2. Up to 22,000 children die every day due to poverty and preventable disease.
(every 4 seconds 1 child dies)
More than one third of the world’s children are malnourished.
Did
you
know?
100 million children live on the streets.
You might wonder why this is all so important? Why do we need a Christian campaign to focus on addressing poverty. Maybe it should be up to governments, or just people in those countries... Well the problems are huge! Let me shed some light on the scope of the situation of global poverty...
Which of the above shocks you the most? Why? How can we respond to these atrocities?
(Allow for answers and discussion)
10 million children work in the sex trade
world-wide (modern form of child slavery)

3. He has shown you what is good. And what does the Lord require of you
He has shown you what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

4. The bible on justice & advocacy
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek Justice, encourage the oppressed, rebuke the oppressor. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17
Micah Challenge Australia is firmly founded on the biblical call to advocacy for the poor and for striving to live justly. Did you know that there are over 2000 references in the bible about justice and caring for the poor? Not only regarding how God acts, but also how his people are to act.
Here are some such verses. Let them resonate in your heart.
Other verses:
Give generously to the needy and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward the poor and needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:11
Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him. The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
Job 29:11-17
Rev 21:1-5 New Creation

5. Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
I tell you the truth,
whatever you did for one of
the least of these brothers
of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:35-36, 40

6. What does advocacy look like?
Esther – advocate for the Jews
Jubilee campaign – advocate for the countries in debt
What does advocacy look like:
Imagine that there is a carefully planned genocide of an entire people group…
How can an individual respond to these atrocities?
Example of Esther in the OT
One young woman, Alone and scared, Genocide imminent, One voice, Obedience to God, Entire people group saved!
Esther became queen because she had found favor with King Xerxes. There came a plot to kill her people the Jews and Esther was urged to plead their case to the King. This was dangerous because if you displeased the King by even approaching him without permission you would dispatched or even killed! However, her uncle Mordecai persuaded her to be brave and approach the king because the entire Jewish nation was facing genocide. Esther faithfully exposed the plot and the evil man who had devised it. Her advocacy was successful and her people were spared. Esther’s story is a vivid reminder that advocacy is one of the most powerful tools God has given us to combat oppression and injustice.
JUBILEE 2000 Campaign – modern form of advocacy
Poor counties had enormous debt to Western countries in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Situation got worse and loans rescheduled and “DEBT CRISIS” was created.
The poor were not provided help by their governments as the country’s money was sent as debt repayments.
1996 churches and aid organisations formed Jubilee 2000 – asking Western countries to forgive unmanageable poor country debts. Based upon Leviticus 25.
Over the four years the campaign grew (from UK to around the globe). People signed petitions in the thousands.
Politicians took notice and $US100 billion in debt relief was announced!!
Poor countries have now been spending this saved money on their internal poverty crisis!
There is still more work to be done ….
Make Poverty History, MDGs and Micah Challenge – advocate for the poor

7. Who is Micah Challenge? Part of a global movement
Deepen churches’ engagement
with the poor
Reduce poverty
Integrating faith, education,
prayer and action

8. - both proclaims and demonstrates the love of Jesus to a world in need
What are we about?
An integrated Gospel
- both proclaims and demonstrates the love of Jesus to a world in need
A prophetic voice
- influencing global leaders to uphold the rights of the poor and oppressed
It looks both inwards, to deepening Christian commitment to work for and with economically poor communities, and outwards, urging leaders of rich and poor nations to fulfill their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015.

9. Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead
Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17
We want to bring the message of the whole gospel – righteousness and justice, word and action
It’s a campaign, not an agency or organisation. We want change in people’s hearts and in public policy
We rely on the support of over 30 different aid and mission and justice groups
We want to change hearts by
With contributions from different agencies, we produce
Bible materials
Education materials about poverty and the action needed
action ideas – we want to show that prayer, action and life choices are as important as giving money
We want the material to be non-churchy, non- jargony, creative

10. The Micah Call
This is a moment in history of unique potential, when the stated intentions of world leaders echo something of the mind of the Biblical prophets and the teachings of Jesus concerning the poor, and when we have the means to dramatically reduce poverty.
We commit ourselves, as followers of Jesus, to work together for the holistic transformation of our communities, to pursue justice, be passionate about kindness and to walk humbly with God.
We call on international and national decision-makers of both rich and poor nations, to fulfil their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015.
We call on Christians everywhere to be agents of hope for and with the poor, and to work with others to hold our national and global leaders accountable in securing a more just and merciful world.
One basic thing we ask Christians to do is sign the Micah Call. It is printed on this slide and you can sign on today by filling in the Micah call sheet. (You can also sign online)
We have an opportunity in the new years of the 21st century to support the Millennium Development Goals – 8 goals with achievable and measurable targets that aim to halve global poverty by 2015.

