Tobacco -- Death or Development?

Last Thursday I went with two other girls to a village located about 3 hours north of Chisinau. Our purpose was to interview a potential client for a work project. If chosen, they would receive a relatively large loan with very low interest. We would also use the information gathered to write a business plan in order to contribute to the organizational structure of their company. The company we visited was an agricultural business that raised many different types of fruits, vegetables, and tobacco. They not only planted fields, but also owned 8 greenhouses. If the loan was given, the greenhouses could be covered with a type of plastic that will allow them to obtain heat, lighting, and water. They would then be able to produce some crops year-round. The company currently employs over 150 people with seasonal work. If they would be able to cover these greenhouses, they would not only increase revenue, but would also be able to employ more workers year-round. This would contribute greatly to the economic development of the village. Other positive community projects are also being started by this company. One of those projects is a kindergarten for their employee’s children.

The owners took us on a tour of their greenhouses. They also took us to see the tobacco huts where tobacco was hung to dry. Middle aged women that looked much older than their numerical age suggested sat in dirt with tobacco leaves surrounding them. In their left hand they held what looked look a knitting needle with a heavy string attached. With their right hand they picked up a tobacco leaf and pierced it with the large needle. This mind-numbing action was repeated until the string was covered with tobacco leaves the width of the hut – one strand down and a few more months’ worth of string to go.

It caused me to ask questions I’d thought about before, but hadn't experienced before. There were the obvious questions that first come to mind regarding working conditions, but there were other questions that were not so obvious. First of all, even if these women were paid a respectable wage, how do I feel about the production of tobacco? Coming from a country where the deadly effects of cigarette addiction are understood at a very young age, a moral dilemma arises. Most of us would agree that creating jobs by drugs or prostitution would not be worth the repercussions. But what about tobacco? Is it okay to loan money to a company who contributes greatly to a mass amount of cancer and death? Or is it better to make cigarettes so that many women can be employed and put food on the table for the young children that are waiting at home? With Moldova’s bad economic state in mind, I also wondered if a county’s economic development and growth outweighs the repercussion of tobacco's effects.

I spotted another group of women further down the hut. The translator and I walked down the row. I proceeded to ask about their family. All of them had children. One of the women spoke up proudly and said, “My oldest daughter is going to college in Chisinau.” After this short conversation we walked back to where the others were standing. I was curious to how much these women made. I asked the owner what the wages for this manual labor were. She proceeded to tell me that the women worked 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and got paid 1000 lei a month (about $100 a month).

(10 hours a day)(6 days a week)(4 weeks a month) = 240 hours/month
$100 a month/ 240 hours per month = about $0.42 per hour.

After returning home and thinking about this for a while, the number haunted me. I was almost mad at the owner that she would want a loan to employ more people at this rate. It bothered me so much that I went and talked to some of my friends about the numbers. What frightened me more was their response. “Oh yeah, that’s about average for working in the village,” they responded without any hint of concern in their voice. They proceeded to tell me that $100 a month is what respected village teachers make. I didn’t know what to say. In the past I had seen Moldova’s GPD per capita sitting at $2,500. Compared to USA’s $47,000, the numbers were shocking. Now seeing it in action was much more heavy and intense. I wondered if this would be considered “sweat-shop” wages. I finally decided they were not, but this got me thinking about more sticky situations regarding economic development. If there is no minimum wage, where is the line drawn between “helping people gain an income and increasing community development” and “taking advantage of cheap labor and destroying their humanity”? Thinking further, I also wondered if it is better to cut one person’s wage in half so that two people can hold jobs even if it does mean bending over that fine line. Think about the economic crisis in the states. For example, you have a job and your brother is struggling with unemployment. Would you rather get paid $20 an hour and your brother get paid nothing or both be employed and each receive $10 an hour? I know this is not the best example considering $10 an hour is nothing like splitting $0.42 between two, but I still think it is good to think about. I believe that thinking about examples like these will lead us to think about other situations regarding poverty, hunger, and other social injustices. It will lead us to think about the situations that break God's heart while breaking God's people.

