NORTON META TAG

Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts

09 May 2025

VERSE AND VOICE FROM SOJOURNERS 9MAI25

 

16 January 2025

SOJOURNERS VERSE & VOICE 16JAN25

 



Verse of the day


Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

- Deuteronomy 15:11


Voice of the day

A lack of generosity refuses to acknowledge that your assets are not really yours, but God's.

- Timothy Keller, “Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just” (2010)


Prayer of the day

God, open our hearts and hands to those in need, reminding us that all we have is a gift, meant to be shared in justice and generosity.

26 August 2024

VERSE & VOICE FROM SOJOURNERS 26AUG24

 

SojoMail

Verse of the day

“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,” says the Lord; “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”
- Psalm 12:5

Voice of the day

If our politics don’t prioritize the most vulnerable, then what are we doing? Compassion isn’t weakness—it reveals our interconnectedness.
- Drew Hart

Prayer of the day

May we not fall prey to the whims of partisan politics. We pray that our politics are just, that we remember those who are most vulnerable and seek their well-being.

24 October 2021

VERSE & VOICE AND THE LATEST FROM SOJOURNERS: I'm a Pastor Who Loves Horror Films. Here's Why (by JR. Forasteros), The Subversive, Sapphic Spiritual Lives of Nuns in ‘Matrix’ (by Caroline McTeer), Cypriot Artist Angers Church and Government With Protest Paintings (by Michele Kambas, Reuters), These Families Are Opting To Homeschool — Without White Christian Nationalism (by Julia Oller)


Verse and Voice
Verse of the day

For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

- James 2:26
Voice of the day

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

- Frederick Douglass
Prayer of the day
 
May the Lord support us all the day long, till the shades lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.

- Cardinal John Henry Newman
Our Latest

I'm a Pastor Who Loves Horror Films. Here's Why (by JR. Forasteros)

Both horror and Christianity should be unsettling.

The Subversive, Sapphic Spiritual Lives of Nuns in ‘Matrix’ (by Caroline McTeer)

In Lauren Groff's new novel, nuns challenge the patriarchy but their leadership is neither pure nor innocent.

Cypriot Artist Angers Church and Government With Protest Paintings (by Michele Kambas, Reuters)

George Gavriel’s paintings take aim at the perceived riches of the Church, juxtaposed against the humility of Jesus Christ.

These Families Are Opting To Homeschool — Without White Christian Nationalism (by Julia Oller)

As homeschooling grows, marginalized students, parents, and their supporters are working to create inclusive communities.

 

Together We Welcome: National Faith Gathering to Support Refugees

Register today to join CWS for a virtual conference for faith leaders on November 7-11. Building a welcoming community begins with you. Learn how you can prepare your congregation to welcome and support refugees, Afghan evacuees, and asylum seekers as the U.S. rebuilds and expands its life-saving refugee protection programs.

Read more on sojo.net: "Climate Justice: My Grief and Guilt Are Not Enough"

Zambia is one of the countries that has contributed least to changes in global climate, yet it is already experiencing some of the most direct and deadly harm. Zambians are paying for a damaged planet with their lives. Learn how you can help through World Renew.

19 February 2019

Bernie Sanders Enters 2020 Presidential Campaign, No Longer An Underdog 19FEB19


SEN BERNIE SANDERS I VT announced this morning he is running for president of the United States. There are still some progressives, some Democrats, who feel Sen Sanders and his political agenda is too left wing. Being a Christian Socialist myself I have no problem with Sen Sanders' bold  progressive agenda, if fact I consider it the necessary response to the fascism, corruption, immorality and greed of the drumpf / trump-pence administration and the republican / gop greed over people party. I am not excited about the 2020 presidential campaign beginning so early, but am thankful to Sen Sanders for entering the race for the Democratic nomination because he will set the standard that all other candidates are going to have to meet. From NPR.....

