by Chris Horst | Jul 21, 2010 | Blog |
In a conversation with a friend a few years ago, we began discussing international child sponsorship. We wrestled back-and-forth for some time, discussing both the good and the bad. Since that initial conversation, I have repeated that discussion time-and-again, including a lengthy conversation with a colleague who was himself sponsored as a child in the Dominican Republic. His insights have informed this post significantly. It is a sensitive issue and I pray, even while I write this, that my reflections are gracious and balanced.
Child sponsorship has been a wildly successful in connecting donors with poor children around the world. Billions of dollars are funneled every year to international organizations through child sponsorship programs. Letters are written back-and-forth and funds are given faithfully every month. But, is it doing long-term good? Or could it actually be perpetuating the problems it claims to solve?
I am reminded of Christ’s admonition to us… “Be shrewd as serpents and kind as doves” (Matt 10:16). In that light, I will highlight both the good and the bad of child sponsorship programs and allow you to disseminate accordingly. First, a few strengths of child sponsorship:
- Jesus had a special place in his heart for children (Matt 19:14). Without exception, children are our world’s most vulnerable demographic. Christians are mandated to defend and protect orphans throughout Scripture.
- The majority of people which enter into a relationship with Christ do so before the age of 18. How can we ignore this important demographic? The data supports this as a strategic age upon which the Church should focus.
- Helping children can change the future. As children are educated, equipped and mentored, we have the opportunity to train the next generation of leaders.
- Many organizations are “doing it right” and I am convinced that Compassion International, to be very specific, does child sponsorship better than anyone else. The centrality of the Gospel in their curriculum, their close partnership with local churches, their laser-focused precision on children, and their grounded and principled operations set them a notch above all others.
That being said, not all child sponsorship programs are as effective. While “helping children” is an amiable aim, we need to examine the long-term impacts. Several important considerations:
- These programs can undermine the role of parents. I had a friend who visited a community in Ghana and an angry mother chased him out of her neighborhood saying, “I can take care of my own children!” She thought my friend was with a child sponsorship organization. An extreme example, but worth considering. God’s design includes parents as providers for their children. Only a small percentage of sponsored children are truly orphaned.
- Child sponsorship can have the same impacts of a bad welfare system. In an email I recently received, a friend shared a story which communicated just that. “My sister is a missionary in Chile…She knows of families that live off the money they get from child sponsorship programs. As one child outgrows the sponsorship program, the parents have another child so they can continue to qualify for the funding.” Yikes.
- These programs can pitch wealthy Americans as the “great heroes” to the poor children in the developing world. Are we sending a message which paints a picture of the donor as the healer and the child as the patient? The nature of this type of relationship can be unhealthy.
- Many of these programs are wrought with fraud. A friend who worked in Congo shared that one of the Christian child sponsorship program directors wrote (not translated) the kids’ letters to the donors. She would often come to his office and he would have piles of letters which he authored, pretending to be the sponsored children.
- Jealousy is alive and well. My colleague who was sponsored as a child talked about how it stirred up jealousy among his peers. He would receive special gifts (baseball gloves, toys, etc.), a better education, hot meals, and a chance for college scholarships and the un-sponsored children would not.
- Child sponsorship can encourage dependency. Poorly designed charitable aid can put a choke-hold on ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Our goal should always be to help those on the margins stand on their own feet so that continued support is no longer needed. I have met with countless friends working in orphanages and with sponsorship programs who have expressed concerns about kids who graduate from their programs being unable to fend for themselves.
I’ll end with a suggestion from an expert, Jonathan Martin. Jonathan was a missionary in Asia for over ten years and is currently a missions pastor in Portland Oregon. His fantastic book, Giving Wisely?, devotes a chapter specifically to this issue. He ends with a list of four hard questions which he suggests we all ask the agencies through whom we sponsor children:
- How does this program seek to get the children out of a cycle of dependency?
- How does it encourage work?
- How does it keep the responsibility upon the shoulders of the parents and the society to take care of its own?
