Poverty is Stupid!

[This is the first in a series of blog posts that might just change the way you think about poverty and engaging the poor. Look for new posts through January!]

Why is poverty stupid?

When women and children walk 3-4 hours every day to get contaminated water… it’s stupid.

When 5-6 primary school students have to share one tattered textbook… it’s stupid.

When only a small fraction of children have the opportunity for a secondary school education… it’s stupid.

For the past several years, we’ve partnered with The 410 Bridge. The 410 Bridge is headquartered in Atlanta and conducts Christ-centered, community-initiated development in five countries. We’ve seen The 410 Bridge become a thought-leader in effective and indigenously sustainable community development.

In 2014, we decided to get off the sidelines and take our families to Kenya to see the work being done firsthand. What we saw and experienced was a game changer.

We saw a model of engaging the poor that no longer defined poverty as solely a material problem, but a worldview problem.

We saw a model of community development that views the projects as the fruit of the relationships that are built, not the other way around.

We met community leaders who have a vision for their communities and are eager to unify and mobilize their communities to solve their own problems.

We met communities who recognize that they no longer need help from outsiders and can continue their journey of development on their own.

The conclusion was simple… Poverty is stupid and it would be stupid of us not to do something about it.

The 2017 Stupid Poverty Challenge is an opportunity for churches to mobilize youth to impact the lives of poor communities in Kenya, Uganda, Haiti, and Guatemala. The Stupid Poverty Challenge campaign begins January 1, 2017 and culminates with a “Stupid Bowl Party” on February 5.

We’re excited to see how we, the Church, can work together to make a difference for people on the other side of the world. For more information, visit www.StupidPoverty.org.
In the meantime, check back next week for the second in the series of Stupid Poverty blog posts.