What is the Micah Challenge?
Micah Challenge is a Christian campaign aimed at raising a prophetic and powerful voice for those living in poverty. The Micah Challenge is a campaign derived from the World Evangelical Alliance and the Micah Network.
The Micah Challenge draws its inspiration from the prophet Micah and his call in Micah 6:8 “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” The Micah Challenge looks both inwards, to deepening Christian commitment to work for and with economically poor communities, and outwards, urging leaders of rich and poor nations to fulfill their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs aim to halve absolute global poverty by 2015.
1. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger,
2. Achieving universal primary education,
3. Promoting gender equality and empowering women,
4. Reducing child mortality rates,
5. Improving maternal health,
6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases,
7. Ensuring environmental sustainability, and
8. Developing a global partnership for development.
All 191 member countries of the UN, including Australia, have pledged to achieve the MDGs by 2015. These eight Goals set clear targets for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.
In Australia, The Micah Challenge and the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaigns work closely together and both focus particular attention on the five areas of aid, trade, debt, climate change and corruption. In all three areas the Australian government could be doing more to contribute toward its fair share of helping to achieve the MDGs. For example, since the early 1970s both sides of government have repeatedly agreed at UN Summits to increase Australia’s overseas aid giving (ODA) to 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI). As of July 2006 our ODA will be only 0.3% of GNI, which is well below the recommended 0.5% to be reached by 2010 if the MDGs are to be achieved. The Netherlands has a similar size population and income to that of Australia, but its ODA is 0.8% of GNI.
What action has St. Luke’s taken?
Since 2000 St Luke’s has committed to support Micah Challenge in the following ways:
1. Church and community focus and promotion;
2. Supporting of the Environment Action Group which actively raises awareness of environmental issues;
3. Conducting an Art Exhibition to highlight environmental issues;
4. Actively providing medical aid in Timor Leste;
5. Actively supporting Goal 8 through becoming a certified/designated Fair-Trade Faith Community;
6. Holding an annual vigil marking ‘Earth Hour’;
7. Establishing a Partnership with the Methodist Church of Zimbabwe to train young leaders;
8. Having pledged to ‘Finish the Race’ towards 2015.
Related Websites for more information:
Micah Challenge
United Nations
Movement to Make Poverty History
Tear Australia
World Vision Australia
UnitingWorld
