Is there a higher form of charity to the poor?

There are many ways to give to the poor but is one better than the other?  In ancient Jewish culture there exists grades for how best to give to the poor.    

Giving  money to the poor directly when they are aware of who the giver is a lesser desirable form of charity (but sometimes necessary in times of crisis).  If the poor are fully aware of the giver there may be humiliation on the end of the receiver.  (Although, in Africa the opposite is true.  In the West we will do anything (credit cards, pawn shops, maybe even theft) to avoid asking family or friends for money.  It admits failure in some sense and degrades the asker.  In Africa it is normal to ask a friend or family for money.  In fact it is a high complement towards the asked.  It means they should be honored as God as placed them in a position of blessing in which they are able to give.)

To send money to the poor anonymously is slightly better than publicly.  That way the recipient feels no shame when encountering the donor.  This would be like tossing some change in the tin at the back of church to run the soup kitchen.  

Of even more virtue is creating jobs for someone in need.  Even when the job has been created directly for the worker, not for the work.  Most of us have benefited from this kind of charity. Maybe you had a father arrange a summer front-office job, or an uncle create a  maintenance position at a plant, or a friend take you on in house-painting project.  The job automatically opened the moment you needed it.  Most adults know that in the real world a job search is not that clean.  In Western culture there is far less shame in going to a friend or relative seeking employment than asking for money.  

But the highest form of charity in ancient Jewish tradition is creating jobs for those in need without them knowing what was done.  I think God is more pleased when the poor find dignity and provision from a days labor than receiving a hand-out.  

Christian Missions hospitals are at there best when they are full of national staff at every level; including laboratory technicians, sweepers, nurses, security guards, doctors, and scrub technicians.  Kijabe hospital employs over 600 kenyan workers.  That is 600 people who because of a job at Kijabe can provide food for their family.  They have a meager pension.  They have an identity and expertise as a nurse, cook, or x-ray tech.  They are able to afford school tuition for their children.  They have health insurance when they get sick.  Best of all they are an integral part of a team that impacts the world for Christ in a health-care setting.  Its hard to even call this charity.  But whatever it is called... I know God would be pleased all over the world to  1) see people working for His glory and 2) see employers creating jobs for his glory.

The Shackled Continent (Part III)

5)Africa can hardly be prosperous because of the advance of AIDS.  Thirty million Africans are infected with AIDS.  Three quarters of the world’s AIDS deaths occur in Africa. Life expectancy while rising in the West has fallen in Africa due to HIV. Poverty accelerates the spread of HIV.  Without antibiotics open sores are not treated, and the virus is transmitted more readily.   Poverty of education has also speeded the spread of AIDS.  Some African women believe that without regular infusions of sperm, they will not grow up to be beautiful.  Some African men believe that by having sex with a virgin  they can cleanse themselves of the virus.  The disease strikes people in their prime years (not a disease of the elderly like alzheimers).  Fathers lose jobs, families lose homes, and children are orphaned.  

6) African countries are chronically unstable.  Most  Africans feel more loyalty to their tribe than their nation.   Nepotism is rampant among “elected officials.”   Corrupt politicians use tribal-alliances  to their advantage.  The genocide in in Rwanda of the Tutsis was carefully planned by the Hutu politicians.  Hutu politicians to keep themselves in power coordinated a mindset to hate and kill Tutsis.  Using tribal alliances approximately 800,000 Tutsis were murdered in six weeks; the swiftest genocide in history. 

 

7) Wealthy countries have too many trade barriers that prevent African countries from selling their exports at reasonable prices.  Africa has fertile land, plenty of sun, and cheap labor. But wealthy countries through quotas, tariffs, and national farm subsidies create an environment where African producers cannot compete.   

8) Civil wars set back countries in Africa and prevent success.  In 1999 1/5 Africans lived in a country currently in civil war.  90% of casualties in civil wars in Africa are civilians.  19 million Africans have been force to flee their homes.   The poorest 1/6th of humanity endures four fifths of the civil wars. What are the risk factors for a civil war: poverty and stagnation.  As the saying goes, “it is easy to give a poor man a cause.” In a vicious cycle of poverty-war-more poverty, it has been shown that a civil war reduces average income by 2.2 percent each year. 

 

9) Africa needs more successful business but doing business in Africa is risky.  Bad roads and “hungry policeman” at roadblocks makes it costly to move goods even a short distance.  Imported business to Africa say BYOI (Bring your own infrastructure). 

10)Term limits for presidents before the 1980’s in Africa were almost non-existent.  Without term limits bad presidents are never voted out of office.  And without constitutions rogue governments cannot be kept in check.   

 

11) Most countries in Africa have underdeveloped property rights.  For example in Malawi a person cannot buy or sell land without agreement from the village chief.  If he is able to buy the land but leaves it unattended for a short time the land can be taken .  We take property rights for granted.  In a country with strong property rights you have incentive to improve your land, you can use your land as collateral for a loan, you can divide your land and share assets.  Furthermore, owning land gives you an address. This allows you the ability to develop a credit record, identifiable assets, an incentive to pay off your loans, ability to get electricity, a phone line, the ability to business with strangers.

A Woman's worth

The University of Washington estimated there were 342,900 maternal deaths worldwide in 2008 and more than half of all maternal deaths were in only six countries in 2008 - India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our maternal mortality rate at Kijabe is lower than the national average, but in reality the data is scarce as most women still deliver at home with unskilled birth attendants. 

We see between 60-80 women in GYN clinic each week and one of the most common chief complaints is infertility. What is the best help I can provide knowing childbirth is relatively unsafe? Women are far more likely to die giving birth then from infertility. Yet, these women will also be abandoned. Azia serves as good example. Married at 16 by arrangement in Somalia, she did not produce a child, so her husband took another wife and then finally divorced her at age 28. Her family promptly repeated the genital mutilation and returned her for her brothers to care for. Today she came for help. She wanted to know if she could have a surgery that would help her fertility so that she would be eligible again for marriage. 

When she learned that I thought a myomectomy and tuboplasty would help her, she profusely kissed and hugged me. Her entire societal value depends on her ability to conceive. And when that is gone so is her hope and her future. It's not just that she wants to have a child, it's that she has to bear a child to have any value in society.