Bernie Sanders Enters 2020 Presidential Campaign, No Longer An Underdog

Heard on Morning Edition
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks about his new book, 'Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance', at a George Washington University/Politics and Prose event in November 2018. He announced a second presidential campaign on Tuesday.
Alex Brandon/AP
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is giving it another go, launching a second campaign for the White House four years after surprising Democrats with a strong bid for the party's 2016 nomination.
"We began the political revolution in the 2016 campaign, and now it's time to move that revolution forward," the independent senator told Vermont Public Radio in an interview airing Tuesday morning.
But this 2020 bid will undoubtedly be a very different presidential campaign than his quest for the Democratic nomination as an underdog in 2016. Sanders enters the race as a top contender who, along with former Vice President Joe Biden, tops most early polls, far outpacing other Democratic candidates in support and name identification.
It's a sharp contrast from when Sanders seemingly came out of nowhere to surprise the political class — and at times himself — by winning several key primaries against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Buoyed by a big early win in New Hampshire, Sanders fought Clinton for the Democratic nomination through the final June contests, drawing tens of thousands of supporters to rallies in the process.
In the years since his loss to Clinton, Sanders has remained a national leader of the Democratic Party, though he still refuses to join.
"I think we have had real success in moving the ideology of the Democratic Party to be a pro-worker party, to stand up to the billionaire class," Sanders told NPR during the 2018 midterms. "We've got a long way to go."
Many of the issues he's promoted for years — most notably a Medicare-for-all national health care plan and a $15 minimum wage — have shifted from the party's fringe to its mainstream, and are now seen as effective litmus tests for presidential candidates.
Indeed, Sanders' most recent Medicare-for-all bill was cosponsored by fellow presidential candidates Sens. Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren. The Senate's one other presidential candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, co-sponsored Sanders' most recent $15 minimum wage bill, in addition to the other four.
Sanders pointed to the Democratic Party's leftward shift as a reason for a second run. "It turns out that many of the ideas that I talked about – that health care is a right, not a privilege, and that we've got to move toward a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system: very, very popular. The idea that we have got to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour," he told Vermont Public Radio. "When I talked about making public colleges and universities tuition-free and lowering student debt, that was another issue that people said was too radical. Well, that's also happening around the country."
But running in 2020, Sanders could be a victim of his own success.
While Sanders provided liberal Democratic primary voters with a sharp contrast to Clinton's political pragmatism in 2016, progressives will have no shortage of candidates to choose from in the increasingly broad and diverse 2020 field.
Most declared Democrats support Sanders' vision of nationalized health care, more robust federal programs and policies, all funded by higher taxes on top income earners.
And in a party that has placed an increasing premium on being more representative of the broader electorate and country in recent years, many other candidates will offer voters the 77-year-old's platform — with the added benefit of youth and diversity.
"My question is, does he provide added value in this campaign for 2020? Or are there a lot of people who sort of carry very similar messages? Does it have to be him? I don't think it does, and I admire him," New Hampshire radio host Arnie Arnesen, a 2016 Sanders supporter, recently told NPR. "I think it's time for us to start creating a new bench. And the new bench isn't old, it shouldn't be white, and it probably shouldn't be male."
Asked by Vermont Public Radio how he will pitch his candidacy in such a diverse and progressive field, Sanders argued, "We have got to look at candidates not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or gender, and not by their age. I think we have got to try to move us toward a nondiscriminatory society that looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for."
There have been hurdles as Sanders prepared to run again in 2020. His campaign has had to answer to charges of sexism and harassment by staffers in 2016, with his former campaign manager acknowledging "a failure." Sanders also had to clarify comments about the role of racism in the 2018 campaign, addressing the losses of gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum in Florida and Stacey Abrams in Georgia.
Sanders took several steps to maintain his national political profile and strengthen his presidential prospects in recent years, including his support for Democratic candidates in 2018.
Frequently criticized by the Clinton campaign during 2016 for ignoring foreign policy, he delivered several high-profile speeches laying out a progressive worldview that attempts to thread the needle between a broad, America-As-World-Police approach to international politics, and President Trump's isolationist views.
Sanders also played a lead role opposing Republican attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and engaged with the Democratic National Committee that famously opposed his 2016 campaign, as revealed in internal emails stolen by Russian hackers and posted to Wikileaks.
In the wake of the 2016 campaign, the DNC changed its presidential nominating process, in part by largely removing party leaders known as "superdelegates" from influencing the selection, a move Sanders supported.

