Poor children deserve a place at the table - Canada

Catholic New Times, Dec 15, 2002 by John P. Asling

Hilfiker adds that after his years working in charity, he has begun to see some side-effects in the kind of work he is doing concerning the important difference between charity and justice.

"Justice has to do with fairness and with what people deserve. It results from social structures that guarantee moral rights. Charity has to do with benevolence or generosity. It results from people's goodwill and can be withdrawn whenever they choose," he says.

"To put the question most bluntly: Do our works of charity impede the realization of justice in our society?"

One person who believes that is Janet Poppendieck, a sociologist and author of the book, Sweet Charity. She argues that charity acts "as a kind of moral safety valve" which reduces the discomfort we feel as a result of the destitution found alongside great wealth, and creates the illusion of effective action.

"It creates a culture of charity that normalizes destitution and legitimates personal generosity as a response to injustice," Poppendieck says.

So, what do you do if you are asked to get involved in a shoebox campaign? You can and you should say "no," and get involved in faith or community-based justice efforts that try to change the world for the better instead. But if you must get involved, consider these suggestions, offered by Deborah Marshall of the United Church's Justice, Global, Ecumenical Relations Unit:

* Try to find out the purpose of the particular project. Does it invite study to understand the global context in which the children live?

* Ask if the project addresses the root causes of the suffering or the needy.

* Make the contents of the shoebox appropriate to the country that will be receiving it.

* Insist on input from the children and the leaders abroad about the contents of the boxes.

But what we really need in the long term is a major shift in our thinking. We need to think, if you will, outside of "the shoebox to the developing-world" mentality and start to change our local and international communities into places where there is enough (because there is always enough) for all.

That's what leading religious and community activists have always called for and acted on.

To offer a slight rewrite of broadcaster Bill Moyer's recent introduction to a book by the American activist Rev. Jim Wallis: "Shoeboxes (charities) offer crumbs from the table; working for change (justice). offers a place at the table." It's time the children of the developing world had a place at the table.

John P. Asling is the minister for mission and communication for the Hamilton Conference of the United Church of Canada. This article first appeared in The Hamilton Spectator. Used with permission.