Poverty

One thing I've learned well since we moved to Africa--poverty is a very complex issue.

I was thinking of the card game that we call Scum. You start the game with a President and Vice-President and a Scum and Vice-Scum. After dealing the cards, Scum gives his two best cards to the Pres. and Pres. gives his two worst cards to Scum. VP and VS trade one card each. It is possible to move from Scum to Pres. but it usually takes several games and it is a lot of work because the cards have literally been stacked against Scum. It is easier for Pres and VP to win and keep on winning because they have been given an advantage to start with.

This is how it is with poverty. The system of injustice has been stacked against the poor. It is possible to get out, but it takes a lot of work, a lot of encouragement, a lot of changes in the ways of thinking about things, and some breaks in order to get a good education.

Sometimes we can think that the poor just don't know how to handle the money they have. We can say there is a difference between being broke and being poor, and that difference is the way of thinking about money. We can say that poverty is not a lack of money, it is a lifestyle, or a curse. But poverty is also being trapped in a system. What can I do to help break the chains of injustice that keep people enslaved?

It is easy to see how the poor become poorer when they are trapped into low-paying jobs and inflation is rising. In December it is reported that inflation rose 3.48% in Moz. Prices always go up because of the holidays, but this is steeper than usual. We notice the differences almost every week when we go to buy groceries. For a long time a liter of boxed milk cost us between 25-30 MT. Yesterday I paid 60 MT ($1.80). Sugar (which is grown in Moz) has been right around 25 MT for a kilo. Now some shops are asking 38 MT. Apparently Brazil had a bad year so the price goes up worldwide. These are just examples of increases for all the basics such as flour, bread, rice, corn flour, etc. Beef has gone through the roof and a scrawny 1 kg chicken costs $4.80 or more.

So what do people do when they are one of the 10-15% who actually have a job such as a household helper and get paid a little more than 100 MT per day and a chicken costs 160 MT? They eat very little meat, and stick to xima (corn flour porridge) with some greens or tomatoes if they can afford them. They walk more because transportation costs are rising, they keep their kids home from school because they can't afford the uniforms and fees, and sometimes they take to the streets to join the riots because they are so desperate.

Then on the other hand we have mostly foreigners and the Mozambican rich who pay $2,000 for an apartment and up to $5,000 rent per month for a house. The poor get poorer and the rich continue to be funded by their organizations, governments and corporations who are willing to pay whatever it takes to keep up the lifestyle. The spiritual discipline of simple living and doing more with less becomes a challenge in a city like Maputo.

And I'm back to the beginning - poverty is complex and I don't have very many answers. Lord help me know how to make a lasting difference in people's lives. Help me to know what my part is today and to be obedient to You. Help me to care enough to give a hand up out of the sink hole of poverty, to work at long-term solutions and not only short-term fixes.