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Christian Nonfiction. Religion & Spirituality. Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML: With more than 450,000 copies in print, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation. Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good. But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needyâ??and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself. Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts provides proven strategies for effective poverty alleviation, catalyzing the idea that sustainable change comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out.… (more)
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Although there are many good points made throughout the book, by far there are two recurring themes throughout the book:
First, rather than coming into any given situation as a well-educated, know-it-all, westerner who has all the answers and can teach the poor how to properly live, we should instead come alongside them and figure out how best to alleviate poverty with them. We need to eliminate the "God complex" from ourselves and find ways to assist, empower, and enable them to carry out the project and proceed.
Secondly, we must not be the ones to carry out the project ourselves. We must delegate to the poor and allow them to take ownership of the project themselves. Allowing them to take ownership allows them to take greater responsibility and protection for the project. Furthermore, if the project succeeds, the locals can rejoice over their own accomplishments rather than praising the foreign missionaries. And, should the project fail, the locals can come together to determine what went wrong and learn how to improve upon the project.
However, I digress. The principles outlined in this book are best for what I believe are long term attempts to alleviate poverty. Even though this book discourages "free handouts" to the poor, sometime the best way to show the love of Christ is to simply provide a meal to someone who has no food, give away a pair of shoes to someone who doesn't have any, help provide shelter to someone who has no home. I don't think we should totally dismiss these things especially if the intention is to show the love of Christ to the poor. But, I agree with the author in that this should not be a recurring theme in addressing poverty, certainly not the solution.
My family serves amongst the Roma of Albania (an impoverished people group) and this book has truly changed the way I do ministry amongst them. Before I came here I thought I knew how to do ministry with the poor. I was wrong thanks to this book who set me on the right course. I highly recommend this book for anyone who lives, works, or serves amongst the poor. And, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is considering doing a short term missions trip to an impoverished people group.
When Helping Hurts is a solid resource for churches developing a benevolent policy. Corbett and Fikkert not only examine the needs of the materially poor but also the heart issues of the givers.
One of the most helpful parts of this book was Corbett & Fikkert's distinctions between the type of aid needed:
Relief: Immediate short-term aid to stop the bleeding.
Rehabilitation: Working with people (not for them) to help their situation.
Development: A more broad based look at the causes of the poverty.
How many times have we thrown relief at a situation that requires much more labour-intensive (and rewarding) rehabilitation?
This book puts poverty in its theological context and will help you and your church to develop sound benevolent and mission policy.
The book goes beyond the simple "don't give them fish, teach them how to fish" concept.
The book goes beyond the simple "don't give them fish, teach them how to fish" concept.