Ifyou spent any time watching TV in the US during the 70's or 80'syou've seen this commercial, or one just like it.
Bythe time I reached adulthood I wager I had seen thousands of imagesjust like these. Some on television, some in text books andmagazines, and some taped to poster boards in [c]hurch lobbies, butall of them images of dirty, crying, malnourished children with nohope. No hope unless we(specifically the wemeaning you and me here in the US and not the collective weas in all the people around the globe) stepped up with just 70¢a day.
Commercialslike this one, emotional pleas appealing to my heart and walking theline of shaming me into action because of my blessed North Americanupbringing taught me one thing; People in the world are sufferingand they will continue suffering unless I do something.
Ifnot me, who?
Nowbefore I get accused of being in poverty denial let me say this; Iknow there is poverty in the world. Heck, I've seen povertyunimaginable by first world standards and I know there are worsethings than what I've seen. Oh, and if you want to accuse me ofbeing cold-hearted and uncaring, think again! My goal in life was tobecome an engineer, join the Peace Corps, and save the world, butthings happened. Kids were born, marital bonds formed, and my planschanged, but my desire to save the world remained and pushed me intolaw enforcement and ultimately to the mission field.
Butsince we are being honest here I must admit a little something toyou; On an intellectual level I knew that there were people like mein the emerging world, people that wanted to help others. However, Icould never get past picturing everyone outside of the first worldthrough the lens of Sally Struthers; dirty fly covered sad faced kidsliving in squalor just like in the commercials. Sure there must bepeople in the world with the desire to help, but without theresources like we have, what could they do?
Imaginemy surprise when we arrived in Costa Rica and I found the were peoplejust like me living in neighborhoods just like mine attending[c]hurches just like mine asking themselves the same question:
Ifnot me, who?
Unfortunatelyfor the [C]hurch, all too often [c]hurches in the first world answerthat question “nobody” which causes [c]hurches in the emergingworld to answer that question “them.”
Whyhas this become a problem?
It seems there has been a movement to raise awareness tothe plight of the impoverished across the globe. I get it, I agreewith it, but we need to do it honestly!
Letstake that commercial I showed you. I can tell you in all seriousnessthat I've been in places EXACTLY like that. Dirt floors, barefootkids, dig a hole in the ground and cover it with a seat for a toiletplaces. They are filthy, there is a lot of lice, and for some reasonthere is constantly a smell of burning plastic mixed with sewagehanging in the air. Honestly, if our neighbors let their animalslive under the same conditions many of us would call the cops.
Andyet those kids, those same smelly, grimy kids IDENTICAL to Sally'skids, at times smile. They play. They have fun. They are kids. All too often, with nothing but the greatest intentions, we tell a story that is not entirely complete. At times we think it a bit more “strategic”to tell only one small part of their story. Poverty!
Why?
Becausesadness sells!
Meet Mossi.
Mossiis from the Republic of Congo, but he has never been there. Hisparents fled their home and ended up in a refugee camp in Burundiwhere Mossi was born and raised. His life has been hard and eventoday, although he is married and lives outside the refugee camp, hestill wonders where his next meal will come from.
Why?
Becausesometimes he has a hard time finding clients.
Thesepictures were taken at the same time, in the same place, however,one picture is in front of Mossi's business and the other inside.
Nowsomeone can use a picture like the first one of Mossi as a means toraise support, encourage action, even to push people to go on ashort-term missions trip. They could use it and even justify using itbecause, well, it is an accurate view of a part of Mossi and his situation. Both pictures show how Mossi lives, right? But choosingthe first one focuses on his circumstance and not on him as a person, and, well, it opens my wallet!
Mossiis more than a single story, he is a wonderful collection of stories with depth and beauty just like those kids in Sally's commercial. We are not telling the truth if we focus on a single partof the lives of the one's we are serving.
Mossiis more than a single story, he is a wonderful collection of stories with depth and beauty just like those kids in Sally's commercial. We are not telling the truth if we focus on a single partof the lives of the one's we are serving.
Theyare more than their poverty.
I'm sure many will argue that if our pictures or stories, regardless of their bias, help drive others toward the global mission than it was not all bad. Truthfully, I would completely agree if the people we were sent to serve were nothing but their poverty like these types of images imply. What this type of "marketing" of poverty has done is started many a ministry and sent out many a missionary under the false assumption that:
If not me, who?
The impoverished are people that can and do know God. Refugees are people that can and do give back to their communities. The least of these are people just like you and me that can and are being equipped to make disciples of Jesus. Being poor doesn't make someone less capable of receiving or passing on the Good News, it just makes them poor!
I'm sure many will argue that if our pictures or stories, regardless of their bias, help drive others toward the global mission than it was not all bad. Truthfully, I would completely agree if the people we were sent to serve were nothing but their poverty like these types of images imply. What this type of "marketing" of poverty has done is started many a ministry and sent out many a missionary under the false assumption that:
If not me, who?
The impoverished are people that can and do know God. Refugees are people that can and do give back to their communities. The least of these are people just like you and me that can and are being equipped to make disciples of Jesus. Being poor doesn't make someone less capable of receiving or passing on the Good News, it just makes them poor!
When a [c]hurch, a missionary, an aid organization, orwhoever chooses to use a picture or even tell a story for the solepurpose of creating an emotional response without telling the wholestory, we reduce those people we are claiming to serve to their poverty, we are exploiting them, and we are hurting the [C]hurch.
el chupacabra writes
The photos used in this post were taken by Duncan McNicholl, an aid worker in Africa, as part of his project called Perspectives in Poverty. The project's goal is to show how we create bias by choosing to share photos that contain, or enhance, typical indicators of poverty. I would encourage you to check out Duncan's blog because Mossi is just one part of his project.