17 June 2016

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD THROUGH KIVA 17JUN16


+Kiva  is helping people rise from poverty around the world. Here are my latest loans, funded mostly by repayments from other loans I have made (had to kick in $4.36). Josephine in Ghana was my first loan and whenever I am on my Kiva page I think of here and hope all is well and her business continues to grow.  If you can please consider making a few loans through Kiva. My initial investment started with a $25.00 gift card from a friend, I added $150.00 over a few months and have been able to loan $1825.00 mostly with repaid loan funds. Check it out...
Loan to Katherine in United States (Activity: Food Production/Sales) $25.00
Loan to Blanca Elizabeth in El Salvador (Activity: Pigs) $25.00
Loan to G.s Las Vegas Arriba Group in Honduras (Activity: Agriculture) $25.00

My loan statistics

MeAverage Kiva user
Total amount lent$1,825.00$347.92
Total amount repaid$1,547.33$288.74
Total amount lost$55.13$4.65
Total amount refunded and expired$50.00$14.04
Outstanding portfolio$172.31$37.26
Delinquency rate13.42%9.05%
Default rate3.24%1.26%
Currency exchange loss rate0.36%0.35%
*Updated as of Jun 17, 2016 12:06 am

My loans by status

All loansFundraisingFundedPaying backRepaidRepaid with currency lossEnded in defaultRefundedExpired
7121
8
(5 delinquent)
485502

