleasure.
After you have thought about trafficking please do something to help stop it. There are several excellent organizations working tirelessly all over the world to bring child trafficking to an end. This weekend Stop Child Trafficking Now is holding walks all over the United States. It may not be too late to join the one near you. Beyond this weekend; talk to your pastor about what your church could do to educate church members, read some books on the issue, check out the web links to the right of my post and pray for those who are in the trenches combating this issue and the children they rescue.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Human Trafficking - Chocolate Anyone?
This is a blog post I wrote about 18 months ago for a human trafficking blog I was writing. I was writing that blog to get as much informations in one place, on as many different trafficking issues as I could. I've decided to transfer what I had written over to this blog to have everything on trafficking and other justice issues in one place.
"All over the world poverty, false religious beliefs, broken families and illiteracy create a powerless class of people who become the prey of individuals who desire to profit and live off those they deem less valuable than themselves. Many times these powerless people are children.
Have you eaten any chocolate in the last few days? Was it marked fair trade or fairly traded? If not there is a good chance that at least a percentage of it was produced by child slave labour. Much of the world's chocolate (43%) comes from one country - the Ivory Coast on the west coast of Africa (also known as Cote d' Ivoire). The cocoa farmers of the Ivory Coast can not afford to hire labor due to the low prices paid to them for the cocoa beans by the large chocolate producing companies. As a consequence they use the labor of their own children and also enslave young boys to produce their crops. Most of the farmers and their workers have never tasted the final product - they can not afford to buy even a bar of chocolate.
Over 200,000 children are either in slavery or forced labor situations on small cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast and 12,000 of those children have been trafficked into the Ivory Coast mainly from other West African countries.
By buying fair traded cocoa and chocolate products you can vote for change with your dollars. Asking for slave free and fairly traded products from your grocer is another way to influence change. Fairly traded chocolate can be found at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Amazon.com and many other health food and specialty stores. Brands that declare their chocolate products to be 100% slave free include Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Denman Island Chocolate, Gardners Candies, Green and Black's, Kailua Candy Company, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Montezuma's Chocolates, Newman's Own Organics, Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, Rapunzel Pure Organics, and The Endangered Species Chocolate Company."
Check out the links below for more information on slavery and trafficking in chocolate production.http://www.chocolatework.com/chocolate-slavery.htm
http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_exploitation_in_the_chocolate_industry
"All over the world poverty, false religious beliefs, broken families and illiteracy create a powerless class of people who become the prey of individuals who desire to profit and live off those they deem less valuable than themselves. Many times these powerless people are children.
Have you eaten any chocolate in the last few days? Was it marked fair trade or fairly traded? If not there is a good chance that at least a percentage of it was produced by child slave labour. Much of the world's chocolate (43%) comes from one country - the Ivory Coast on the west coast of Africa (also known as Cote d' Ivoire). The cocoa farmers of the Ivory Coast can not afford to hire labor due to the low prices paid to them for the cocoa beans by the large chocolate producing companies. As a consequence they use the labor of their own children and also enslave young boys to produce their crops. Most of the farmers and their workers have never tasted the final product - they can not afford to buy even a bar of chocolate.
Over 200,000 children are either in slavery or forced labor situations on small cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast and 12,000 of those children have been trafficked into the Ivory Coast mainly from other West African countries.
By buying fair traded cocoa and chocolate products you can vote for change with your dollars. Asking for slave free and fairly traded products from your grocer is another way to influence change. Fairly traded chocolate can be found at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Amazon.com and many other health food and specialty stores. Brands that declare their chocolate products to be 100% slave free include Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Denman Island Chocolate, Gardners Candies, Green and Black's, Kailua Candy Company, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Montezuma's Chocolates, Newman's Own Organics, Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, Rapunzel Pure Organics, and The Endangered Species Chocolate Company."
