Ratatouille Wisdom

The Least of These
A Many Hands for Haiti feeding program based on James 1:27
Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the father, is this:  Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
 

We have been reading the book “Walking with the Poor” by Bryant Myers.  In the book he references work by Amartya Sen and says: 

For the prophets, the test of the functioning of society and governing of the powerful was the well-being of widows, orphans and aliens.  If the poorest can function, than society is functioning too.  But surely there is more than survival in God’s intent for human beings.  Sen argues that to experience human well-being we must have the freedom to choose what we wish or are called to become and have the means to get there. …to seek functionings in their world that the people themselves deem valuable.

How do we help to bring about that freedom and responsibility to act and create.  Human well-being is not just an economic problem.  In what ways can we assist in the ethics and empowerment area to foster creativity and discovery with our Haitian brothers and sisters? 

Not too long before we left for Haiti, we were sitting with our grandson, Oliver, watching the movie Ratatouille.  There is a scene where Remy, the curious rat who preferred to eat and cook human cuisine, makes the comment, “I like humans, they’re not just focused on survival.  They discover and create.”  It made us think of how in Haiti, sometimes life is just about survival, but what about our capacity to pursue all God’s riches?

Myers in his book also states:

The understanding of and the pursuit of well-being is to come from the poor themselves.

We, as Americans, can come with some preconceived notions about ways of “fixing” some of the problems of poverty with our Western solutions.  As we are here, now, experiencing the Haitian life each day,  our hope is that we can be agents of empowerment to help the people here pursue happiness as they determine.  To help in the understanding that true freedom comes only from Jesus. 

Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8: 34-36

This is one of our biggest tasks here, to seek God’s wisdom on how we can aid in the spiritual development with the staff and greater community that we are part of.  With a growing understanding in Christ, will come the freedom to discover what true well-being is and how to increase it.

Gyrlene and here grandma on laundry day.