11. How we work We are closely linked with Make Poverty History.
Together we have 5 requests of
our government:
Give more and better aid
Drop poor country debt
Make trade fair
Help poor countries keep their governments accountable
Tackle climate change
We ask Christians to encourage the government to act in 5 areas. They are....
We work closely with Make Poverty History especially on policy issues.

12. 5 Key asks of Micah Challenge
1. BETTER AID: To provide increased aid, focused on poverty reduction
2. DEBT CANCELLATION: To support the cancellation of debt for countries who wouldn’t be able to meet the MDG’s without this help…
3. FAIR TRADE: To work towards fair and predictable and rules-based international trade system
4. GOOD GOVERNANCE: To support good governance in development
5. ENVIRONMENT: To ensure environmental sustainability

13. Millennium Development Goals

14. In September 2000, all 189 member states of the United Nations signed on to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - a set of eight targets which aim to halve world poverty by 2015
Watch DVD clip on halftime (see desktop)

16. Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target: Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.
Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
One billion people live on less than $1a day. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, this boy spends every day chipping through stones in search of minerals to sell. For a flour bag of mineral-rich stones he is paid as little as 25 cents. His family and community are dependent on this industry.

18. Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Target: Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
Rowena was three when she started work in the PHILIPPIANS, digging through a garbage dump to collect recyclable materials. She’s never been to school at all.

19. What about India?
It is estimated that 55 million school age children in India work to help support their family. It is not unusual for children under 12 to work a 14 hour day to earn only Rs10 (US$25cents).

21. Goal 2: Promote gender equality and empower women
Target: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education to all levels of education no later than 2015.

23. Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Target: Reduce by two-thirds, between and 2015, the under five mortality rate.
In Afghanistan each year, 283,000 children under the age of five die. Bismillah is one of the lucky ones. Suffering malnourishment and pneumonia, she was brought in time to a clinic where she’s on her way to recovery.

24. No more shall there be in the city an infant that lives but a few days; or an old person who does not live out a lifetime.
Isaiah 65:17-20

26. Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Target: Reduce by ¾ the maternal mortality ratio
Target: Achieve universal access to reproductive health
Around 529,000 women die each year giving birth. 99% are from developing countries and 80% of deaths are preventable.
As a traditional birth attendant, Emily is fighting to reverse these statistics, helping with safer deliveries for hundreds of women in rural Malawi.

28. Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Target: Have halted by and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Target: Have halted by and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
Pedro, Rose and Chembe visit the grave of their mother who died from an HIV/AIDS illness. Their grandfather, 75, now takes care of them. Over 14 million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS worldwide.

30. Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Target: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
Halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
Every day Mame collects water for her family in Senegal. She’s lucky enough to live near a borehole. The average distance to travel for water in Africa is 6km, and some children spend up to six hours per day on this task.

32. Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Target: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
Target: Address the special needs of least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island developing states
Target: Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt
In Indonesia debt repayments take up nearly 30% of the nation’s annual budget, whilst 19.05% of the budget goes to education, and only 6.96% for health.
In Uganda, Simon sells the harvest from a few parched coffee plants that his parents planted before their death. He has no access to global markets or opportunity for a fair price. For every $1 paid for tea at a supermarket, less than 15 cents goes to people in the country where the tea was grown.
Uganda
Simon sells the harvest from a few parched coffee plants that his parents planted before their death. He has no access to global markets or opportunity for a fair price. For every $1 paid for tea at a supermarket, less than 15 cents goes to people in the country where the tea was grown.

33. Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Targets:
Better system of trading
Address special needs of least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island states.
Reduce the debt of developing countries
Indonesia: Debt repayments take up nearly 30% of the nation’s annual budget, whilst 19.05% of the budget goes to education, and only 6.96% for health.

