Church Perspectives on Aid Effectiveness Sandra F. Joireman Department of Politics and International Relations Wheaton College

Types of church based aid Eight lessons the church can learn from secular development agencies Five things secular development agencies can learn from the church Areas of common growth Presentation Outline

Types of church based aid Churches Denominations Parachurch organizations Large – BINGOS Small – the guys at Wheaton who just formed an organization short-term missions And all of these can be combined in different ways Types of church based aid

Aid is going to…. Individual churches Development Programs Relief efforts Church-based organization of origin Aid is going to….

What can the church learn from secular development agencies? Lesson 1 Relief ≠ Development There is a time for each The time for relief is short Don’t confuse the two What can the church learn from secular development agencies?

Planning Implementation Assessment Lesson#2 The community receiving the aid should participate Cork Community Garden in Ireland

#3 Respond only when locals cannot or will not

#4 Do Your Homework Conduct an assessment to find out what the needs are instead of deciding what the needs are before you go. “I know what you need.”

#5 Target assistance based on vulnerability and need

#6 only use qualified people

CNN followed Sean Penn in Haiti on May 4, documenting the celebrity's life as an aid worker, including his efforts to save a boy with diphtheria.

Be patient in spending money Be patient in looking for results #7 Don’t be impatient

#8 Evaluate your programs Systemically If possible using randomization #8 Evaluate your programs

What do secular development agencies have to learn from the church?

Poverty has a spiritual component

Faith needs to be taken seriously Many people in the developing world are people of faith. Faith is not peripheral to their lives or insignificant to their level of income. It is a resource “to ignore the spiritual dimension of life is to ignore the main driving force of many of the poorest people in the world” (Krige 2008:23) Faith needs to be taken seriously

Churches can engage communities

People are members of families and communities not just objects to be ‘developed’.

Some evidence that faith based service provision is more effective Evidence from healthcare providers in Uganda Study by Reinikka and Svensson “intrinsically motivated to serve” Some evidence that faith based service provision is more effective

Lessons for both Beware of fads Focus on underfunded areas that may be of great importance to the society as a whole Work together and with each other Stop when it is not working Lessons for both

Investing in people and producing measurable outcomes may be at cross- purposes. Final dilemma

Photocredits Pointing man - www.piggyspankrecor ds.com/astound/asto und.htm Man with hammer - http://www.consumer reports.org/content/H ome/Gallery/Photos/1 97302.jpg Healthcare providers study http://siteresources. worldbank.org/EXTDE VDIALOGUE/Resource s/WfG-Nov-9- 2008.pdf