- What time frame does the agency have for getting the community to stand on its own feet so sponsorship is no longer needed in a given village?
No intervention or program is perfect (as I’ve written previously) and this is not an indictment of an entire approach, but rather a call to prudence and accountability. Not all child sponsorship is created equal.
by Chris Horst | Jul 6, 2010 | Blog |
On Sunday, the Denver Post featured an article on the expiration of unemployment benefits. Despite unemployment benefits being extended beyond the traditional time frame of six months up to close to two years; nearly ten percent of Americans are still unemployed, with no prospects of that number declining significantly anytime soon.
One quote from the article was especially telling. Dianne, a 47-year old human resources professional, shared of her own challenge in finding a job. She has been searching for a job for nine months and still has not landed a position in human resources:
I’m nervous. It means that maybe I’ll have to go down to the local Taco Bell for a job. Maybe I can get food there too.
I understand her nervousness…and recognize that it can be frustrating to not be able to find a job directly within your professional experience or educational training. But, Diane’s comment continues to hang with me and agitate me for the following reasons:
- The slap-in-the-face she gives to all employees at fast food restaurants, as if their work is “beneath” someone like Diane.
- The pervading cultural shift in our country which refuses to acknowledge that job choice is a luxury.
Reading this comment, I think about my friends in “blue collar” positions, those working in restaurants, construction sites and factories. How would they feel when reading Dianne’s comments? I think about the history of our nation. It is only within the past fifty years that (many) Americans have had the luxury of choosing their career. In the early and mid 20th century, the vast majority of Americans worked wherever they could find a job. The concept of “vocational calling” would have been a reality for only the most elite. If your dad owned a farm — you farmed. If the factory had a job opening — you applied. Job choice in our country has always been a luxury, not a right.
From a global perspective, simply having a stable job, of any sort, is a luxury as well. I think about the hundreds of millions of people around the world who would sacrifice anything for the opportunity to work at Taco Bell. A consistent paycheck, well-lit working conditions, discounted food — that would be one of a highly-coveted job in many places around the world.
Dianne made a simple comment — and one similar to comments I have undoubtedly made in the past. I also recognize I am working in a “dream vocation” currently and I do not want to undermine the challenges job layoffs and unemployment present. It’s brutal. Unemployment is rough and it would be tough for me to leave my cushy office position to go back to working in the concrete business like I did in college. But, I hope that one of the silver linings of this recession is a reminder of what “normal” looks like in the scope of the world and our nation’s history.
by Chris Horst | Jun 18, 2010 | Blog |
Three months ago I started a journey, in monthly installments, to two fictional cities—Assetsville and Needsville—both cities representative of poor communities in Africa. While the issues, such as education, health care and sanitation, in these cities are identical, the responses to these issues could not be more different—both in philosophy and methodology.
“Is HOPE the solution for global poverty?” It is a question I am asked often, and the question which inspired the past few months’ musings. My answer to this question is a resounding no. I do not believe HOPE is the solution to global poverty. Christ-centered microfinance is wonderfully effective, but it is not a miracle cure. What I do believe is that the principles undergirding HOPE, and the work of the fantastic organizations I highlighted over the past few weeks, are the solution.
Effective service and ministry to poor communities and individuals should affirm:
- Assets trump needs: All individuals, regardless of how great their needs, are created in the image of God and abounding in strengths, skills, and dreams. The doctor-patient approach to poverty (“you have problems – I can cure them”) will never achieve lasting change—it will simply reveal, and even create, more needs and deeper problems. Over time, this perspective will create unhealthy dependency, eroding the autonomy and creativity of communities and individuals.
- Their solutions over our ideas: Regardless of the clout of our graduate degrees, or the breadth of our professional backgrounds, the best solutions to community challenges reside within the members of the communities. We need to unlock ingenuity, not rest on our pedigrees.
- An exit strategy versus an empire strategy: Transitioning to (or starting with) local leadership should be the goal. It is financially—and even philosophically—prohibitive to employ Westerners to permanently staff organizations in communities abroad. All international (non-local) workers should be focused on working themselves out of a job.