Check out the links below for more information on slavery and trafficking in chocolate production.http://www.chocolatework.com/chocolate-slavery.htm
http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_exploitation_in_the_chocolate_industry
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Just what are "Justice" Issues?
In thinking about what issues I wanted to include on my list for inclusion in discussion on this blog I decided to make a list. I have been writing about human trafficking on another blog and included several different types of trafficking in my posts there which I believe I will transfer. I would also like to explore not only trafficking issues but also poverty, orphans, economic, environmental and resource injustice.
Here's my list - not sure I will stick to it but I hope to cover all of these topics as time goes on.
Human Trafficking; sex, chocolate, rugs, sugar, citrus crops in the US, domestic labor, agricultural labor, cultural slavery.
What does Fair Trade mean?
Poverty: what is poverty, how to help those in poverty w/o hurting them, what philosophies work, how about children stuck in poverty?
Orphans; How to best help, how big a problem?
What economic policies specifically work/don't work in poverty alleviation?
What are we doing to prevent toxins from effecting the next generation, how do we live w/ as little toxicity as possible in our homes?
Why do so many people live w/o clean water and proper sanitation? What can we do about it?
Here's my list - not sure I will stick to it but I hope to cover all of these topics as time goes on.
Human Trafficking; sex, chocolate, rugs, sugar, citrus crops in the US, domestic labor, agricultural labor, cultural slavery.
What does Fair Trade mean?
Poverty: what is poverty, how to help those in poverty w/o hurting them, what philosophies work, how about children stuck in poverty?
Orphans; How to best help, how big a problem?
What economic policies specifically work/don't work in poverty alleviation?
What are we doing to prevent toxins from effecting the next generation, how do we live w/ as little toxicity as possible in our homes?
Why do so many people live w/o clean water and proper sanitation? What can we do about it?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The America Sex Trafficking Dilemma
It is estimated that every year in the US at least 200,000 underage girls and boys are sucked into sex trafficking. Some of these children are runaways who are picked up by traffickers in bus stations, some are high school students enticed by promises of a weekend in a big city or at the beach, others are born into at risk families and and are sold by family members. However it happens these children are then trapped into sex slavery and made to "service" up to 20 men per night for their traffickers. I can think of almost nothing more unjust than ripping a child from her/his childhood and subjecting them to that kind of abuse.
Until recently anti slavery/trafficking organizations had no idea that so many children in the US were being trafficked. It was thought that sex trafficking was mainly confined to Asia, India, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa and that most trafficking in the US stemmed from smuggling women from these regions into the US. But, as statistics have been gathered and groups like Shared Hope have been hired by the US Department of Justice to go into major cities and research how many women/girls are trapped in trafficking it has become apparent that the problem is much larger than anyone appreciated and that many children born in the US are being trapped and enticed into trafficking.
This fall Stop Child Trafficking Now is holding walks all over the nation to raise funds and increase awareness of child trafficking. The idea behind this group is to use Special Forces Operatives to go in and build cases against the demand side of trafficking because, the truth is, if there were no men willing to buy children for sex there would be no child trafficking! Here's to hoping and praying that it becomes very dangerous for any man in the US to buy and abuse a child or trap any woman in trafficking.
Please consider walking in a walk or supporting someone you know who does.
Until recently anti slavery/trafficking organizations had no idea that so many children in the US were being trafficked. It was thought that sex trafficking was mainly confined to Asia, India, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa and that most trafficking in the US stemmed from smuggling women from these regions into the US. But, as statistics have been gathered and groups like Shared Hope have been hired by the US Department of Justice to go into major cities and research how many women/girls are trapped in trafficking it has become apparent that the problem is much larger than anyone appreciated and that many children born in the US are being trapped and enticed into trafficking.
This fall Stop Child Trafficking Now is holding walks all over the nation to raise funds and increase awareness of child trafficking. The idea behind this group is to use Special Forces Operatives to go in and build cases against the demand side of trafficking because, the truth is, if there were no men willing to buy children for sex there would be no child trafficking! Here's to hoping and praying that it becomes very dangerous for any man in the US to buy and abuse a child or trap any woman in trafficking.