34. Nine out of 10 Australians believe that reducing poverty is a very important issue facing the world today!!

35. A Christian response to the MDGs…
We should imitate God’s heart for the
poor and needy, to ‘love our neighbour’
The bible calls for God’s people to
show His love in word and deed
We are to be involved in bringing
God’s love and justice to our world
Prayer
Action at individual level
Action at national/international level
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9
As Christians we serve a God who is passionate about defending the rights of the poor and marginalised. Over 2000 verses in the Scriptures refer to the poor and the responsibilities of God’s people. The Bible regularly calls for God’s followers to show His love in word and deed. In the contemporary setting, with global poverty very much a ‘closer neighbour’ than ever before, the call continues for us to be involved in bringing Gods love and justice to our world. This needs to happen on an individual level but also on a national/international level.
The Scriptures have very clear guidelines for nation leaders. He calls for them to govern fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy and when required to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9). With this as a framework, it is the responsibility of the Christian community to encourage our leaders to maintain their promised commitment to halving global poverty. Christians have both an individual and collective responsibility to standing with and for the poor and the MDGs provide a unique opportunity to bring freedom to millions entrapped by extreme poverty.
There are many opportunities for Christians to work actively towards the achievement of the MDGs. Firstly, and most importantly, Christians need to pray that national and international leaders ensure aid budgets and foreign policy reflect the MDGs. Wisdom, insight, determination and cooperation are needed by all international leaders and Christians need to pray for them during this time of unique potential.
Secondly, Christians can become involved in a number of movements and campaigns working toward the full enactment of the MDGs. Micah Challenge are one such campaign and they provide an array of opportunities

36. HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED?

37. 1.Sign the Micah Call. You can sign up at www.micahchallenge.org.au
2. Attend Voices for Justice
3. Donate to your favourite aid agency.
Join the good work that’s already happening. There are many international aid organisations that are helping change the lives of people around the world.
4. Pray
• For trouble spots around the world.
• For the Federal Government, that it would act with compassion and justice.
• For any friends who work in areas of poverty and great need – that God would continue to inspire and sustain them.
• For Micah Challenge – that it would be a powerful voice, reminding governments to act for the poor.
For churches in Australia to be caring, faithful models of God’s love.

38. 5. Get politically involved
Letter Writing - Write to your local MP, Media, Churches, Decision Makers etc.
Pray and write a letter as part of the Offering of Letters
Visit your Politician - Take a couple of friends. Tell them about the issues, ask their views and ask for their support. There is a full guide to visiting your politician online and on the What can One church Do? CD.
Public Rallies - A number of organisations hold rallies around issues which they believe need to be brought to the attention of the public. Public Rallies also place pressure on decision makers and are an effective form of having voices heard en masse.
6. Education
This includes being educated ourselves but also being part of educating others to be aware of the issues and to stand up.

39. Offering of Letters 2011 Why write a letter?
Many of the world’s poor have no voice with the powerful decision makers of our world – but your letter can bring the concerns of the poor to our nation’s leaders.
A hand-written letter is a very effective advocacy tool.
Imagine the potential impact of many thousands of letters to our Treasurer written on behalf of the poor!
Write a letter, and we will deliver it to the Treasurer in September at Voices for Justice.
Just as we offer our money and our time to God, we can also offer our voices on behalf of the poor. This is part of our worship, and gives us the opportunity to “do justice and love kindness” by prayerfully writing letters to our Treasurer. We can encourage generous action by our nation.
What we can do – Our Current Situation
The current government has announced that Australia’s aid will increase from the current level of 0.33% ( ) to 0.35% ( ) and to 0.5% of national income by This will still leave Australia 17th of 22 rich countries and falling well short of doing our fair share towards achieving the MDGs.
We call on the Australian Government to take the following steps:
To keep the commitment of increasing Australia’s overseas aid to 0.5% by 2015
Make a timetabled commitment to increase Australia’s overseas aid to 0.7% of national income.

40. I am writing because... [add your personal thoughts here]
Dear Treasurer,
I am writing because... [add your personal thoughts here]
I believe Australia has a vital role to play in the global effort to halve poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs ) by This date is not too far away.
Thank you for keeping your commitment to increase Australia’s overseas aid to 0.5% of
national income by 2015, even in the face of difficult economic times. The increase in aid funding we saw in the 2011/12 federal budget indicates to me that your Government places importance on achieving the MDGs. This will make a very real difference to our global neighbours, people experiencing the crippling effects of poverty.
Tough economic times are having the deepest impact in developing countries. In light of this, we must seek to ensure that our aid is spent as effectively as possible on poverty reduction measures. At times such as these, we must hold firm to our commitment to do all we can to protect the poorest and most vulnerable in our world.
I therefore ask that you once again maintain your commitment to the existing timetable for increasing aid in the next federal budget. I also ask, that as you consider forward estimates for future budgets, you outline a timetabled commitment to reaching your aspirational goal of an aid target of 0.7% of national income as soon as possible.
I pray that you will have wisdom as you make significant financial decisions and courage in your leadership role in our nation.
Yours faithfully,
[Sign the letter and neatly print your name, address and postcode]