The experiential exercise we did in the classroom was a pivotal learning experience for me. I must mention that I always imagined that kids in Africa have access to similar resources as kids in America, such that there is little or no difference between the two communities. Granted, I knew that many countries in Africa grapple with poverty as third world countries. However, the videos I watched exposed me to the reality that, in these countries, children have limited resources at their disposal for their leisure, compared to those from western nations. That said, I was genuinely surprised and inspired by the fact that even with limited resources, the children were extremely happy playing with the makeshift toys they designed, and sometimes, they just played without and experienced a lot of joy and happiness.
Based on this experiential exercise, I could not help but think about how we, as Christ's followers, respond to poverty. I think that response to poverty is greatly determined by an individual's worldview, influenced by their Christian teachings, as well as their educational knowledge about poverty. I think that people with a limited worldview tend to view poverty as a disgrace and for those experiencing it. Consequently, they develop a negative attitude filled with disdain towards poor people. As a Christian, I think the experiential exercise that exposed me to how children thrive in poverty helped me develop a wider and more insightful perspective on poverty. For instance, I found it necessary to be grateful for the resources one has, considering that there are children elsewhere living in sheer poverty and desire the same life as American children. Poverty exposed the affected to inequalities, such as reducing services, access to quality healthcare, declining neighborhood conditions, and a higher incidence of poor physical health (Eitzen, 2018). Based on this knowledge, I believe a staunch Christian should be eternally grateful for the access to resources they have, and that they should never take them for granted.
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Another perspective Christians may have towards poverty is to rejoice and still serve the Lord because worldly wealth does not guarantee entry into God's kingdom. Being grateful for the resources one has enables the person to share the little they have with others, hence living according to God's word, as written in the book of Hebrews 13:16 (Giglio et al., 2014) . I believe that Christians should perceive poverty as an opportunity to share with those who live within these conditions because God will bless them and uplift the poor. While I know that poverty cannot be eliminated through prayer, I still believe that Christians living in these conditions should continue to trust God to uplift them from the misery.
Eliminating poverty is possible with the application of different solutions. Eitzen & Zinn (2018) suggest government interventions such as creating social security programs for those living under the poverty line, instituting policies on wages that ensure workers receive decent living wages to enhance their living standards, and to provide employment opportunities having stimulated the economy. While these solutions are viable in poverty reduction, incorporating Christ in the solutions would produce more lasting and sustainable results. One way to incorporate Christ in poverty reduction solutions would be to engage people in ministry and offer them a salary as volunteers (French-Holloway, 2020; Cloke et al., 2013) . Religious institutions such as the Church should consider developing programs such as Christian outreach activities, where they help spread the gospel and earn a living at the same time. Another approach would be to engage Christians in employment opportunities in organizations that are Christian in nature, such as bible printers, and offer jobs to those living in poverty to improve their economic conditions. By doing so, Christians improve their living standards and strengthen their faith in Christ.
The experiential exercise added to the knowledge I gained from the textbook in different ways. Firstly, I learned that living in poverty does not always mean that people live extremely sad lives. According to Eitzen & Zinn (2018), those living in poverty have higher chances of falling sick, and sickness makes people poor. However, this experiential exercise helped me understand that poverty and sickness are related, but in many cases, the poor are also healthy. Eitzen & Zinn (2018) also contend that children from poor families tend to give birth earlier and drop out of school earlier than their wealthier counterparts. Watching the two videos as the children were playing, I could not help but wonder if they would be affected by the same trend with poor families. I found myself thinking that I should strive to help anyone in need, within my means. I want to live a life where I glorify God and allow him to use me as a vessel to impact positive change in those who need my help. The videos made me understand that poverty does not make one less human; instead, it reveals how human everyone is, and how deserving everyone is of social resources and amenities to make their lives bearable.
References
Cloke, P., Beaumont, J., & Williams, A. (2013). Working Faith . Paternoster [Imprint].
Eitzen, D., & Zinn, M. (2018). Social problems (14th ed.). Pearson/A and B.
French-Holloway, M. (2020). New meaning-mission fit . Springer.
Giglio, L., Chan, F., Moore, B., Piper, J., Smith, J., & Caine, C. (2014). Passion: The Bright Light of Glory . Thomas Nelson Incorporated.