- Dignity above desperation in our messaging: It is easy to motivate people to act with shocking images of babies with bloated stomachs and starving moms with flies in their eyes. But, easy is not always best. I believe we need to abandon guilt marketing and communicate the worth and beauty of all people and communities, even those who suffer from seemingly catastrophic material poverty.
- We are all poor: What if we viewed hunger the same way we viewed over-eating? What if we viewed the challenge of living in a shanty as the mirrored challenge of keeping up with the Joneses? What if we viewed the problem of not having enough money as a counter-problem to the addiction to money? Each person and community has issues, though some may be more hidden, more below-the-surface, than others. We need to abandon the “savior complex,” serve with humility, and recognize that we are all broken people in need of help.
- Helping is enabling: If you help a vengeful poor person – and there is no heart change – he will simply become a wealthy tyrant. Helping individuals and communities without speaking to heart issues is like baking a cake with vinegar. The size of the cake, quality of ingredients and intricacy of the decorations are irrelevant if sin is not addressed. We are only enabling the oppressed to become the oppressors if we do not boldly communicate the truth of the Gospel.
Here’s my summary encouragement: Ask the hard questions of the ministries and organizations where you are volunteering and giving financially. Examine whether you would be more likely to find their philosophy, theology and methodology in Needsville or Assetsville. Our resources—time, talents and treasure—are finite and precious. We care called to invest them wisely.
by Chris Horst | Jun 15, 2010 | Blog |
My dear Papa passed away at the beginning of May. This was a man we absolutely adored. His quick wit, fabulous stories, servant’s heart, and blueberry pancakes made him a gift to his family. The service was tremendous as it celebrated his life and honored his service to the country. I had an opportunity to share and I’ve included my reflection below:
Papa knew how to run errands. I learned this at a young age and, as a result, I clamored to be apart of as many errand runs with Papa as I could.
When Papa ran an errand, he took it as an opportunity to serve… to love extravagantly. For him, it wasn’t enough to simply be at the store helping, he took it one step further. I can recall being informed by Papa that we would venture into the dreaded frozen food section of the grocery store so that Gege could avoid getting chilled. He wasn’t content to browse the cereal aisle or pick out produce. He took the worst of the worst. He knew Gege’s dislike for the temperature of that section and so that’s the first place he went.
While at the store, he was guaranteed to be making friends. No store clerk, postal worker, or fellow shopper left an interaction with Papa without feeling uplifted. He had a way of creating instant friends, he knew no stranger, and treated individuals with dignity no matter their job. He didn’t step up to the register to simply purchase – he went there to brighten someone’s day, to connect with another human being.
I was always so proud to be standing by the side of this man. He was witty, intelligent, and fun. I was sure that when we exited the store they’d be talking about how he was absolutely their favorite customer they had ever encountered.
I first met Chris, who I later married, at a grocery store with a group of mutual friends. I watched him interact with one store worker using her name, making jokes, and carrying on like they were good friends. And I thought, “He reminds me of my grandpa.” That doesn’t sound like a compliment to many young men… Oh, but it was. A compliment of the highest regard.
Papa knew how to run errands. It wasn’t an insignificant part of the day. Errands were a demonstration of his character, his faith, and his love. These errands mattered – to his family and to those he had only just met.
(Alli)
by Chris Horst | Jun 3, 2010 | Blog |
I’m not a big hanger guy. I’m really not. But, some hangers simply outperform the others… and their story needs to be told. So today, I would like to publicly celebrate “The 2” pant hangers. I nickname this item “the 2” for purely visual reasons. As opposed to standard hangers, these beautiful time-savers provide easy access to your trousers via one open-ended side, leaving the shape of the hanger resembling a number two. Don’t let the name fool you, however. In my books, this culture-altering hanger is absolutely numero uno.
