19 August 2009 - the first annual "World Humanitarian Day" in honor of all humanitarian workers who have lost their lives or been injured in the course of their work.  Among these dedicated professionals is one of the great humanitarians, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who died on this day in 2003 alongside 21 other colleagues in the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad.  His memory serves as an inspiration to all who carry out humanitarian work today, even as assistance efforts in many places continue to be limited by increasingly frequent violent and targeted attacks on humanitarian staff.

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I read a recent interview of Gary Haugen (President of IJM), and I was impacted by his following statements:

"We are trying to equip and empower Christians to think about injustice with the eyes and hope of Christ, to be able to look at it with courage. What I see is Christians preoccupied and discouraged by their own fears. ... They are afraid of what's going to happen to their kids, what's going to happen in the culture, what's going to happen to their material situation. ... But Christians are not supposed to live in fear. What people seem to find in International Justice Mission, in the stories of what my colleagues are actually doing in the field, is a picture of Christian faith that is liberated from fear. They think, As a follower of Jesus, maybe I can be liberated both from fears and from the triviality of some of those fears. Yes, there is a need for Christians to be engaged with courage in the world, because people are hurting and need our help. But there is just as much a need for Christians who have resources and capacities to be liberated from a prison of small fears and triviality. For a lot of American Christians, the beginning is to realize that so much of the limitations of my Christian life are really coming out of my fear."

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Don Jacobson, the founder of Cauzal Coffee, was recently interviewed on Moody Radio's Prime Time America program. In this interview, Don describes Cauzal Coffee's recent partnership with World Relief in the Poverty Cauze and the Congo Disaster Cauze. You can listen to this interview by doing one of the following: 

• listen to the interview at the Prime Time America website
• download the interview in mp3 format by clicking here:  Don Jacobson interview (3.69 mb)

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I recently came across this article from The Times (click here for the full article), which is quite interesting. It was written by a "third culture kid" (TCK) -- i.e., someone growing up outside of his parent's culture -- from Malawi. As a TCK myself, from Burundi, I was eager to see what this writer had to say. I was especially intrigued by this statement towards the end of the article: 

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted. And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

I can attest from my own experience that material aid by itself is not enough -- as I have seen many cases where material assistance alone actually causes more harm than if it was not given in the first place. I encourage you to read the article and email me with your thoughts, as I would like to post people's thoughts about this article.

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What are you thinking about for 2009? This week I came across a great list of "things to do in 2009," which was compiled by a social marketer named Chris Brogan. This list really impressed me not only because of the great ideas, but because the list should be helpful to just about anyone. Best wishes for 2009 from Cauzal Coffee!

6 Things to Do in 2009

1. Find a new way to improve someone's day (and determine if there’s value in it).

2. Synthesize new ideas from outside your normal circle (and make meaning from them).

3. Promote the great people out there (and and keep doing it).

4. Learn from brilliant people (and share what you learn).

5. Work on interesting projects that matter to you (and empower others to participate).

6. Discover your passions (and share them openly).

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       For a child is born to us,
            a son is given to us.
       The government will rest on his shoulders.
            And he will be called:
       Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
            Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
       His government and its peace
            will never end.
       He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
            for all eternity.
       The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
            will make this happen!

 writings of the prophet Isaiah, circa 700 BC

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Today is the 20th annual World AIDS Day – a day that the world comes together to commemorate those who have died from AIDS and to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. This year's theme is "Leadership."

Compassion International is the nonprofit organization that Cauzal Coffee partners with in the fight against HIV/AIDS. One recipient of help from Compassion is eight-year-old "Iradukunda" in Rwanda. Before receiving assistance from Compassion, Iradukunda ate just one meal a day and was so sick he could not attend school. Now he gets regular meals, along with antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS, which are provided by Compassion staff. "Compassion found me in the midst of frustrations of poverty and death," says Iradukunda's mother, Judith, who is also HIV-positive and whose husband died from AIDS two years ago. "I was poor and I had no hope for tomorrow. Compassion enhanced my life and [the lives] of my children."

Having grown up in Rwanda and Burundi, and I know that "Iradukunda" means "God loves us." I think that it is fitting that as we think of leadership in the AIDS crisis around the world, we remember God's love and care for all who are suffering from HIV and AIDS.  

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The Wall Street Journal today ran an article highlighting how the "titans of philanthropy" are rattled by the economy and dramatically scaling back their year-end giving plans. It is in this environment that you, I and millions of other conscientious consumers can make a real difference.

Cauzal Coffee's vision is to help you make this happen, by giving you convenient ways to give through simple adjustments in your buying habits. Stacy Harp of Active Christian Media recently interviewed Don Jacobson, founder of Cauzal Coffee. In her blog about this interview, she said, "Thanks to the work of Don Jacobson who is the former owner of Multnomah Publishing, now all of these social issues can and will be helped when you buy Cauzal Coffee. Don and I spoke this morning and in our interview he shares how this idea came about, and how this great plan will be able to help the neediest among us."  Click on the icon below to listen to this interview.

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My last blog entry on Congo has many people asking me what we can do to stop the atrocities in Congo. This is always the difficult question, and it is made especially hard because we often feel that we have to do something major, right away. But I'm convinved that it is ultimately more effective if we start small and just do something! If we keep at it and if we get others involved ... we can create and be part of a movement. Here are my suggestions about what you can do, and let me know what ideas you've got.

• learn and become informed (later I'll blog about good books and resources on the situation in Congo)
  
• tell others what you’ve learned
  
• advocate and lobby to your elected officials, and support those in government who are paying attention to Congo (more on this below) 
  
• support organizations that are bringing direct relief and assistance in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo, especially those that have a historical and reputable presence in that part of Congo
  
• don’t disengage when this issue falls off of the news
  
• keep the pressure on yourself, your network, and your elected officials when people forget about this
  
• continue to give to reputable organizations working in Congo -- the really difficult problems behind a crisis of this magnitude take decades to resolve successfully
  
• get to know Congolese or Africans from that region of Africa who live in the US, and have them speak to your network of friends
  
• commit yourself to this cause 
  

On the subject of supporting elected officials who are trying to do something about the situation in Congo, you should know about a very recent bipartisan resolution in congress that is calling for an end to violence in Congo. The resolution was introduced by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Russ Feingold (D-WI), and it is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of senators including Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kit Bond (R-MO), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). If you live in any of these states, please take the time to log onto your senator's website, fill out a feedback form, and thank him or her for supporting this resolution.

 

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