Micah Challenge Australia Blog

 

The Micah Challenge blog is a space for discussion and debate about the issues of global poverty, faith, advocacy and justice and the Millennium Development Goals. This blog aims to provoke thought and challenge you to learn more about the issues discussed. We welcome your comments.

Micah Challenge is a global campaign of Christians speaking out against poverty and injustice. Click here to visit the Micah Challenge website.

  • The distance between us

    Posted by Marissa

    26 May, 2011

    Empathy is a really important attitude and characteristic to embrace, not only as a respectable world-citizen, but especially as a follower of Christ. You see, empathy is one learning to understand another's circumstances: background, upbringing, personality, joys, frustrations, persecution, and struggles. So how does one learn empathy? Well, it is said that to understand a man, you must walk a mile in his shoes... Ironically, many people facing a daily struggle to survive in poverty do not even have shoes. They are living on a meagre $2 a day or less which is hardly enough for food. But there are several ways to begin to feel empathy for their situation. You could go and live and work in a developing country, and the complexities of their circumstances may begin to unfold before you. You could read stories of people living in poverty from various organisations that have projects in developing countries. They are the stories that pull at your heartstrings and remind you that we're more fortunate than the vast majority of the world. You could also participate in… read more

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  • Our crucial task

    Posted by Joel

    23 May, 2011

    I have just returned from three days meetings in Malaysia with some of our Micah Challenge National Coordinators from across the world. It's been both moving and encouraging to hear the stories of commitment and determination which flow so easily in settings like these. One National Coodinator told us how important it was for them to spend limited resources to travel to Malaysia, simply because their recent involvement with the campaign was crucial to their nation. Another Coordinator spends alternate weeks between his home and his office hundreds of miles away in order to stay involved in the campaign without uprooting his family and derailing his wife's profession... And we also heard about the struggles of campaigns: limited cash and capacity to do a big job; the potential for feeling alone; the uphill climb to convince churches that God takes advocacy for the poor really seriously; and the challenges of reminding governments of their promises. 

But I will particularly remember the creative icebreaker that happened on the first morning we met.… read more

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  • Hot chocolate, hamburgers and hunger

    Posted by Zoe

    16 May, 2011

    Two dollars. What can you buy to eat or drink for $2? A lollipop? Maybe a small packet of chips? It might be easier to think of all the things you CAN'T get for $2 - a coffee, sandwich, muffin or meat pie! Imagine if $2 was all you had to spend on food for the whole day. This is the reality for the 1.4 billion living in extreme poverty in the world today. So this week, from Monday to Friday I'll be joining with thousands of other Australians in the challenge to eat on $2 a day as part of the 'Live Below the Line' campaign. Planning what to eat this week has been a challenge. I took $10 to the shops and came back with 3 green apples, 2 mandarins, 2 lemons, 1 sweet potato, 1kg jasmine rice, 1kg frozen mixed veggies, 872g canned peaches and 60 cents change! My experience of 'living below the line' last year was one of the most valuable things I've done. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to make myself uncomfortable and learn some valuable lessons along the way. At the beginning of the week I made a pot of Dahl and rice and divided it up for the week.… read more

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  • Do we really value Mothers?

    Posted by Tabitha

    5 May, 2011

    I saw my sister give birth. Yep, that's right! And it was way less scary than most of you are thinking! In fact I found the experience hugely encouraging, and I now understand what people mean by the cliché "the miracle of birth". With her husband beside her and the attention of an experienced midwife, my sister was able to labour in a birthing suite at her local public hospital (that of the acclaimed TV program RPA, no less). She had access to a large room, private courtyard and spacious ensuite. She chose a natural water-birth and, thankfully, experienced no complications in bringing her new baby girl, Mabel, into the world. They went home that afternoon after receiving breastfeeding support, and a child and maternal health nurse visited them at home for the next few weeks. I was amazed by the quality of medical care they received. Sadly, this is far from the experience for many women in our world. Just last week I got back from a trip to India where I visited the development projects of some of our endorsing agencies. I asked one of the women I met what… read more

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