It would come as no surprise to learn that many of you are skeptical, and perhaps even scoffing, at this post. But, my guess is the scoffers are also those who have never experienced the metal and vinyl brilliance of “the 2.” I can say this with confidence: You will scoff no more if you throw down the extra few bucks to pick up a few of these closet champions.
It will make getting ready for work and coming home at the end of the day less stressful and more efficient. If your experience mirrors my experience, your hanger-to-legs time average (and, on the flip-side, your legs-to-hanger time averages) will be slashed in half. I will provide this warning, however. After your purchases (just make the investment and buy a handful), you will quickly loathe the fact that you spent the majority of your life without “the 2.” But, apart from self-loathing, you have nothing less to lose.
It is time to demand excellence in our britches’ storage. Our khakis, chinos, dress slacks and corduroys deserve nothing less. Join me in kicking the cheap plastic hangers and dry cleaner throwaways to the curb.
(Chris)
by Chris Horst | May 20, 2010 | Blog |
Two months ago I started a journey, in monthly installments, to two fictional cities—Assetsville and Needsville—both cities representative of poor communities in Africa. While the issues, such as poor health care and dirty water, in these cities are identical, the responses to these issues could not be more different—both in philosophy and methodology.
Tomorrow’s leaders are currently studying in schools across our country and around the world. The importance of how we educate our children cannot be overstated. However, well-documented problems exist in the educational systems of even the wealthiest of nations, including our own, as we stare at a future where, for the first time in our history, illiteracy rates will be higher for our children than they are for us. These problems are only exacerbated in places like in Needsville and Assetsville, where infrastructures are broken, governments are corrupt, and safety nets are porous.
Needsville’s leaders are aware of the depth of the educational problems in their community. In some parts of the city, the schools are the issue. Accountability does not exist. Teachers rarely show up, or show up intoxicated, and students receive only a semblance of an education. In other parts of the community, government power-brokers perpetuate the problem. Teachers are poorly equipped and undertrained and some teachers have gone months without pay because the local government has withheld or distorted aid funding. To counteract the steady regression of Needsville’s youth, they have poured enormous amounts of resources and new strategies into resolving the problem. They have filtered huge amounts of foreign aid to government-run schools. Yet, the increase in funding has simply expanded a broken system, rather than driving positive reform, though it is not from a lack of clever ideas.
“Laptops for all!” was lauded as a quick-fix, but the actual citizens of Needsville had no role in the development of the final product, and the program failed due to limited demand and poor design. A few Christian missionaries have set up quality private schools, but the reality is that donor funding limits them to reaching just a fraction of the students in the community, and there are no missionaries in many of the city’s neighborhoods. Sadly, the future is not bright for Needsville’s children. The numbers are clear. Despite all the increase in funding, the schools are failing and 30% of Needsville’s children are still not attending school.
In Assetsville, the future of the city is brighter than its present because of recent reforms. Across the city, parents, frustrated with the quality of their children’s education, decided to take action. Fed up with the quality and bureaucracy of their city’s schools, dozens of aspiring parents became the solution. They started private schools, many held in local church buildings, to provide their children with a higher level of education. Students at their schools consistently outperform their neighbors in Needsville and attendance rates are much higher. The local government even got into the act. Encouraged by the results, government leaders began providing private school vouchers to families and training to these teachers.
These schools are run by “edupreneurs” who charge a small monthly fee to the students, though close to 20% of the students in these schools, predominantly orphans, are exempt from fees. This arrangement adds accountability for the edupreneur, as parents now have a real voice in their children’s education. While providing a much-higher quality education for the poor, the school is also providing jobs for the edupreneurs and teachers, and in many cases, bringing the community back into the church building. Encouraged by the progress, a new organization was launched to support these edupreneurs through teacher training, small loans for facility improvements through microfinance organizations, and through curriculum support. The Christ-centered curriculum is designed with the edupreneurs and emphases entrepreneurialism, with a vision of shepherding and equipping the next generation of Assetsville’s leaders. Next month’s final installment will look at the guiding values and principles of this series.
*Thanks to Professor James Tooley, whose research I drew upon heavily for this article
