Calvin College

CALVIN - Minds in the Making

Faith & International Development Conference

Conference

Breakout Session #5

Sat, Feb 7: 3.00-4.00pm

 

The Relationship between Environmental Degradation and Poverty

  • Brad Lewis, Development Officer, Floresta USA Inc.

There is a clear relationship between environmental degradation and economic opportunities in much of the world, particularly in rural areas. From watershed reforestation to sustainable agroforestry, come learn more about these connections, the challenges they create, and what people can do to overcome this issues.

 

Transformational Advocacy: Engaging your Whole Life in your Real Life

  • Julie Lunde, Faith and Justice Fellow, World Vision Acting on AIDS

How does advocacy look after college? What can you start now and keep up with after you leave school? What about when your job isn't at a non-profit? Is post-graduate advocacy really just for Òprofessional activistsÓ? Absolutely not! Acting on AIDS strives for advocacy that does more than change social structures. We're reaching for holistic advocacy that will change the advocates themselves, from the inside, out. Come and discuss what transformational advocacy means in your life, engaging the political, social, spiritual, and economic arenasÉ both right now and no matter what you're planning to do after graduation!

 

Business as Mission for a World without Poverty

  • Doug Seebeck, Executive Director, Partners Worldwide
  • Greg Matney, Partnership Facilitator, Partners Worldwide

Partners Worldwide focuses on poverty elimination through business development and spiritual transformation, targeting those in the community most able to impact their community. Conventional microfinance focuses on enabling the poorest of a poor in a country. We view the future of development as a shift away from microfinance, and a move towards empowering small and medium entrepreneurs. These individuals have the greatest ability to positively affect their community by creating wealth and jobs. This session will cover Partners Worldwide's vision of business as ministry for a world without poverty and our organization's expansion to over 20 countries around the world.

 

Adventure Education and Service-Learning as Tools for Social Capital Development

  • Janelle Vandergrift, New Horizons Foundation
  • Daniel Heffner, New Horizons Foundation

The New Horizons Foundation (NHF) is a faith based NGO in Romania that combines adventure education and serving learning in unique youth development programs called Via_a and IMPACT. The communist regime in Romania decimated interpersonal trust, the capacity for self organization, community service and the moral and civic values that make cooperation for the common good possible. By empowering youth and building social capital through experiential education methods, NHF can help improve Romania's civic culture.

 

Development: What's God Gotta Do With It?

  • Dave Larson, Medical Teams International

Should our faith merely motivate us to serve others ("Deed"), or should it be integrated into our service? Should some kind of effective proclamation of the Good News ("Word") be part and parcel of what we are living out when we act as God's Hands and Feet in a needy world? Furthermore, what's "Need"? Is it just physical, material poverty, or does it go deeper than that? This presentation and discussion will argue that truly transformational development must include effective integration of Christian Witness that is appropriate to the cultural/context/spiritual soil, and will present Ten Suggestions for achieving such.

 

Cheap Clean Water: Local Empowerment and Business Development Worldwide

  • Scott Rumpsa, Franchise Program Manager, Aqua Clara International

Aqua Clara International exists to aid in the establishment of sustainable locally owned businesses that provide affordable, clean water for children and families worldwide. AC has developed simple, single-family point-of-use water purification systems that can be constructed by local craftspeople with local materials. The standard AC Water Purifier can be constructed o a variety of different local materials, has no moving parts, requires no power, has an estimated life of 10+ years, and passes all W.H.O. water purity standards.

 

Connecting Two Worlds: How Can YOU Be Involved in Transformational Development?

  • A Panel of Staff from Food for the Hungry

Food for the Hungry's vision is about more than doing international relief & development. By God's grace, we seek to mobilize a movement of young people as both agents of transformation and recipients of transformation through engagement across the international ministry of Food for the Hungry. We want to build upon your passion for Transformational Development by empowering you with multiple entry points to get plugged in to what God is doing globally. We offer a semester study abroad program (focused on International Development), Internships, and 3 year field assignments. Come to our panel discussion to learn more about these opportunities and the vision of Food for the Hungry.

 

Volunteers Serving with Local Partners

  • Jan Siemens, MCC Human Resources and Mary Stata, MCC Washington office legislative assistant

Join people around the world in working with local partners to build sustainable futures! Volunteers with Mennonite Central Committee work alongside local partners, in over 50 countries, in the areas of education, health, agriculture, community development, and peace building. Listen to the stories of an MCCer and discover how your interests and skills may fit with a life-changing MCC assignment.

 

When Christian Organizations Partner with non-Christian Institutions: Processes, Principles, Prospects - Case Studies from Kosovo, Indonesia and Cambodia

  • Milton Amayun, Vice President of Programs, International Aid
  • Alan Talens, Community Health Program Director, International Aid
  • Billy Teninty, Medical Equipment Training Director, International Aid,
  • Matteah Reppart, Program Management Information Systems Manager, International Aid

The most significant humanitarian emergencies during the last three decades have been in non-Christian environments. In a globalized world, when Christian organizations respond to major disasters, they often find the most suitable partners in institutions that are not of the same faith. These partnerships bring risks and have the potential to generate tension. At the same time, there are opportunities that could be easily overlooked. International Aid presents two case studies: one from Kosovo, and one from Indonesia. The moderator will also briefly review the results of Christian FBO involvement in Cambodia after three decades.

 

Partnerships in Development: Can the Donor/Recipient Relationship be Overcome?

  • Prof. David Bronkema, Director of International Development Programs, Eastern University

This session will look at the inherent tension in development caused by the fact that, usually, there is a chasm between the resources that partners from the North and South bring to the table. It will look at the implications of this tension, and suggest methods for addressing it, if not overcoming it completely.

 

International Development through NGO Collaboration and Cooperation in Nicaragua

  • Jim Tuinstra, Team Leader, Partners Worldwide

Partners Worldwide encourages Christian businesspeople to use their business skills in areas that lack employment to further local businesses development and grow jobs. Partners Worldwide works with a group of Christian agencies in Nicaragua through the Nehemiah Center. The project of focus is the development of water filters to be used as a viable business effort in cooperation with various international groups, such as Aqua Clara and Now 4 Life. In addition to creating jobs, the project hopes to improve water quality and reduce child mortality due to impure water.

 

Short-term Missions: Life-Changing or Momentary High?

  • Kurt Ver Beek, Vice President, Association for a More Just Society

This session will look at all of the recent research on Short-term mission and study abroad to try and answer the question about whether Short-term missions has a lasting positive impact on the lives of the "hosts" and the "missionaries." We will also discuss ways to make STM trips better and how these lessons can be applied to development work and our lives in general.