Please consider walking in a walk or supporting someone you know who does.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Living Green/Living Justly
I know a lot of Christians who have no problem viewing things like slavery, racial persecution and poverty as problems to be addressed by the church as justice issues, but seem to draw the line at "living green".Since there seems to be so much liberal extremism in the global warming and population camps we tend as Christians to throw the baby out w/ the bathwater. I may not believe that man is the main cause of global warming but that doesn't mean I want my grandchildren to live in a polluted, toxic, petrochemical waste dump where species are becoming extinct due to man's poor stewardship and greed either. It is also sobering to realize that we in the western world remove natural resources from other countries without making sure that the processes and labor used benefit (or at least don't harm!) the community they are taken from.
We also want what we want when we want it and are really not willing to bend very much. Case in point; the major dishwasher detergent brands have had to remove phosphates from their formulations recently. Phosphates keep water spots from forming on dishes and help detergents to slide off glass and porcelain so removing it makes some glassware look cloudy, but phosphates also cause algae overgrowth (thus removing oxygen from the water and killing fish) in the streams and rivers that receive the waste water. There has been quite an outcry and people have been quoted as saying they are stockpiling the older formula dishwasher detergent just so their dishes won't appear spotted. Too many of us are not concerned with stewarding what we have been blessed with. The big question I'm asking myself is where is my heart in things like this? Am I too addicted to comfort and ease to even want to bother asking myself questions about how I live and why? What does God's Word say about stewardship and what should my attitude be?
We also want what we want when we want it and are really not willing to bend very much. Case in point; the major dishwasher detergent brands have had to remove phosphates from their formulations recently. Phosphates keep water spots from forming on dishes and help detergents to slide off glass and porcelain so removing it makes some glassware look cloudy, but phosphates also cause algae overgrowth (thus removing oxygen from the water and killing fish) in the streams and rivers that receive the waste water. There has been quite an outcry and people have been quoted as saying they are stockpiling the older formula dishwasher detergent just so their dishes won't appear spotted. Too many of us are not concerned with stewarding what we have been blessed with. The big question I'm asking myself is where is my heart in things like this? Am I too addicted to comfort and ease to even want to bother asking myself questions about how I live and why? What does God's Word say about stewardship and what should my attitude be?
Friday, September 17, 2010
Book Study
My husband Rocky and I recently attended the first session of one of the small groups we are in at Grace Church this semester. We are disscussing the book When Helping Hurts:Alleviating Poverty without Hurting the Poor...and Ourselves . It's going to be a great book to discuss in a group. I've read it twice already and still don't feel that I have digested as much of it as I would like. If you are interested in learning how to effectively minister to the poor both in the US and abroad I think this is a must read.
One of the couples in the group has just moved back to Durham to work in community based economic development. It will be interesting learning from them and with them as they walk this out with their East Durham Community.
One of the couples in the group has just moved back to Durham to work in community based economic development. It will be interesting learning from them and with them as they walk this out with their East Durham Community.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Basics
I want to be clear that when I am talking about justice issues I am not talking about giving anyone (the poor, minorities, illegal aliens, third world country citizens, etc.) things, money, a free pass to ignore laws or my pity. There is a place in crisis to give and give freely to those in need. Those who are enslaved, victims of war, famine, and natural disaster need triage type care - immediate and generous, but I believe that doing something that does not in the long run lift people from the situation they are in by empowering them and encouraging them to use their gifts and talents is not a good use of resources and energy and can cause harm.
