As we think about the causes of poverty we also need to think about the results, the effects and the symptoms of poverty. In many cases the result of poverty is to cause yet more poverty. So in practice it is difficult to distinguish between the causes and the symptoms of poverty.
We live in an amazing world. A world of enormous potential. But we also live in a world full of dangers such as natural disasters and diseases. God’s first commandment to mankind was to multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. We will look at what it means to subdue the earth and look at some of the pitfalls along the way. Continue reading “Subdue the Earth”
God’s first commandment to the human race was to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth, and to subdue (or have dominion over) the earth. We have certainly multiplied! But have we yet ‘filled the earth’? Have we gone too far? Have we multiplied too much? Is the current population level sustainable?The population of the world dramatically increased in the 20th century. Some people believe that this is a major cause of poverty – but the facts do not support this and I don’t believe this to be true. Continue reading “Fill the earth”
When I was in Sri Lanka in April this year, I had quite a lot of time to myself to prayfully consider my own future, and the future of Kingscare/karuna Action. I decided that it was the correct time to lay down my responsibility for running the charity on a day-to-day basis Continue reading “A Fresh Vision”
When Kingscare was formed in 1988, I had a clear vision of how we, as a Christian community, could make a real impact upon the lives of people living in extreme poverty throughout the world. Having a vision, is terribly important to me as a person. Without it, I might as well have continued working in the computer industry, earning good money. Continue reading “My Vision – how it came about”
Hello, my name is Calebu and I am 10 years old. I live with my mum in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
My mum tells me that primary education is supposed to be free in my country. But the government schools have great big classes with even as many as 60 children in a class. There are lots of “privately run” schools with smaller classes, but, because the government doesn’t help them, they have to charge school fees. Continue reading “Calebu – his story”
Joel woke up one day and said to himself, “Today I will visit the doctor”. He set out to walk to the doctor’s surgery full of hope that the symptoms he had would not be serious.
“I’m afraid I have bad news for you”, said the doctor, “You probably only have another year to live. There is a new drug which would ease the suffering and probably give you at least 10 years more life”. Continue reading “Joel’s Dream by George Dowdell”
Compassion is a great word involving our intellect, our emotions and our actions.
“A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering”.
Compassion means so much more than pity. Pity is a feeling of sadness, but can stay as a feeling and is soon forgotten. It can be quite condescending.
Compassion means more than sympathy. Sympathy means, “feeling with” somebody. When someone is sick we express sympathy but there may be nothing we can do about it.
Compassion means taking action as well, otherwise it is not compassion. Continue reading “Compassion”
Compassion and Justice 