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 [...]

I’ve got an iPhone and an Apple mini-mac.  Have you ever unwrapped a new, glistening, dripping-with-hotness Apple product? But I’ve been worried by what I’m hearing about them (see Caleb’s recent post).  I’ve heard that the casing for the new iPads already have a space ready for rear-facing cameras in the slightly-higher-retail-priced models to be put before our lusting eyes in the near, perfectly-timed future… Evil. But it’s not just Apple or other huge, handcuffed-by-dividend-production-goals [...]

TEAR Fund Advocate Phil Ryburn describes his recent trip to India, particularly his time with Saahasee and Freeset.

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema. There is a great Christian tradition that is often carried out this time of year in the lead up to Easter. That tradition involves three practices – prayer, fasting and giving. Each of those three [...]

The government is set to scrap Te Hurihanga (The Turning Point), a programme aimed at reforming our worst young male offenders aged 14-17yrs. The programme was launched in 2007 and has so far cost $5 million to establish and run since then. Te Hurihanga is a bicultural programme and Former Youth Court Judge Carolyn Henwood who developed the programme has said that nothing else like it exists in the world. This is new and thus, [...]

Greetings from the republic of Aotearoa – a progressive and peaceful nation in the south Pacific which leads the world in caring for its multi racial populace and its natural environment. Yeah, right!  How sad that this statement is so far from the truth. Like so many nations Aotearoa has a shameful legacy of colonialism. The Maori people were cheated and robbed of their land, their culture was repressed and their race nearly destroyed. When [...]

Joy Davidson talks about her experiences growing up in Zimbabwe, the changes she experienced and the situation for the people living there now.

Every year TEAR Fund’s Christmas Focus appeal focuses on a particularly needy area of the world.  In 2007 the focus was Darfur.  Last year it was Nepal with a particular emphasis on slave trafficking.  This year it’s Zimbabwe – which on the failed states index – runs a close second to Somalia as the most crippled country in the world.

Drew interviews Armin Chermue about her experiences growing up as a Compassion sponsored child in a remote, impoverished hill village in Thailand.

Humans are mad.  There’s no question about it – as a species we are certifiably insane.  When aliens jump in their UFOs for a joy ride, I’m sure they swing by Earth, just to have a laugh at the crazy antics of the dominant species… or perhaps they discuss our self destruction with horrified bemusement.