make a difference to the world’s poorest people
Take an opportunity to make a difference to the world’s poorest people
There is a clear and non-negotiable command in the New Testament to share our wealth with those in need. ‘If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth’ 1 John 3:17 - 18
There is also a requirement that the poor are protected from exploitation. In the time of Amos the Prophet, the rich were getting richer and the poor poorer through exploitation. ‘They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals’ Amos 2.6
God calls us to alleviate poverty but to also challenge the causes of poverty and to challenge those in power who can change this
Just south of Mexico, in Guatemala, lives seven-year-old Juan David Valladares Paz. He has experienced first-hand how climate change and tax dodging are keeping people in poverty
 Juan’s world was turned upside down when a tropical storm engulfed his community
The damage caused by the storm was devastating, but for Juan his main memory is climbing a tree to see his house collapse into a river that hadn’t been there just a week before. ‘We were without my mum for eight days,’ says Juan. ‘She was in a shelter in a house that is on high land. I watched my house fall into the water… it was breaking in half’
Scientists agree that the storms that hit this community on Guatemala’s pacific coast are becoming stronger and more frequent
To make matters worse, Guatemala is being hit doubly hard by tax dodging as well as climate change. The government isn’t able to collect enough money to look after even the most basic needs of its poorest people. Fifty per cent of Guatemalan children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition and many succumb to diseases that would be easy to prevent and treat – if only more money were available to the government
It doesn’t have to be this way. Just like in Amos’ time, the systems and structures that cause poverty were built by people, and they can be ended by people
 One way in which you can challenge those in power to make a difference is to ask the Prime minister David Cameron to make a difference at a summit in Mexico in the middle of June where he will met with leaders from some of the richest countries in the world. You can urge him to listen to make sure the world’s poorest are heard using this link
Make a difference today
Contact Julian Bryant for more details, information or if you would like him to speak at your Church or group about the causes of poverty, tax avoidance and climate change campaigns or Christian Aid: jbryant@christian-aid.org
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