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An Article for Your Church's Newsletter
Bread for the World members are moved by God's grace in Jesus Christ. We work for justice for our hungry neighbors, whether they are in the next house or on the next continent. Please continue your good work on behalf of your hungry neighbors, wherever they are. Together, we can win more far-reaching changes in public policy that bring hope and opportunity to hungry and poor people.
All year, Bread for the World members around the country have been working to reform the U.S. farm bill in ways that will reduce hunger and poverty. In addition to supporting critical nutrition programs such as the Food Stamp program, Bread for the World has been making the connections between hunger and commodity payment policies in a direct way.
When U.S. commodity payments depress global prices, poor farmers overseas cannot sell their products for a fair price and feed their families. The resources currently going to commodity payments for the wealthiest farmers should be redirected to struggling rural people in this country. Thus, reforming the commodity title of the farm bill is very important to our mission of ending hunger in God's world.
The House of Representatives passed its version of the farm bill this summer, adding more funding for food stamps, conservation, minority farmers, and school meals in poor countries. The draft of the Senate farm bill also contains improvements. But so far, Congress has not mustered the will to curtail subsidies to affluent landowners.
Bread for the World and its partners have definitely shaken up traditional farm bill politics. In hundreds of churches and hundreds of newspapers, the abuses of the current system have been exposed. Thus the 2007 farm bill that is signed into law is likely
to be better than the current system.
Beyond the farm bill, advocacy for increased poverty-focused development assistance continues to benefit poor families in the developing world. For fiscal year 2008, we are poised to win another major funding increase—of $1.5 billion—for programs that fight
poverty. Both the House and the Senate have approved bills that contain significant increases. Now, Congressional leadership and the president need to finalize a bill acceptable to both chambers and sign it into law.
We can rejoice that our work and our prayers are having an impact— in the developing world and in the United States. We are helping to build a broader anti-hunger movement, and that movement is bearing fruit far beyond our expectations. Who would have expected that ending global poverty would receive so much attention from the U.S. public and the media? Or that Time magazine would publish a 5,000-word article denouncing U.S. farm bill inequities? God is indeed moving in our time to liberate millions of people from hunger and extreme poverty.
We can draw strength, knowing we do not work alone. Once again, in this Advent and Christmas season, we rejoice that Christ comes into our lives and our world. Thank you again for your faithful work on behalf of hungry and poor people.
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As we prepare to receive the Christ child anew in this season of Advent, our faith compels us to hear the cry of all children, especially poor children. Special prayers to lift up children and families in poverty during the Advent season can be found online at www.bread.org/advent.
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At J.L. Zwane Presbyterian Church, the African AIDS pandemic arrived on the doorstep. The church is located in Gugulethu, a township of 325,000 people outside Cape Town, South Africa. The HIV infection rate in Gugulethu is 29 percent. At a time when many people shunned those suffering from AIDS, J.L Zwane welcomed and embraced them.
Zwane was one of the first faith-based organizations in Cape Town to incorporate HIV/AIDS education and services into its own outreach. Realizing that the community's needs extended beyond what the church could provide, Rev. Spiwo Xapile, the church's pastor since 1989, worked with outside partners to establish the J.L. Zwane Community Center. This offshoot provides education, prevention, and care services to people living with HIV and AIDS. These include nutrition programs, support groups for HIV-positive women, hospice care, medical clinics, and ministry to child-headed households (the increasing number of young sibling groups who have lost both parents to AIDS).
As vital as these services are, Rev. Xapile identified another need in Gugulethu: breaking down the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS. So he turned to an age-old Christian staple—the power of witness. Each Sunday, one or two church members spend 15 minutes telling their own stories of living with HIV and AIDS to the entire congregation.
"There is no better way to sensitize members," Rev. Xapile says. "Allowing people to speak creates a climate of acceptance, love and commitment to doing something about HIV/AIDS."
Zwane has been responding to the needs of the community for many years. The church served as a central gathering place during the struggle against apartheid, as it was the biggest hall in a community lacking such infrastructure. As apartheid ended and democracy finally came to South Africa, Zwane began its outreach ministries with job training programs.
"Young people didn't have the skills to enter the labor force. They had been involved in the struggle against apartheid, and in many cases sacrificed their education to bring about that change," Rev. Xapile recalls.
Soon, however, AIDS was overtaking other concerns. For Rev. Xapile, seeing too many members of his congregation dying, there was no way to preach the Gospel and not respond.
