A few weeks ago as I was paddling across Purakanui inlet in a kayak – which was rapidly trying to become a submarine -  I passed a pleasant dad in a dingy rowing his two little daughters by the old boat sheds.  We chatted a bit, there on the water and it turned out that “Brian” and his family were from Christchurch.  Their house had been rendered uninhabitable by the earthquakes.  Some kind soul had [...]

This quote came into my email inbox this morning thanks to the Sojourners voice of the day: I much prefer a person who can love God enough to take a handout of bread, to a person who can give a hundred dollars for God’s sake. … The poor [one], by taking the handout, gets closer to God than [the one] who gave the one hundred dollars for God’s sake. Meister Eckhart It’s an interesting quote [...]

Global leaders are gathering to ‘build political momentum for nutrition efforts that will help save the lives of at least 1 million children annually’ as they seek to fight child hunger. The headline at Alertnet reads: Global Leaders Issue Declaration to End Child Hunger My immediate thought after seeing the headline was: They can’t eat your declaration! World leaders have been making commitments, declarations and agreements around extreme poverty issues for decades. Some have been [...]

The latest edition of New Internationalist carries a solid article on the re-emergence of the far right in European politics. With consistent, popularized messaging in a time when people’s fears can be easily preyed upon they have managed to claw their way back into the mainstream political scene to the point where larger parties are following some of their rhetoric to maintain their grip on power. The distrust of the far right in European politics stems back [...]

Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death for children under five in the developing world. Because of this, the recent announcement by a group of leading pharmaceutical firms, including UK based GlaxoSmithKline, to slash the price of Rotavirus vaccinations in the developing world is a welcome announcement. Al Jazeera has reported the story and Paul Cook, head of Advocacy for Tearfund UK, was interviewed about the announcement. Paul is a great guy and did a [...]

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the symposium on conflict photography as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography. I’m not well versed in the personalities who work in this area but after hearing from a few of them I’m staggered that I got to hear them for free – especially Tim Page. His work and experience are mind blowing. I plan on doing a post for each of the  three symposium speakers I [...]

As a keen amateur photographer I’m very interested in the Auckland Festival of Photography and this year one of the areas it touches on has really caught my attention as it connects with my wider work – conflict photography. Conflict photography is a minefield of ethical discussion as it documents everything from protests to war zones to the aftermath of conflict. It demands questions about both the place of the photographer in those things and [...]

The work of justice is part of the very DNA of Christianity. I define justice here as the work of making things ‘right’ where ‘right’ is determined by God’s purposes for the world. Justice, in this understanding, is almost interchangeable with the idea of righteousness – right living. Here righteousness is not simply about living out a narrow moral code, it is a life lived amongst the brokenness of the world in the many forms [...]

With ‘Austerity’ being the buzz term for the economic shifts currently underway in the ‘developed’ world, it is worth keeping in mind the words of the prophet Isaiah and allow them to challenge our response to the changes taking place to national budgets around the world: Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims— Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, exploiting defenseless widows, [...]

To use a very American expression – I feel conflicted about the USA. I have many American friends and most of the Americans I’ve met have been open hearted, charming people. The US keeps me entertained with movies, TV, books and music. I have America to thank for much of the technology I enjoy. And as kiwis we have to thank America’s involvement in WW2 for our existence as a free country.