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Cultural Christianity

For those of you who don’t know yet…the real world isn’t a small mid-western Christian country club. Deep conversations are hard to find, and if they come, they’re usually accompanied with a beer in hand. The latest sex gossip travels fast, and there’s no such thing as, “Wow, that’s way too much information.” Religious talk is welcomed to a point everyone feels comfortable – universalism at it’s finest. True friendship is something to latch onto. It’s something which arouses jealousy for those who actually find it. At first glance, it might seem as though I am anti-the-real-world. But what if these experiences were to not drive us away from our Christian bubble, but in fact allow us to demonstrate the truth that will pop its naivety completely? Could these experiences allow us to stop being inwardly focused on “Christian Community” and start building the Kingdom of God?

Christians often joke about the “Holy Huddle” of believers, but after jumping out of the huddle, the actuality of it scares me. There are quite a few things I’ve taken in as I reflect on being outside the world I’m used to. It’ll take a bit for me to really make sense of them, but I think I’ll get a better grip by starting this dialog now while you all are still listening. So here it goes…

One of the Moldovans I’ve gotten to know refers to the Orthodox Church as not being Christian. This made me uncomfortable when I heard the statement. “Who’s this guy to say they’re not Christian?” A different friend told me of the rituals performed for the sake of a cultural religion. Very few of the people performing these rituals really understood the meaning behind them. It hit me that the reason my Moldovan friend didn’t think they were Christians, was because although they are culturally Christian Orthodox, they did not live a life that tried to glorify God. In fact, their actions often caused people to look at them and say, “If that’s what following God is like, I don’t want any part in it.” This got me to really think about what it means to be “Culturally Christian”.

I quickly found out that in Moldova, and a lot of other countries, it’s ethically exceptable to illegally download movies. In fact, there aren’t even places to buy movies. It’s just assumed that if you want to watch a film, you download it. It wasn’t until I saw someone I consider a leader in the faith download lots of movies and talk about it unashamed that I really understood it is morally accepted here. (Note: if you’re wondering in your head why I would tell everyone it’s okay to illegally download, you’re completely missing the point.) As we start out in the faith, we begin discovering a lot of gray areas which we reason as either “good” or “bad”. A lot of times we make hard and fast rules and then make sure the usage is consistent. If not consistent, we’re left admitting that maybe we weren’t right the first time. One must ask if this good-verse-bad type of consistency is driven by conviction or pride.

As a “cultural Christian” one starts to take what other believers think is “good” or “bad” and take it as truth. This is what forms the Christian bubble. This is also what forms the notion that Christians are judgmental. Without even knowing why, we (yes, this I’m intentionally including myself in this statement) automatically write something off if our cultural Christianity says it’s taboo. Let’s look at an exaggerated example. Let’s say someone starts driving their car on the sidewalk in the US (I added the “in the US” because it’s actually okay to this in Moldova). Without even thinking about it, I would instinctively think they were drunk or at least shouldn’t have a license. Even if it is just internal, the person would react to situation negatively. This is something our culture has stated is not okay. In the same way, a lot of times when a Christian sees someone doing something “bad” they think they shouldn’t have a “license” AKA shouldn’t be acting that way. Whether hidden in their thoughts or even bluntly verbalized, a negative vibe is definitely given off. I think this is the cause of judgment. Judgment is reacting negatively to a person or situation because you do not agree with what is happening. In other words, it’s an inability to connect with a person because one has already decided that something this person does or believes in is “bad”.

What I’ve slowly started to realize is that what a Christian culture deems “bad” is not always Biblically bad, even if a verse is pulled out of context and quoted. One of my friends put it this way, “That’s why I think I like traveling so much. I can experience who God really is instead of what everyone back home thinks he is.” By wanting to take Jesus seriously, I think we need to experience who God really is, and I think that’s done by putting love before judgment and the Bible before a Christian popularity contest.

