The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (www.crwrc.org) is working with an unprecedented, action-based alliance of Christians, churches, and world-class poverty-fighting organizations to reduce the number of people who live on US$1.25 a day to less than 1% of the world’s population by 2035.

 

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (www.crwrc.org) is working with an unprecedented, action-based alliance of Christians, churches, and world-class poverty-fighting organizations to reduce the number of people who live on US$1.25 a day to less than 1% of the world’s population by 2035.

CRWRC, a mainline Protestant organization based in Michigan and Ontario, brings to the 58: alliance fifty years of experience in international community development. In 2010, CRWRC worked in 26 of the world’s poorest countries, assisting national organizations through sustainable programs in agriculture, adult literacy, primary health, income generation, and leadership development that are improving the lives of more than a million people. CRWRC contributes solid on-the-ground expertise, innovation, and an expanding network of global partners to the 58: movement.

“A critical component to ending poverty is building up local communities and churches in those communities,” says CRWRC director Andrew Ryskamp. “If this is well done, even the 12 million children orphaned by AIDS will be cared for. We love it when the church and community come together to say, ‘We can look to the future now because our children aren’t dying anymore!”

Live 58: seeks to reduce global poverty by helping developing countries build a broad range of capital—natural, human, social, financial, and leadership—and combining them with fair access to markets that can stimulate growth. The strategy’s “engines of investment” combine the work of three societal sectors–government, business, and faith-based structures—as for the strategic framework. The alliance’s goal to reduce extreme poverty from 26% in 2005 to 1% in 2035 is based in part based on World Bank Data that indicates a 24% drop in the number of people living in extreme poverty from 1981to 2005. (2009 World Development Indicators, World Bank)

In his recent book, Fast Living, author Scott Todd, who is chairman of North America’s largest network of religious relief and development organizations and senior advisor to Compassion International, says that his inspiration for working toward reducing extreme global poverty below 1% by 2035 came out of the death of a 12-year-old Tanzanian girl, named Jacqueline, from AIDS. Since then, Todd says that not only is ending poverty possible, it’s possible in the next generation—if we are willing to raise our expectations and “make it so.”

The Live 58: name is a reference to a chapter in the Old Testament of the Bible, Isaiah 58, in which God calls on the people of Israel to participate in a “true fast” that involves humility, sacrifice, and action on behalf of people in extreme poverty. This call to action, aimed at a broad spectrum of Christian denominations and communities, is the heart of the 58: movement which seeks to “amplify the voice of a thousand ordinary prophets (like the Biblical figure Isaiah) to inspire Christ-centered, poverty -eradicating action through world-class Christian organizations.”

CRWRC, with 50 years of experience in international community development, is one of ten anti-poverty organizations that comprise the 58: Council. The Council members’ expertise also includes child and leadership development, food security, micro-enterprise development, justice for victims of violent oppression, water access, aid and policy, environmental stewardship, and disaster relief.

To donate financially to Care for AIDS Orphans through CRWRC, click here.

Members of the press wishing to interview CRWRC director Andrew Ryskamp about CRWRC’s role in Live 58:, call cell 616-498-0816. For scheduling, or more information about CRWRC’s work in community development, disaster relief, and justice education around the world, call CRWRC media contact Beth DeGraff at 616-648-7821 or 1-800-55-CRWRC (EST).

To find out more about 58: or join the movement, go to www.live58.org.