I (George Dowdell) have recently become a trustee of a new charity that was the vision of Tony Lemboye.
Young star mentoring coaches and mentors young people who have had difficulties in life both personally and socially, by guiding them through a training program of personal development. We teach them to be part of a team, encourage discipline, respect, self worth and a deeper sense of community. Continue reading “Young Star Mentoring”
Yesterday we were having a get-together of a support group for a small charity. We were discussing the challenges of supporting our partners work in combating poverty and creating opportunity for people around the world. There is no avoiding the fact that we need money to meet the needs. We discussed “Do we fundraise or do we activate the generosity which we know is out there?” Continue reading “Activating generosity”
Compassion and JusticeI feel passionate about compassion particularly for the billions who are living in desperate poverty around the world. Extreme poverty can be eliminated if people like you and I say ‘enough is enough’!
But compassion alone is not enough. So many people are exploited by the powerful and the elite and this demands justice for the oppressed. It is not a case of compassionate acts or fighting for justice. It is a matter of compassion AND justice.
I have just published the book “Compassion and Justice” in paperback and in Kindle format. It contains 50 or so of my blog articles about Compassion, Vision, Giving and Justice.
I am not selling this book to top-up my income but to provide funds to expand the campaign of awareness I am involved with. Please support me in my efforts to spread the good news of compassion and in my fight for justice on behalf of the voiceless.
There may be a delivery charge for the paperback version
On a kindle device, search for “George Dowdell”
Having run a charity for 25 years, I am constantly amazed at the generosity of normal people. When confronted with needs, the normal reaction is to respond to those needs. The only thing which stops us giving is the nature of money itself. We live in an economy which encourages us to be selfish rather than generous, to accumulate wealth rather than circulate our resources through giving to others. Continue reading “It is normal to be generous”
We live in a capitalist economy, based on exchange of goods and services using the medium of money. When we buy or sell something, we make an agreed exchange of value. In theory nobody wins and nobody loses, but in practise the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Is there an alternative?
If we all valued other people as much as we value ourselves, a culture of giving could create a different sort of economy. An economy based on ‘loving our neighbour as ourselves’; where as we look after the interests of others, we can feel secure in the knowledge that others are looking after our interests. I know that this seems idealistic, but bear with me as we explore the matter further. Continue reading “Towards an alternative economy”
There are no rules to generosity. We can express financial giving by a value in pounds or dollars. We can define giving as a percentage of income. But we cannot measure a generous heart.
Eugene Cho wrote a book ‘Overrated, Are we more in love with the idea of changing the world than actually changing to world‘. He makes this amazing statement:
“Generosity is what keeps the things I own from owning me. In other words, the point of my generosity isn’t just to bless others; it’s also to liberate me.”
We cannot read the words of Jesus without seeing the importance he gives to giving to the poor or to those in need. It is God’s nature to give to all men unconditionally. So, we are encouraged to be givers to those in need. We are not to parade our giving but to give in secret. The true value of our gift is not measured in pounds or dollars but according to what the gift cost us. But if we give joyfully and unreservedly then we cannot help benefitting ourselves by giving. It is a win-win situation!
Continue reading “Jesus: Giving to the needy”
It is normal for me to care for my extended family and for people in my social group. But why do I care about people I have never met?
Compassion and Justice 