#garyhaugen

[aprisur]

Gary Haugan has been on of the best speakers I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing and the founder of the International Justice Mission, an NGO that works with local law enforcement to fight against human trafficking, help prosecute human traffickers, and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking. As a Christian organization, one of their core commitments is Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” 📖 I rarely read nonfiction and this book has been sitting in my TBR pile for three years now, mainly because I’m afraid of it. I know this book is going to destroy me because it’s real. This is the real world and the effects of everyday violence on the poor is the biggest hurdle to cross in order to help lift people out of poverty. Nothing shields the world’s poor from violence and that is the problem. 📖📖 As one of my goals for this year, I will finally read this book and listen to the message God has for me. As much as I love living in my own head, there is a world out there hurting and my ultimate purpose is to be what God needs me to be in His mission to save the lost. I know I’m destined to do more than what I am doing now, so it’s time I embrace it. 📖📖📖 #allthebooksjan #normallywouldntread #thelocusteffect #locusteffect #garyhaugen #ijm #internationaljusticemission #humantrafficking #poverty #violence #justice #bookstagram #epicreads #goodreads #nonfiction #faithandworks #christianity #isaiah117

[joeywren]

“Eat Your Vegetables”

While it’s an assumption, I think it is a safe one. 

Every mom in America has told there kids to “eat your vegetables, because there are starving kids in Africa.” 

I don’t believe this is a guilt tactic, it is more or less an attempt to make kids who have plenty (and are picky), to be grateful they have options. 

My mom would say this to me on occasion as a child, and it really stuck with me. One day, I remember being about 6 or 7, I excused myself from the table, ran into my bedroom, grabbed an old shoe box, and proceeded to empty the remaining contents of my plate into the box - demanding that my mother send it to those starving children in Africa because I simply wasn’t hungry anymore.

As a 6 or 7 year old, that solution seemed like a no brainer. “Oh, I have too much, so I’ll send it to those who don’t have enough.” Unfortunately, I believe the mindset towards poverty hasn’t matured much past that. Sure, in the modern age there have been many organizations that have spoken up about how handouts don’t end the cycle. The whole if you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime philosophy has started to catch hold. And yes, there have been strides to lower the amount of people who are simply surviving on less than $1.25 a day (even though the amount of people surviving on less than $2 a day is still drastically high). 

That sort of life is surviving, not thriving. 

However, the root issues of poverty, or rather, the violence that entraps people in the cycle isn’t being addressed. Poverty is like a weed. You can pluck off the dandelion, but it will just grow back. You have to dig up the root to eliminate its threat. 

Gary Haugen from International Justice Mission (IJM) just did a thought provoking TED Talk about the violence that makes certain that extreme poverty remains a way of life. Take the time to educate yourself and be a part of the solution. 

(Sorry, I can’t embed this video… So follow this link to watch it. https://ijm.org/ted ) 

[clintbaldwin]

Interested in more #justice, more #peace, less harm, less #poverty, & promoting human dignity? @ijmhq #GaryHaugen's new book #TheLocustEffect is an important read! #IJM (at Center for Peace & Justice, George Fox University)

[danieldececco]

FAR BELOW THE HEADLINES, A PLAGUE OF HIDDEN, EVERYDAY VIOLENCE — INCLUDING RAPE, TRAFFICKING, AND POLICE BRUTALITY — IS DEVASTATING THE DEVELOPING WORLD AND UNDERMINING OUR EFFORTS TO END POVERTY. New book by Gary Haugen to be released in February 2014, exploring the reality of violence and its negative affect on the fight against poverty.