My loans

  Sorted by date posted on Kiva
71 loans
LoanCountry
Partner/Trustee
Loan amountLoan termYou loanedPaid back
or amount raised
TeamStatus
Food Production/SalesMatched Loan
 United States
Denisse Rodriguez
$10,000.0036 months$25.00
Jun 17, 2016
$9,775.00 raised
Fundraising
Pigs
 El Salvador
CrediCampo
$1,500.0015 months$25.00
Jun 17, 2016
$1,500.00 raised
Funded
AgricultureMatched Loan
 Honduras
Prisma Honduras, S.A.
$1,925.0012 months$25.00
Jun 17, 2016
$1,900.00 raised
Fundraising
Grocery Store
 Haiti
Entrepreneurs du Monde - Palmis Mikwofinans Sosyal
$1,375.009 months$25.00
Dec 18, 2015
$24.50 repaid to you Repaid with currency loss
Catering
 United States
Accion East
$3,600.0026 months$25.00
Dec 18, 2015
$4.44 repaid to you Paying back
Manufacturing
 Congo (Dem. Rep.)
Hekima, a partner of World Relief
$6,350.00
($1,098.50 in arrears)
8 months$25.00
Jul 18, 2015
$20.68 repaid to you
($4.32 in arrears)
Paying back delinquent
Waste Management
 United States
Accion East
$5,425.0024 months$25.00
Jul 18, 2015
$11.73 repaid to you Paying back
Services
 Malawi
Zoona (Malawi)
$1,200.0024 months$25.00
Jul 18, 2015
$1.99 repaid to you Paying back
Sewing
 Bolivia
IMPRO
$1,025.00
($131.48 in arrears)
20 months$25.00
Jul 18, 2015
$9.78 repaid to you
($3.21 in arrears)
Paying back delinquent
Butcher Shop
 Bolivia
Fundación Pro Mujer
$5,725.0010 months$25.00
Jul 18, 2015
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Weaving
 Ecuador
VisionFund Ecuador
$800.0017 months$25.00
Jul 17, 2014
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Personal Housing Expenses
 Honduras
COMIXMUL
$1,475.00
($733.05 in arrears)
26 months$25.00
Jul 17, 2014
$6.32 repaid to you
($12.42 in arrears)
Paying back delinquent
Food Production/Sales
 Dominican Republic
Esperanza International Dominican Republic, a partner of HOPE International
$3,575.0015 months$25.00
Jul 17, 2014
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Farming
 Mali
Soro Yiriwaso, a partner of Save the Children
$650.0010 months$25.00
Jul 17, 2014
$21.22 repaid to you Repaid with currency loss
Construction Supplies
 Nicaragua
CEPRODEL
$975.0017 months$25.00
Jul 17, 2014
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Market
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$275.00
($17.81 in arrears)
11 months$25.00
Nov 21, 2013
$23.09 repaid to you
($1.62 in arrears)
Paying back delinquent
Fish Selling
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$200.00
($12.44 in arrears)
11 months$25.00
Nov 21, 2013
$23.15 repaid to you
($1.56 in arrears)
Paying back delinquent
Cereals
 South Sudan
Finance South Sudan Limited
$1,250.008 months$25.00
Sep 27, 2013
$7.68 repaid to you Ended in default
Restaurant
 United States
Intersect Fund
$8,875.0027 months$25.00
Sep 27, 2013
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Agriculture
 Peru
Microfinanzas Prisma
$1,075.0010 months$25.00
Aug 17, 2013
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Retail
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$1,350.008 months$25.00
Aug 17, 2013
$24.67 repaid to you Repaid with currency loss
Personal Products Sales
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$425.0011 months$25.00
Aug 17, 2013
$24.46 repaid to you Repaid with currency loss
Animal Sales
 Mexico
VisionFund Mexico
$3,475.0010 months$25.00
Aug 17, 2013
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Carpentry
 Costa Rica
FUDECOSUR
$1,025.0038 months$25.00
May 18, 2013
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Services
 United States
LiftFund
$5,450.0032 months$25.00
May 18, 2013
$25 repaid/refunded to you Expired
Retail
 United States
LiftFund
$5,450.0032 months$25.00
May 18, 2013
$25 repaid/refunded to you Expired
Construction
 Kosovo
KosInvest
$1,975.0014 months$25.00
Mar 15, 2013
$10.77 repaid to you Ended in default
Fish Selling
 South Sudan
Finance South Sudan Limited
$800.008 months$25.00
Feb 27, 2013
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Clothing Sales
 Sierra Leone
Association for Rural Development (ARD)
$700.0012 months$25.00
Feb 11, 2013
$20.58 repaid to you Ended in default
Retail
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$425.0011 months$25.00
Feb 11, 2013
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Milk Sales
 Congo (Dem. Rep.)
Hekima, a partner of World Relief
$3,800.006 months$25.00
Feb 11, 2013
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Clothing Sales
 South Sudan
Finance South Sudan Limited
$1,150.008 months$25.00
Nov 15, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Clothing Sales
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$1,400.0014 months$25.00
Nov 15, 2012
$24.89 repaid to you Repaid with currency loss
Retail
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$350.0011 months$25.00
Sep 26, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Used Clothing
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$425.0011 months$25.00
