Jason Alfonse Fileta: Christians, Defenders of Foreign Aid?
After decades of poverty, hunger, and war Solomay Epouca of Angola and her 8 children are filled with hope for the future. As participants in a USAID food security program they have not only received hundreds of pounds of food to sustain them during conflict and uncertain times, but tools, training, and hope that they can move back to their home village and sustain themselves.
The program that helped Solomay was funded by the US Government, but perhaps not for long. In Congress's proposed 2014 budget vital nutrition, clean water and sanitation, as well as agriculture and economic development programs would be cut by 26%. Poverty focused development aid is less than 1% of the federal budget, yet deep cuts have become a key strategy for some lawmakers in reducing the deficit. But the math doesn't work-cutting 26% of 1% does not reduce spending in a meaningful way.
This is exactly what Micah Challenge member Nate Vanderzee, a high school teacher from Grand Rapids, MI and Micah Challenge supporter heard when he went to meet with Rep. Justin Amash's office earlier this summer. Nate is one of thousands of Christians who have taken a stand to protect poverty-focused development aid. Nate sees defending the cause of people like Solomay as an expression of Jesus' command to "love your neighbor as yourself".
Congressmen Amash leans libertarian and is not a typical ally of development aid, but he is serious about fiscal responsibility and is intelligent enough to know that slashing development aid while leaving other much larger accounts untouched is not going to reduce the deficit.
It is unlikely that people like Solomay are even aware of this threat, or even less likely that they could come to Capitol hill to advocate for life saving programs to be protected. Which is why thousands of Christians like Nate support Micah Challenge and are taking a stand to defend poverty focused development aid-a position that may surprise some, but theologically makes a lot of sense.
Vanderzee activism is deeply rooted in his faith "Participating in a face to face meeting with my representative's office was a much more tangible way of adding my voice to the voice of the prophets as we cry out for justice."
This type Christian political engagement is partly due to deeper understanding of how political decisions impact the "least of these" in our world. The antiquated view that all foreign aid goes to corrupt government officials who pocket the money, is slowly disappearing because stories like Solomay's are being told, and people like Vanderzee are responding.
Many organizations that Christians are willing to support with their personal giving are the recipients of USAID monies. Organizations like World Vision, World Relief, and Food for the Hungry are all trusted, respected organizations who implement aid dollars. Foreign aid has evolved-it funds micro finance, good governance, anti trafficking, nutrition, education, clean water, and the list goes on. Aid is not delivered in a suitcase, but by trusted (and yes, often Christian) organizations.
This week Micah Challenge supporters in Denver, Orlando, and other parts of the country are meeting with their congressional representatives in district. At these meetings they will celebrate the 5.1 million people with HIV/AIDS who receive life-saving anti-retroviral treatments. They will celebrate the 2.6 million people who gained access to clean water for the first time. They will celebrate 58 million people who have been protected against malaria all because of U.S. development aid. And they will heed the biblical call to "defend the cause of the poor and oppressed" and ask their representatives to ensure these celebrated numbers grow, not diminish.
As our elected officials reconvene in Washington DC after a month recess, they will be finalizing the 2014 budget, As Nate put it, "the voices of those speaking up for the poor have not been as loud others. We have the power to change that."
For more information, visit Micah Challenge website