“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…I was naked and you gave me clothing…Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25)
I have grown up with a strong Catholic background, and one that always centered on service. The quote above is one of my favorites from the bible, and something I tend to live by in my life. I was raised on the values of helping other people, not for the fact that I would gain anything out of it, but that it was just the right thing to do.
I strongly believe that my service is rooted in not only my faith but also my personal beliefs. Service is just a part of who I am, and what I enjoy to do. I am a person that sees the good in all situations and can see God’s face peering out behind someone struggling for help. My beliefs all stream back to the bible verse above, that when each of us reach out a hand to someone in need, we really are helping a member of God’s family and in turn helping him. I believe that the project we are helping with in Belize fits perfectly in to the mold of service and faith. We are going down to Belize to lend a hand to those less fortunate then us, and we are going down there to make us or Bellarmine look good, we are going to better the lives of the people and families that live there.
Recently in my Theology class, which is based on the journey/ path to God, focuses a lot on the finding of our inner spirituality and connecting it with the world and people around us. Our teacher, who is a Baptist minister helps guide us that to find our true path and calling to the growth and deepening in our relationship and faith in God that we need to simply look around us, and see what we can help with and be a service too. It is in the situations of service that we are truly called to journey closer to God and our path that he has laid out for us. We talked about the development of spirituality, and how experience in what drives us, and what we feel by our emotions are the keys to the complete development and growth in our faith. It also goes in to how we define ourselves and see ourselves in the world. God calls us to help others, whether they are poorer then we are or not, we need to stick up for our fellow man, keep the dignity of humans alive to make the world we live in a better place!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Yunus' ideas!!
I would like to first say that I wish I had more time to write in my blog, but I am still so excited that our trip to Belize is quickly approaching!!!
I find Yunus’ ideas fascinating, just the pure fact that he saw something terribly wrong going on around him and he was that one person that made a change, and bettered the lives of thousands. He is the prime example that one person can make a difference in society and the world.
I am intrigued that he focuses on the women of Bangladesh, he brings attention to the skills that they have and turns them in to actual income raising productions. He allows women to stand on their own two feet and come out of the shadows of their husbands and better their family needs. As he says in Chapter five, just teaching the women how to write their signature, opens a new world for her and she is ready to take other great leaps in to self-sufficiency. J
I also find it interesting to read about all the separate businesses that the Grameen have opened. All of them have produced many employment opportunities as well as new services for the people of Bangladesh to have luxury items that we take for granted like telephones, a stable roof over our heads, and safe fishing ponds. These numerous different businesses have created many new outlets for the people that they serve!
Now, to the question of connection between what Yunus has done and philanthropy and service is quite easy. In my mind it is a combination of both of these. By definition, philanthropy is to increase well-being to human-kind by means of charity aid or donations. The idea’s that Yunus brings to the table is to provide a service to the people of Bangladesh and raise their living conditions to help rid them of their poverty stricken lives. His ideas are not that of charity or donation, but of providing employment and job opportunities through monetary loans to help the lives of the people become better then what they were.
All of his ideas sound amazing, and the fact that through statistics he can show that they are actually working is even more amazing! My hope is that other countries can adopt or have adopted the ideas to help benefit their own people and end the world of poverty! We shall see down the road…
In reading Yunus’ books, it has opened my eyes to the program at hand, and it is easier now to see how we will help the people of Belize start to live better lives.
I find Yunus’ ideas fascinating, just the pure fact that he saw something terribly wrong going on around him and he was that one person that made a change, and bettered the lives of thousands. He is the prime example that one person can make a difference in society and the world.
I am intrigued that he focuses on the women of Bangladesh, he brings attention to the skills that they have and turns them in to actual income raising productions. He allows women to stand on their own two feet and come out of the shadows of their husbands and better their family needs. As he says in Chapter five, just teaching the women how to write their signature, opens a new world for her and she is ready to take other great leaps in to self-sufficiency. J
I also find it interesting to read about all the separate businesses that the Grameen have opened. All of them have produced many employment opportunities as well as new services for the people of Bangladesh to have luxury items that we take for granted like telephones, a stable roof over our heads, and safe fishing ponds. These numerous different businesses have created many new outlets for the people that they serve!
Now, to the question of connection between what Yunus has done and philanthropy and service is quite easy. In my mind it is a combination of both of these. By definition, philanthropy is to increase well-being to human-kind by means of charity aid or donations. The idea’s that Yunus brings to the table is to provide a service to the people of Bangladesh and raise their living conditions to help rid them of their poverty stricken lives. His ideas are not that of charity or donation, but of providing employment and job opportunities through monetary loans to help the lives of the people become better then what they were.
All of his ideas sound amazing, and the fact that through statistics he can show that they are actually working is even more amazing! My hope is that other countries can adopt or have adopted the ideas to help benefit their own people and end the world of poverty! We shall see down the road…
In reading Yunus’ books, it has opened my eyes to the program at hand, and it is easier now to see how we will help the people of Belize start to live better lives.
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