SoapBox

I guess having a blog allows you to get up on your soapbox once in a while and just write what you think and give you opinion on something. As I get up on my soapbox for this post, I am not asking you to agree with me, I am just asking you to consider a few things. 

In North America "one-for-one campaigns" are becoming more and more the thing to do. A typical one-for-one campaign asks the consumer to purchase an item, like a pair of shoes, and they promise to give a similar pair of shoes for free to someone in need of shoes, usually in the developing world. Before moving to Uganda I wasn't to fond of these campaigns but after living here for about fifteen months now I am more convinced that these campaigns are not the way to go about helping those in need. 

A book that I read that really changed the way I looked at poverty and those in need is When Helping Hurts.  To eradicate poverty we do not need people to have more material things, we need people to believe the truth about who their creator is and who He created them to be. 

This video is a parody about the subject  and made us laugh. Please watch it. 

I am not saying that you are a bad person to participate in one-for-one campaign I am just asking you to consider if this is the best way you can be spending money for poverty relief. Here is a blog post that speaks directly to this subject and gives a true story of how sending shoes to people in need of them can actually do some harm. 

Well, until I pull out the soapbox again, thanks for reading.