Is clean water the solution to poverty? Or is it health care? Education, perhaps?

In this audio episode, Wendy McMahan speaks from years of experience in serving vulnerable communities and observing transformational development through the work of Food for the Hungry.

Journey with Wendy as she unpacks what it means to “consider the poor.” (Psalm 41:1) God’s solution to poverty just might surprise you.

Items mentioned in this episode

• Generous Justice by Tim Keller
• Sponsor a child

More Listening Options

• Right-click to download
• Subscribe in iTunes

Anne Brown reveals the invisible causes of poverty: ideas. Examples from Guatemala, Zimbabwe, and India show the transformational effects that biblical ideas can have on impoverished communities—and the tragic consequences of destructive ideas.

Anne Brown is Regional Manager of Global Engagement at Food for the Hungry. If you enjoyed this episode, listen to Anne share the benefits of having personal relationships with the poor.

Also mentioned in this episode! Audio from Summit 2010: The Truth about Poverty is now online. Check out the workshops below.

The Truth about Child Sponsorship with Jewel Anita Hendrix
The Truth about Physical Poverty with Victor Cortez
The Truth about the Human Soul with Paul Wilson
The Truth about Serving with Steve Corbett
The Truth about Prayer with Darryl Delhousaye
International Staff Panel with FH field staff

More listening options for this episode:
Right click to download
Subscribe in iTunes

World AIDS Day is December 1, 2009. In this interview, Carolyn Wetzel shares the story of 36 African women who turned away from prostitution when they were shown a way out.

Carolyn Wetzel is Health Programs Coordinator for Food for the Hungry. She lives in Washington, D.C.

More listening options:
Right-click to download
Subscribe in iTunes

Change for Life is a new way to bring hope to those suffering from the AIDS crisis, one of the most severe health problems the world has ever faced.

When you get involved with Change for Life, Food for the Hungry will provide your church, Sunday School class, workplace or other group with small containers to collect spare coins for six weeks. As the containers fill up, the accumulation of pocket change will fund programs like the one Carolyn discussed on today’s episode. Get started here.

HIV/AIDS is not only a subject of global concern–it’s an issue embodied by real people every day. In this interview, Kim Buttonow tells the story of a teenager named Claire and the courageous woman who saved her life.

Kim Buttonow is HIV/AIDS Programs Coordinator for Food for the Hungry. Based in Washington, D.C., Kim has worked with Food for the Hungry in countries around the world since 2001.

More listening options:
Right-click to download
Subscribe in iTunes

Change for Life is a new way to bring hope to those suffering from the AIDS crisis, one of the most severe health problems the world has ever faced.

When you get involved with Change for Life, Food for the Hungry will provide your church, Sunday School class, workplace or other group with small containers to collect spare coins for six weeks. As the containers fill up, the accumulation of pocket change will fund the programs that Kim discussed on today’s episode. Get started here.

The truth about H1N1 Flu, also known as Swine Flu. Carolyn Wetzel explains the pandemic threat, separating hype from real concerns, and analyzes the threat to the developing world. For news on pandemic flu, visit the World Health Organization, the United Nations influenza site, and the US government site.

Carolyn Wetzel is Health Programs Coordinator at Food for the Hungry.

More listening options:
Right-click to download.
Subscribe in iTunes.

Questions and answers about gifts in kind. Are handouts ever appropriate in community development?

Andrew Crawford and Cameron Calabrese work for Gifts in Kind Resources at Food for the Hungry, a department that handles non-cash items going to other countries. In this interview we discuss if and when “handouts” are appropriate, a case study in charging a small amount rather than offering a handout, and Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda. Andrew and Cameron ask, “When was the last time you thought about Bangladesh?”

E-mail Cameron to learn more about shipping costs.

More listening options:
Right-click to download.
Subscribe in iTunes.

One billion people worldwide are overweight or obese, while another billion are hungry. Alisa Keeton shares her thoughts on one link between obesity and poverty.

Alisa Keeton is the creator of Weigh Less to Feed More. She credits Bryant Myers’ Walking with the Poor for shaping her discussion of poverty.

More listening options:
Right-click to download.
Subscribe in iTunes.

Two billion people worldwide are affected by parasitic worms. These worms keep children’s bodies from absorbing the nutrients they need from the food they consume, affecting physical and intellectual development. In this interview, Karen Neiswender discusses the combination of interventions needed for children infected by worms: treatment, education and prevention.

Karen Neiswender provides technical support and training in the area of health to Food for the Hungry’s Child Development Program staff.  She develops health education curricula for FH staff to use with school age children.  Karen also collaborates with a Health Ministry Services Team to provide necessary support to other FH health programs.  Previously, Karen served as a Hunger Corps missionary for over four years in Guatemala, working with children and their families at the community level.  Karen’s professional background is in nursing and public health, focusing on maternal and child health.

More listening options:
Right-click to download.
Subscribe in iTunes.

We often hear talk about how medications and education can fight HIV/AIDS, but how much do we hear about counseling as a cure? Mitzi Hanold shares a counseling technique that is preventing HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Learn more about Motivational Interviewing.

Mitzi Hanold is HIV Training and Curricula Specialist for Food for the Hungry. She is involved with government-funded HIV prevention programs in Haiti, Nigeria, Mozambique and Ethiopia.

More listening options:
Right-click to download.
Subscribe in iTunes.

Carolyn Wetzel shares a tool called the Care Group Model, which mobilizes community members in developing communities to share health information with one another. It’s a low-cost, highly effective, far-reaching way to save children’s lives. Carolyn also discusses the biblical truths communicated by the innate structure of care groups.

Watch a PowerPoint presentation describing care groups.

Carolyn Wetzel is Health and Nutrition Programs Coordinator at Food for the Hungry.

More listening options:
Right-click to download.
Subscribe in iTunes.