So, all the news about desperate refugees drowning and/or being denied a place to live has generated some interesting conversations. On the one hand, there is great sentiment and pity for the plight of the latest set to make the news, but there is ambivalence over inviting them into our homes or having them supported by our tax dollars.

What bothers me about the media frenzy over some sad pictures of drowning children is that they are not the only ones. On any given day there are millions of people displaced as the result of war, genocide, plagues and natural disasters. Where's the sentiment for them? Where is the impetus to actually change the causes of their woes? Sending a few dollars to the Red Cross or shipping some medical supplies or blankets or knitted hats is only treating the symptoms of a much greater dis-ease.

When asked what the Baháí Faith is doing for refugees, I have to back up a step or two and say both that the religion is too new to have the resources to feed millions of homeless people. AND while there are many socio-economic development projects Bahá'ís around the world are designing and supporting, the main purpose is not just meeting the material needs. Developing the capacities of those being helped through education and virtues training, plus providing a safe arena to express those new behaviors, will go far towards prevention for the future.

Here's the latest article from the Baha'i site at BellaOnline.com.

Do Baha'is feed the poor?
I was asked recently whether the Bahá'í Faith has social outreach programs for the needy, and this is how I answered.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art301753.asp

Do visit bahai.bellaonline.com for more articles on ways to change the world through improved parenting, education, and tools for character building, plus links to the sacred texts of the Bahá'í Faith. You don't have to rely on only my understanding, when you can go straight to the source!

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Cheryll Schuette, Baha'i Editor
http://bahai.bellaonline.com

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