When Helping Hurts: a book review

The popularized slogan to “Make Poverty History” is given a starting point through the insightful research and understanding that comes from this new book, When Helping Hurts.  If you want to engage in poverty alleviation, if you want to do something for the homeless man that sits on the corner of First and Main, if you want to be a part of eradicating extreme poverty on an international level, this is the first book you need to pick up.

 

It begins with a practical concern:  that our efforts to alleviate poverty can harm more than help the poor if we don’t respond with a more discerning approach.  By offering a theological framework from scripture, the reader is able to see how every Christian is called to engage in poverty alleviation at some level.

 

Quickly following this chapter comes a paradigm shift in how poverty is defined.  The authors offer a holistic model that addresses poverty in the context of spiritual intimacy, community, being, and stewardship.   It is a very formative concept that speaks directly towards how one chooses to address the needs of the poor.

 

The rest of the book is dedicated to challenging our presuppositions about how to properly diagnose a situation in the context of the poor.  A situation calls for one of three responses:  relief, rehabilitation, or development.  A majority of mission teams and organizations use relief as their answer to poverty alleviation.  However, several domestic and international examples are used to reveal that relief is rarely what the poor need.  The following chapters then begin to unpack what it looks like to truly work with the poor and participate in transformational development that works over the long haul.

 

Throughout the book, there are excellent case studies presented to the reader to make the principles more tangible and transferable.  The book can be used for personal or group study as the questions are accessible to a small group setting. 

 

In a world where social justice is part of mainstream culture, it is important that caution is taken and efforts towards poverty alleviation are met with what the current research tells us is the most effective methodology.  When Helping Hurts will steer you down the right path so that your genuine efforts do not produce more harm than help in the long run. 

 

Comments

[Grace]

Thanks for the book review! I posted a link to it on the Chalmers facebook and twitter pages!

[Air Jordans]

Thank you for all the great posts from last year! I look forward to reading your blog, because they are always full of information that I can put to use. Thank you again, and God bless you in future.

[acai berry properties]

why you don't share another review with us !