Since giving things and money is so much easier and can sooth our consciences it is what we Americans excel at. Not everyone can be personally involved in ministries that empower and encourage indigenous people (whether these people are found on the other side of the tracks in our towns or half way around the world), but we should educate ourselves about how the groups we give money to work and then give money not only to those who rescue but also those who spend time building relationships with and equipping the people they are ministering to to become strong spiritually, emotionally and economically. If you are interested in exploring this subject in more depth I can recommend When Helping Hurts, How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett.
For some reason the whole issue of justice, which should have an integral part in our hearts and experience as Christians, has been perverted so that many evangelical Christians believe that considering justice is what liberal churches do when they march in protest with illegal aliens. To me true justice is not unchecked mercy. Instead it is having properly motivated mercy - mercy that desires long term good over short term help that might actually be hurtful in the long run.
Since giving things and money is so much easier and can sooth our consciences it is what we Americans excel at. Not everyone can be personally involved in ministries that empower and encourage indigenous people (whether these people are found on the other side of the tracks in our towns or half way around the world), but we should educate ourselves about how the groups we give money to work and then give money not only to those who rescue but also those who spend time building relationships with and equipping the people they are ministering to to become strong spiritually, emotionally and economically. If you are interested in exploring this subject in more depth I can recommend When Helping Hurts, How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett.
For some reason the whole issue of justice, which should have an integral part in our hearts and experience as Christians, has been perverted so that many evangelical Christians believe that considering justice is what liberal churches do when they march in protest with illegal aliens. To me true justice is not unchecked mercy. Instead it is having properly motivated mercy - mercy that desires long term good over short term help that might actually be hurtful in the long run.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Considering Justice
As I consider how I can live justly several scriptures come to mind. Psalms 31:8-9 says "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. NLT" Again in Isaiah 1:17 we are instructed to " Learn to do good, seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. NLT" As followers of Christ we are commanded to be concerned for those who are suffering unjustly. We are also asked to get personally involved. Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount found in the book of Matthew, chapter 5 says that we who call ourselves His followers need to walk our talk by taking care of those who have been unjustly treated or fallen into hard circumstances and that by not caring we are declaring that we are not really His followers.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ NLT
Is it that as Christians in America is we pride ourselves on giving to the cause of the moment such as Haitian earthquake victims or a family we know effected by a fire but we are numb to the suffering that goes on around us in the world on a moment by moment basis? In the last 100 years what we can know about the world, what marketplaces we have available to us and how we can interact with our world has expanded so rapidly that we can not easily handle the overload of information and the level of processing we may need to do to live justly. Many of us just decide not to consider the issue or we value our own comfort over truth and the changes that would need to be made to our lifestyles if we really wholeheartedly decided to live as justly as possible.
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ NLT
Is it that as Christians in America is we pride ourselves on giving to the cause of the moment such as Haitian earthquake victims or a family we know effected by a fire but we are numb to the suffering that goes on around us in the world on a moment by moment basis? In the last 100 years what we can know about the world, what marketplaces we have available to us and how we can interact with our world has expanded so rapidly that we can not easily handle the overload of information and the level of processing we may need to do to live justly. Many of us just decide not to consider the issue or we value our own comfort over truth and the changes that would need to be made to our lifestyles if we really wholeheartedly decided to live as justly as possible.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
What Does it Mean to Live Justly as a Christian?
Actually, that's what I want to explore with this blog. What does it mean to live justly as a Christian? This is a subject I've been interested in for the last several years. I've been asking myself questions and have spent a lot of time soul searching, looking at scripture, reading books, as well as Googling. I've come to a few conclusions but have decided it is time to start being even more serious about issues of justice and how they are applied to my life as a Christian within a biblical framework. This I know; God is a God of justice and He desires His people to "do justice, and to love kindness,and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
How do we walk that out? What does it look like? What does scripture say about living justly? Where are good resource? Where can we find are books on these issues? These are all questions I hope to get to soon.
How do we walk that out? What does it look like? What does scripture say about living justly? Where are good resource? Where can we find are books on these issues? These are all questions I hope to get to soon.
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