Amon and the MDG's

Sunday September 26th, Amos 6: 1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, 4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. The western world is in the midst of a slow recovery after thirty years of a move toward deregulation and free market economy. Even though the results were devastating for most of the world’s economy in general it has been particularly devastating for the poorest among us. Melinda Gates just spoke at the TEDxChange conference (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/tedxchange/Pages/tedxchange-2010.aspx) related to the Millennium Development Goals (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG%20Report%202010%20En%20r15%20-low%20res%2020100615%20-.pdf) and was asked a question about how she got involved in the MDG’s and the subsequent development of the Gates Foundation. She told the story of she and Bill Gates on a safari in Africa during their engagement. Along side the road they were driving on in their jeep there were women walking, carrying huge loads on their heads, barefoot, and often with a baby on their back and one on the way. Sometimes men were walking too but with sandals on their feet and smoking. Bill encouraged her to follow her heart while he crunched the data. Where her heart and the data lead was a move away from the billions yet to be made in the computer industry and into the billions that could be helped by putting their focus and energies in that direction. In the last thirty years the free market push has created many billionaires in this world. It has also created billions living and dying in extreme poverty and hopelessness. There are more than enough lying on their beds inlaid with ivory and feasting on choice lambs and fatted calves. The free market cry of let me have my money and I will know best how to help people and be generous rings hollow in a world in increased destitute death. There are a few examples however where the data and the heart lead us to other conclusions. We don’t have to be computer billionaires to support the MDG’s and ask those who would represent us in the political sphere where they stand on support for the MDG’s and vote accordingly.

The Millennium goals are:
• 1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• 2) Achieve universal primary education
• 3) Promote gender equality and empower women
• 4) Reduce child mortality
• 5) Improve maternal health
• 6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• 7) Ensure environmental sustainability
• 8) Develop a global partnership for development