As Christians, what would happen if we didn’t write people off for the immediate vibe they gave us? What if we could TRULY understand how to love our neighbor as our self, even if they’re atheist? What if we could see God in humanity as a whole again? Would we rather demand the truth of Scripture or be fake? Wouldn’t it bring others closer to knowing the Kingdom of God? And if it’s at the cost of popping this Christian bubble and sacrificing the title of a “good Christian” so that truth is known, would you do it? These are a few of the questions I’ve been asking myself.

I wish I had some great conclusion for this blog post, but if I had a conclusion I would be ending something I know I need to better understand. I don’t want to shut the door on a great conversation, but instead I want to ask those close to me who care about their faith to think about this with me. Please feel free to post responses, criticisms, or suggestions how to better portray the truth. If you would rather e-mail me my e-mail is bobbielydick@gmail.com With that said, I’ll end with a quote that really hit me. It’s by one of my good friends struggling with Christianity. She said…

“I don’t doubt that Jesus existed, but I don’t think he meant for his followers to turn out like this.”

Microfinance 101

"So...what exactly is microfinance?"
Say you are in a country where there are no jobs available, and I don’t mean the state of the US right now…think worse. If there are no jobs, then you have to make your own jobs. This means being employed by yourself, AKA starting a business. In order to start a business you need money. But where does this money come from? There are two options: you either save the money or receive a loan. Here in Moldova there are savings accounts available, but in other parts of the world saving is a problem.

Problem with saving:
Living Conditions: Imagine living in a “house” where you don’t own furniture let-alone a lock on your door or windows. There is nowhere to hide your money and people are desperate enough to steal anything lying around. So maybe you opt to bury it then. Rain, fire, or other natural disasters don’t care where your money is. If something happens, your money is gone.
Social demand: In many developing countries, familial and communal ties are so strong that it would be social suicide to deny someone money if you had some to spare. This puts a person in an awkward position - giving up money for your friend’s relief efforts instead of their own development. (Which is why a lot of people don’t like giving money to beggars – development verse relief.)
Lack of Alternatives: In poor communities, banks exist to serve the wealthy and have barriers that keep the poor out. They require minimum balances, fees, or deposits which are sometimes double the average annual income in that area. The poor are too risky for banks to help. Instead of a bank a village might have a “Savings Collector”. But instead of having a “free saving account” the poor are paying in order to keep the collector employed. 30% APR isn’t affordable just to save a small amount of cash. Many people don’t even have a savings collector.

Saving money can not only help in gaining capital for a person's business. It also provides reassurance that if an unexpected expense comes up they can pay for it. For example, if your son got extremely sick one might have to choose between getting medical care or feeding her other children. Something as small as having a savings account could easily save a life.

Instead of saving, loans are the alternative, but what if the person doesn't have good credit? If you ran a bank, would you risk giving money to someone who had nothing in the form of collateral. How would you reassure the loan will be paid back? It seems like a risky business endeavor. Instead of getting a loan from a bank, people must find other ways to get money. They might go to someone down the street who has some extra cash. Not knowing what they're getting themselves into, they might fall into the trap of a loan shark. A loan shark is a person that will loan them the money they need and then charge them extremely high interest so that they are always indebted to this person. Thus, the loan shark is always receiving money because the poor person can never pay back the interest with the small wage he/she makes.

MFIs try to change this very thing. They can not only provide saving accounts, but also give legitimate loans with reasonable interest rates. MFIs are basically banks that use other ways of deciding whether or not a person is eligible for a loan. They also use education, social pressure, and other alternative ways to guarantee repayments. These institutions give the poor an opportunity to be good businessmen in order to care for their family, create jobs for others, and eventually help the economy of a country as a whole. Instead of just giving a hand out to people, giving a loan to people restores their dignity as human beings. It acknowledges that these people's poverty is due to something they are personally lacking. It is in fact a lack of opportunity.

Check out this video it'll make more sense:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrKQZeoAzyI&feature=channel

The next time I blog, I'll start giving more specifics to the MFI I'm working at and to MFIs in general. Also, some of this blog was taken from a book entitled The Poor will be Glad by Peter Greer and Phil Smith.