The care Zwane shows is fortifying people living with HIV and AIDS. For Nombeko, a member of the HIV support group, it has helped her remember that being HIV-positive does not define her life.
"HIV is in the blood, not in our brains. Even if it affects our flesh, it won't take our souls," she says.
J.L. Zwane Presbyterian Church is a place with soul in abundance, and Rev. Xapile intends to keep it that way: "It is our job to be God's eyes, ears, hands and feet."
This article was prepared by Kimberly Burge, Bread for the World's senior writer/editor, following her recent trip to Africa for research for Bread for the World's 2008 Offering of Letters. Look for more information on J.L. Zwane Presbyterian Church and stories about others affected by global poverty in the 2008 Offering of Letters handbook and video, available early next year.
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In this season of hope, please send Christmas cards to your senators and representatives in Congress. Let them know of your concern for hungry and poor people, in the United States and around the world, and urge them to support policies that will reduce hunger and poverty.
Points to make:
- As we begin a new year, please keep in your hearts the hungry and poor people in our country and around the world.
- Worldwide, more than 850 million people are chronically hungry in a world that has enough food for everyone. In the United States, more than 35 million people live in households that struggle to put food on the table.
- There are effective ways to fight hunger and poverty. More than 20 million additional children have been able to start school in Africa, and 1.2 million Africans now receive lifesaving HIV/AIDS medication so that they can continue to work and care for their families.
Send your cards to:
Sen. _____________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Rep. _____________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
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Bread for the World will offer Lenten resources for 2008, including "table tents" with scripture readings and prayers for Lent and Holy Week. The 2008 table tents will be available in early January. The resources will also include suggested actions for each of the six weeks tied to Bread for the World's Offering of Letters and other opportunities to make a difference. Look for information about these free resources on our web site, www.bread.org/lent or by calling 1-800-822-7323.
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"In poverty, you struggle to find anything to control in your life," says Renee, who is 33 and no longer lives in poverty. Renee has hardly ever been out of work, but she has always worked in low-wage jobs.
"Food is the kind of thing you feel like you have a little bit of control over," she explains. "I saved by buying food on clearance that had passed the expiration date. I cooked from scratch and we never ate out. You can do things to make it stretch. I watered down my daughter's apple juice. I watered down her formula too, but stopped when she became anemic."
Renee's story is not at all exceptional. Of course each family is different, but the fact remains: One in four workers in the United States has a job that does not pay enough to raise a family of four out of poverty.
Bread for the World Institute's 2008 Hunger Report, Working Harder for Working Families, examines what the United States can do to give low-wage workers a fair chance. The report offers recommendations:
- Set a National Goal to Reduce Hunger and Poverty
- Make Every Job a Good Job
- Strengthen Work-Support Programs
- Create Incentives to Save and Build Assets
The full report is available to download or purchase.
Read Our Earlier Hunger Reports
Also available on our Web site are Hunger Reports from previous years. All offer recommendations on hunger-related problems. In addition, they provide background, explanations and examples that enable readers to understand the root causes of hunger and poverty.
- Healthy Food, Farms and Families: Hunger Report 2007 focuses on the U.S. farm bill and how this legislation is frequently at cross purposes with efforts to reduce hunger in the United States and around the world.
- Frontline Issues in Nutrition Assistance: Hunger Report 2006 argues that the fastest, most direct way to reduce hunger – whether in the United States or the developing world – is to improve nutrition programs.
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Bread for the World's staff can offer tips on letter writing, brief you on legislation, assist your church's hunger ministry, and put you in touch with others who are working on these issues.
Bread for the World National Office: 1-800-82-BREAD
Church Relations Staff
Regional Organizers in National Office
- Elise Young, Central/Mid-Atlantic Organizer
Bread for the World Regional Offices
- Mariah Priggen (1-800-447-0-BFW)
Illinois, Indiana and Missouri Organizer
- David Gist (1-800-315-3BFW)
California Organizer
- Matt Newell-Ching (1-888-75-BREAD)
Western Organizer
- Suzanne Berman and Seth Wispelwey (1-888-257-0239)
Texas and Oklahoma Organizers
- Ricardo Moreno (1-800-315-3BFW)
Organizer for Latino Relations
- Tamela Walhof (1-800-363-7BFW)
Upper Midwest Organizer
- Elizabeth Coleman (1-888-BFW-0073)
Southeast Organizer
- Larry Hollar (1-800-619-9239)
North Central Organizer
- Derrick Boykin (1-866-238-0507)
Northeast Organizer