Sep 26, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Retail
 Haiti
Esperanza International Dominican Republic, a partner of HOPE International
$6,350.008 months$25.00
Sep 26, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Grocery Store
 Haiti
Esperanza International Dominican Republic, a partner of HOPE International
$4,825.008 months$25.00
Sep 26, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Market
 Haiti
Esperanza International Dominican Republic, a partner of HOPE International
$3,925.008 months$25.00
Apr 26, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Market
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$200.0012 months$25.00
Mar 22, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Market
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$250.0012 months$25.00
Mar 22, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Production/Sales
 Mexico
VisionFund Mexico
$625.007 months$25.00
Jan 28, 2012
$23.22 repaid to you Ended in default
Manufacturing
 United States
Accion East
$10,000.0032 months$25.00
Jan 28, 2012
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Retail
 Mexico
VisionFund Mexico
$650.006 months$25.00
Dec 30, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Personal Housing Expenses
 Nicaragua
CEPRODEL
$1,100.0021 months$25.00
Dec 30, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Retail
 Tajikistan
MDO Humo and Partners
$2,200.0026 months$25.00
Dec 30, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Grocery Store
 South Sudan
BRAC South Sudan
$300.007 months$25.00
Nov 10, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Laundry
 United States
Accion East
$10,000.0033 months$25.00
Nov 10, 2011
$14.16 repaid to you Ended in default
Retail
 United States
Accion East
$2,150.0025 months$25.00
Sep 23, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Retail
 Congo (Dem. Rep.)
HOPE DRC, a HOPE International institution
$3,500.006 months$25.00
Sep 23, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Farm Supplies
 Iraq
CHF Vitas Iraq
$3,000.0015 months$25.00
Aug 23, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Grocery Store
 Rwanda
Amasezerano Community Banking S.A.
$1,200.0014 months$25.00
Jul 16, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Spare Parts
 Kenya
Yehu Microfinance Trust
$225.0011 months$25.00
Jun 29, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Production/Sales
 Liberia
BRAC Liberia Microfinance Company Limited
$150.0012 months$25.00
Jun 29, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Production/Sales
 Mexico
CrediComun
$3,350.006 months$25.00
Jun 29, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Retail
 Mexico
VisionFund Mexico
$2,850.006 months$25.00
Apr 21, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Services
 Jordan
National Microfinance Bank
$1,150.0018 months$25.00
Mar 30, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Agriculture
 Georgia
LLC Micro Finance Organization Credo
$1,775.0010 months$25.00
Mar 30, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Textiles
 Congo (Dem. Rep.)
Hekima, a partner of World Relief
$3,625.006 months$25.00
Jan 20, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Rickshaw
 Pakistan
Asasah
$900.0013 months$25.00
Jan 20, 2011
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Farming
 Cambodia
KREDIT Microfinance Institution Plc.
$1,000.0020 months$25.00
Nov 19, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Home Products Sales
 Paraguay
Fundación Paraguaya
$1,250.008 months$25.00
Nov 20, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Restaurant
 South Sudan
BRAC South Sudan
$425.0012 months$25.00
Oct 21, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Production/Sales
 Congo (Dem. Rep.)
Hekima, a partner of World Relief
$5,000.006 months$25.00
Sep 10, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Electrical Goods
 Kyrgyzstan
Bai Tushum Bank CJSC
$1,075.0014 months$25.00
Aug 7, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Production/Sales
 Cameroon
Grounded and Holistic Approach for People's Empowerment (GHAPE)
$325.0014 months$25.00
Jul 9, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Food Production/Sales
 Tajikistan
CSC MDO "IMON International"
$2,200.0014 months$25.00
May 22, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Farming
 Kenya
VisionFund Kenya
$650.008 months$25.00
May 16, 2010
$25 repaid to you Repaid
Milk Sales
 Dominican Republic
Esperanza International Dominican Republic, a partner of HOPE International
$1,200.008 months$50.00
Apr 9, 2010
$50 repaid to you
Repaid
Cosmetics Sales
 Liberia
Local Enterprise Assistance Program (LEAP), a partner of World Hope International and World Relief
$300.005 months$50.00
Mar 11, 2010
$50 repaid to you
Repaid
Farming
 Cambodia
AMK (Angkor Microfinance Kampuchea)
$500.0020 months$25.00
Mar 11, 2010
$25 repaid to you
Repaid
Bakery
 Ghana
Sinapi Aba Trust (SAT)
$725.009 months$25.00
Jan 2, 2010
$25 repaid to you
Repaid