Up to 22,000 children die every day due to poverty and preventable disease.(every 4 seconds 1 child dies)

More than one third of the world’s children are malnourished.

100 million children live on the streets.

10 million children work in the sex trade world-wide (modern form of child slavery)

Did

you

know?

He has shown you what is

good. And what does the Lord

require of you? To act justly and

to love mercy and to walk humbly with

your God. Micah 6:8

Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek Justice, encourage the oppressed, rebuke the oppressor. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 1:17

The bible onjustice & advocacy

Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of

the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:35-36, 40

What does advocacy look like?

Esther – advocate for the Jews

Jubilee campaign – advocate for the countries in debt

Make Poverty History, MDGs and Micah Challenge – advocate for the poor

Who is Micah Challenge?

Part of a global movement Deepen churches’ engagement

with the poor Reduce poverty

Integrating faith, education, prayer and action

An integrated Gospel - both proclaims and demonstrates the love of Jesus

to a world in need

A prophetic voice- influencing global leaders to uphold the rights of the

poor and oppressed

What are we about?

We want to bring the message of the whole gospel – righteousness and justice, word and action

It’s a campaign, not an agency or organisation. We want change in people’s hearts and in public policy

We rely on the support of over 30 different aid and mission and justice groups

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by

action, is dead. James 2:17

The Micah CallThis is a moment in history of unique potential, when the stated

intentions of world leaders echo something of the mind of the Biblical prophets and the teachings of Jesus concerning the poor, and when we have the means to dramatically reduce poverty.

We commit ourselves, as followers of Jesus, to work together for the holistic transformation of our communities, to pursue justice, be passionate about kindness and to walk humbly with God.

We call on international and national decision-makers of both rich and poor nations, to fulfil their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015.

We call on Christians everywhere to be agents of hope for and with the poor, and to work with others to hold our national and global leaders accountable in securing a more just and merciful world.

How we workWe are closely linked with Make Poverty History.

Together we have 5 requests of our government:

oGive more and better aidoDrop poor country debtoMake trade fairoHelp poor countries keep their

governments accountable

oTackle climate change

5 Key asks of Micah Challenge

1. BETTER AID: To provide increased aid, focused on poverty reduction

2. DEBT CANCELLATION: To support the cancellation of debt for countries who wouldn’t be able to meet the MDG’s without this help…

3. FAIR TRADE: To work towards fair and predictable and rules-based international trade system

4. GOOD GOVERNANCE: To support good governance in development

5. ENVIRONMENT: To ensure environmental sustainability

Millennium

Development

Goals

In September 2000, all 189 member states of the United Nations signed on to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - a set of eight targets which aim to halve world poverty by 2015

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target: Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one

dollar a day.

Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer

from hunger.

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

Target: Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.

What about India?It is estimated that 55 million school age children in India work to help support their family. It is not unusual for children under 12 to work a 14 hour

day to earn only Rs10 (US$25cents).

Goal 2: Promote gender equality and empower women

Target: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education to all levels of education no later than 2015.

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Target: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under five mortality rate.

No more shall there be in the city an

infant that lives but a few days; or an old

person who does not live out a lifetime. Isaiah 65:17-20

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Target: Reduce by ¾ the maternal mortality ratio

Target: Achieve universal access to reproductive health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Target: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Target: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Target: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

Halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.

GOAL 8: DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

Target: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial systemTarget: Address the special needs of least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island developing statesTarget: Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Targets:

Better system of trading

Address special needs of least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island states.

Reduce the debt of developing countries

Nine out of 10 Australians believe that reducing poverty is a very important issue facing the world today!!

Speak up for those who cannot speak for

themselves, for the rights of all who are

destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and

needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9

A Christian response to the MDGs…

•We should imitate God’s heart for the poor and needy, to ‘love our neighbour’•The bible calls for God’s people to

show His love in word and deed•We are to be involved in bringing

God’s love and justice to our world•Prayer•Action at individual level•Action at national/international level

HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED?

1.Sign the Micah Call. You can sign up at www.micahchallenge.org.au

2. Attend Voices for Justice3. Donate to your favourite aid agency.Join the good work that’s already happening. There are many international aid organisations that are helping change the lives of people around the world.

4. Pray• For trouble spots around the world.• For the Federal Government, that it would act with compassion and justice.• For any friends who work in areas of poverty and great need – that God would continue to inspire and sustain them.

• For Micah Challenge – that it would be a powerful voice, reminding governments to act for the poor.•For churches in Australia to be caring, faithful models of God’s love.

5. Get politically involvedLetter Writing - Write to your local MP, Media, Churches, Decision Makers etc.Pray and write a letter as part of the Offering of Letters Visit your Politician - Take a couple of friends. Tell them about the issues, ask their views and ask for their support. There is a full guide to visiting your politician online and on the What can One church Do? CD.Public Rallies - A number of organisations hold rallies around issues which they believe need to be brought to the attention of the public. Public Rallies also place pressure on decision makers and are an effective form of having voices heard en masse.

6. EducationThis includes being educated ourselves but also being part of educating others to be aware of the issues and to stand up.

Why write a letter?

Many of the world’s poor have no voice with the powerful decision makers of our world – but your letter can bring the concerns of the poor to our nation’s leaders.

A hand-written letter is a very effective advocacy tool. Imagine the potential impact of many thousands of letters to our Treasurer written on behalf of the poor!

Write a letter, and we will deliver it to the Treasurer in September at Voices for Justice.

OFFERING OF LETTERS 2011

Dear Treasurer, 

I am writing because... [add your personal thoughts here]I believe Australia has a vital role to play in the global effort to halve poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs ) by 2015. This date is not too far away.

Thank you for keeping your commitment to increase Australia’s overseas aid to 0.5% ofnational income by 2015, even in the face of difficult economic times. The increase in aid funding we saw in the 2011/12 federal budget indicates to me that your Government places importance on achieving the MDGs. This will make a very real difference to our global neighbours, people experiencing the crippling effects of poverty.

Tough economic times are having the deepest impact in developing countries. In light of this, we must seek to ensure that our aid is spent as effectively as possible on poverty reduction measures. At times such as these, we must hold firm to our commitment to do all we can to protect the poorest and most vulnerable in our world.

I therefore ask that you once again maintain your commitment to the existing timetable for increasing aid in the next federal budget. I also ask, that as you consider forward estimates for future budgets, you outline a timetabled commitment to reaching your aspirational goal of an aid target of 0.7% of national income as soon as possible.

I pray that you will have wisdom as you make significant financial decisions and courage in your leadership role in our nation.

Yours faithfully,[Sign the letter and neatly print your name, address and postcode]

www.micahchallenge.org.au