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SEEING A BETTER WORLD
FROM OUR CEO
WELCOME TO THE
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! B ETTER WORLD MAGAZIN E
This is our very first edition and the beginning of a journey together with some of you. For others who’ve supported us for a while, the magazine is a new chapter and a new look, a new way of seeing how God is at work through Baptist World Aid.
Of course, our commitment to ending poverty will never change. Better World Magazine helps all of us explore more deeply the stories, issues and voices we need for responding to God’s call to serve the world’s most vulnerable communities. In each edition, we’ll dive into timely topics and learn about the inspiring work our local Partners are doing around the world. We’ll listen for God’s voice and watch how he’s moving so that together, we can grow and join him in his work around the world.
This beginning reminds me of another, one we find in Genesis 1. I’ve always loved how God’s handiwork at creation is one of equality: man and woman made equally in his image (Genesis 1:27), both given equal responsibility to steward the Earth (Genesis 1:28) and to look out for each other as God provides for them (Genesis 1:29-30).
What this passage also confirms for me is that we are to take seriously the call to care for God’s creation. That’s why this first edition explores stories of how God’s people—our Partners (page 6)and churches (page 8)—are caring for the environment and loving their neighbours as a result. With increased disasters affecting some of our most vulnerable communities, we have an enormous opportunity and responsibility to lead the way in addressing our environmental crises.
We’re also committed to ensuring women and girls receive fair opportunities to flourish. As we celebrate International Women’s Day (8 March), and as shops fill with ‘girl power’ clothing, I think about those who sewed them. Roughly 75 percent of the 50 million garment workers in the world are women, most are underpaid, work excessive hours, and often experience violence. Their experience is a stark contrast to the phrases they sew on T-shirts this time of year.
That’s why in each edition of Better World Magazine you’ll meet some amazing women, many of them leaders in our Christian Partners’ programs—like Pacharo (page 10) who’s taking her village in Malawi to a whole new level. She, like many women in vulnerable communities, is part of the key to lasting change.
We’ll also include a guest columnist to challenge our faith and deepen our thinking about these important themes. Who better to start us off than Rev. Mike Frost (page 14)?
Across the pages of this first edition and those that follow each quarter, I pray that together, we’re challenged and encouraged to see— and to work for—a Better World for all.
Because of Jesus
Melissa Lipsett CEO Baptist World Aid
