Take Action Against Poverty
October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. On this day 34 years ago, over a hundred thousand people gathered in Paris for the signing of Universal Declaration of Human Rights to honour and recognize victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. It was declared that poverty was a violation of human rights, and that we needed to band together to eradicate this problem. Since then, this day has been used to acknowledge the struggle of people living in poverty, to voice their concerns and bring awareness to the devastating living conditions of so many.
The movement was encouraging pre-pandemic, with global poverty rates cut by more than half since the year 2000. However, Covid-19 has changed everything. Research shows that this pandemic has reversed decades of progress in the fight against poverty.
The list of facts is laid out clearly on the United Nations website, https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-for-eradicating-poverty :
Poverty Facts and Figures
-The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have pushed between 143 and 163 million people into poverty in 2021.
-The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have increased poverty by 8.1% in 2020 relative to 2019 (from 8.4% to 9.1%).
-The number of people living under the international poverty lines for lower and upper middle-income countries is projected to have increased in the poverty rate of 2.3 percentage points.
-Almost half of the projected new poor will be in South Asia, and more than a third in Sub-Saharan Africa.
-In the Middle East and North Africa, extreme poverty rates nearly doubled between 2015 and 2018, from 3.8 percent to 7.2 percent, spurred by the conflicts in the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Yemen.
-Current projections indicate that shared prosperity will have dropped sharply in nearly all economies in 2020–21, as the pandemic’s economic burden is felt across the entire income distribution.
-COVID-19 has already been the worst reversal on the path towards the goal of global poverty reduction in last three decades.
While poverty has always been an issue, it is clear that the growing numbers caused by the pandemic is making this a world crisis once again. It is one thing to know about the problem–– and certainly spreading awareness and knowledge about the issue is the first step towards fixing it––but what next? How can we here in Canada help with the fight against poverty?
One organization that the CBWC has partnered with since 1983 is the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). This organization has provided a way for urban and rural churches alike to get involved firsthand with raising money to send to partners overseas that goes directly to feeding the hungry.
Currently, there are three Grow Hope projects in the Western Baptist family; in Moosomin SK, Brownfield, AB and High River, AB. There are two different models that have been traditionally used. The first is where land owners donate land for the Grow Hope project, and the second is where individual farmers donate a certain number of acres that are then tallied together and the profit donated as a lump sum. The inputs for the acres are covered by donations, so the seed, fertilizer, rent of the land, insurance, etc., is all covered and the complete profit is donated to the CFGB. This is an excellent way for the urban and rural churches to get involved in the Grow Hope projects–– by contributing money to cover the input costs. Canadian Baptist Ministries has also started a new initiative called Grow Hope Saskatchewan. More information can be found at www.growhopesk.ca.
Funds raised by these projects are then matched by the government up to 4:1 and will be used to support people around the world with emergency food and longer-term food security support. So even in hard farming years like this year, by working together it still ends up multiplying to a significant amount that can really make an impact against hunger.
There is also a cattle aspect that has been recently implemented, where calves are purchased and raised, then the profit from the sale of those cows are donated to the CFGB.
This model isn’t limited to farmers and ranchers. Any business can implement a similar system to donate towards the CFGB. For example, a coffee shop in Atlantic Canada owned by a Baptist member contributes half a day of sales every month to the CFGB.
There are lots of different ways to get involved. If you are interested in supporting one of the rural churches with their Grow Hope project, you can contact either the local church directly, the CBWC or CBM.
If you own a business and are interested in how to get involved with the CFGB, contact the CBWC or CFGB representatives Jordan Webber (jordan@roughmeadow.ca) or Byron Richardson (byron@dynagro.ca). They would love to help you get connected.
For more general information check out the info videos here: https://www.brownfieldchurch.ca/grow
And check out the CFGB website: https://foodgrainsbank.ca