There are many hungry people out there that have been left like that due to famines and other problems. Tear Fund helps them to get fed by bringing food to the parts of country that need it. Even if there isn’t enough food to give big portions it is still something to at least keep them alive. Some Tear Fund workers stay there and look after people that have become too weak and help them until they get better. There’s a passage in John’s gospel which shows how Jesus fed a big crowd of 5 000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. He takes action even though the situation looks impossible. This story encourages Christians to respond in the same way when faced with the same problems. Even though it seems impossible they give what they can to help as much as they can. In this way they are fulfilling their dream of following in the example of Jesus and becoming more like him.
Tear Fund is not just people being religious towards God but also caring for people in need and helping them. Jesus said that loving God and loving people can't be separated, and that loving means action. It isn’t enough just to feel; you have to act on that good feeling. Jesus also said that you should give to people that are in need and not publicly but in private, because if you do it publicly for the praise that you will receive, the motive is not pure. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money but it has to mean something to the giver. Tear Fund encourages people that have wealth to help people that are in need. Christians try to do all these things because they feel that if Jesus gave his life for them then they should do all they can to repay him. They should give their lives for their brothers, do the most they possibly can to help the people who are less fortunate than themselves. Helping people in difficult situations goes a long way and when you are in need someone will help you like you have once done yourself.
Tear Fund finds sponsors for children that are the neediest in the community. The children are usually the ones that don’t even have the basics of food, clothes and healthcare. Giving is essential in Christianity. The Bible teaches that giving makes us happier than receiving. Because God has given us everything we should be expected to give all we got too. We come across a lot of needy people; they can be all over the world, near and far away. One way we can get closer to them is by sponsoring them, usually children are most common to be sponsored. A sponsor is given a child that they support by sending them money each months to help them with their education and the basics for survival. The sponsor and the child are able to write to each other and the sponsor gets a picture of the child they are supporting. They also get reports from schools to show them how the child is progressing with their help. Usually when the child grows up they end up helping the rest of their community by providing some sort of service. Commitment in giving is important because it helps Christians to get involved with people they support on a much closer basis. Sharing is also important between Christians, because Jesus and his disciples shared everything equally. This is used to demonstrate of how God could restore trust in people’s relationships. In the Early Church people helped each other out a lot and everyone always shared with everybody else what they had. It became a way of life for them as they were interested in and committed to each other to such extent that they met each other’s needs fully. When one church was struck by a famine and people all around were suffering from starvation, the other church sent a generous donation to them, which helped people to get through the difficult time. This worked just like Tearcraft does now; it encouraged Christians to share their wealth with the poorer people.
To raise money, Tear Fund makes adverts and posters to get the public’s attention. Some are shocking images of starving children and families, which scares people in to donating money. The advantage of this method is that people respond quickly just to get the image off their screens, but they aren’t long-term commitment responses. The other way would be not to scare people quite so much but instead explain about the serious problems and how they could help to improve them. This is the way Tear Fund prefers to use, as it believes in the educational approach. The money raised goes on to help give aid and make life of the unfortunate a little bit easier.
Tear Fund helps to install wells in poor countries as a clean supply of water makes a lot of difference. EFICOR is one of Tear Fund’s partners; it is them that do the drilling. In order to get the heavy drilling vehicles into some villages, roads have to be built, as the trucks can't go far from the main road. Before they start to drill the men pray and after they start their job. When they hit water it comes gushing out and then a pump is inserted for the clean water to become available. If there isn’t enough clean water for everybody, problems could arise. The wealthier people might try to control the water supply and deprive poorer people of water. Another problem could be that the well is too far away and the children and young parents are getting too exhausted because of the walk they have to make there and back. There have been a few incidents concerning these exact problems. A girl called Munjula had to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning just to get enough water to do her daily jobs
Tearcraft is a magazine with all the works of the Third world country’s people. The aim is not just to sell the products but supply jobs for the people that can't find anywhere they are. This is usually for the skilled craftsmen and women that make things like carpets etc. Tearcraft supports a range of small cottage industries by marketing their products in the U.K. the groups that produce the crafts are linked with the church, ensuring that the workers get a fair wage as well as the distributors.
Done By Diana Rough
11L1
