Kassel – Doing soup kitchens in hopes of alleviating need is not enough. That’s the conviction of the Estonian Helle Liht (Prague), Co-Coordinator of an umbrella relief organisation known as European Baptist Aid. It is more important to be a neighbour to the poor, she stated in a lecture entitled Understanding Poverty in a Changing Society held recently in Kassel under auspices of German Baptist Aid, a wing of the Federation of Evangelical-Free Churches. Persons in need dare not be reduced to statistics and mere objects of social programmes. ‘When the poor are reduced from names to abstractions, their poverty becomes even greater,’ - Liht stated. ‘We talk about 200 homeless people coming to a soup kitchen, and we feel good about feeding them. We have done something good. But is soup the only thing that can help them change their lives?’ It is more important to befriend the aid recipient in hopes of overcoming the barrier between giver and receiver.

Liht noted that the poor are often impoverished because they have been ‘robbed’ by the social structures in many post-Communist areas. This is true also for the victims of armed conflict, be it in Georgia, the Balkans or the Middle East. Others are poor for ‘historical’ reasons. Those born into an impoverished family will have a difficult time breaking free from that ‘class’. Citing the story of the Good Samaritan, Liht assured that Christians should consider becoming a neighbour to needy persons whom they do not yet know personally.

The speaker quoted a British expert on development who refers to six dimensions of poverty: material poverty, physical weakness, isolation, vulnerability, powerlessness and spiritual poverty. Those desiring to help another need to address all six of these dimensions. Aiding those in need ‘builds a community in which God can exercise his power - the power of love which crosses boundaries and builds relationships.’

Rev. Gunnar Bremer (Brackenheim), a staff member of the German Federation’s department for mission and head of German Baptist Aid, confirmed that Helle Liht’s statements reflected the basic tenets of their aid programme. ‘That’s the approach we are trying to realise,’ - he stated. ‘Rather than passing out alms, we want to encourage sustainable projects developed on a partnership basis.’

German Baptist Aid supports 56 projects with a total budget of approximately 450.000 euros for 2010. Helle Liht’s colleague is Birgit Fischer (Elstal), Coordinator of European Baptist Aid.