2 minute read
RAISING A BETTER WORLD
FROM OUR CEO
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WELCOME TO THE
! B ETTER WORLD MAGAZIN E
Being a mum is relentlessly hard with equal measures of joy and pain. I say that as someone who’s always had access to exceptional health services and material support. And I’m grateful that my children had excellent opportunities for education and advancement.
Of course, raising my son and daughter wasn’t without its challenges, but I never had to worry about providing food, clothes or shelter for them. The many joys we had in Australia—carefree days at the beach, fresh mangoes, fun road trips—always lightened any struggles I faced.
But because of our work in development and disaster response, I hear too many stories of mothers forced to decide between selling a daughter and feeding their other children. Or instead of a road trip for fun, I learn of the woman shielding her child from snipers as she fled a war zone.
Today, a record number of children are growing up in temporary camps for displaced families. COVID-19 has threatened families’ access to food, education and health care, and consequently, increased a girl’s value only in terms of the price she might attract.
My children, now adults, know God blessed their childhood with safety, love and opportunities. But I hope they also know that with privilege comes a responsibility to elevate those around them so others can flourish too.
In this issue of Better World Magazine, we look at the responsibilities we have as privileged Australians, where simply owning a passport gives us opportunities many in the world don’t have (‘The Power of a Passport’, page 6). We visit the countries and issues our Christian Partners face as they care for vulnerable families, those who’ve frantically left their homes for safety and refuge, families the world now calls refugees (‘Home is where a Mother’s heart is’, page 10).
Back in the relative comfort and security we enjoy, we get a glimpse of how some of God’s people are helping immigrants and refugees in their local churches (‘Strangers in the Pews’, page 12). And in our ‘Curly Questions’ guest column (page 14), Rev. Scott Higgins helps us better understand how Australia can reflect the same type of sacrificial hospitality to the stranger that Jesus offered.
After all, God’s heart has always been for the stranger, the widow, the orphan—those without a place to belong. Throughout scripture, God’s instructions have been clear: love the foreigner as yourself, for you were once foreigners (Lev. 19:34).
Celebrating Mother’s Day, we know a mum’s heart—wherever she lives—reflects that same call to sacrificial care. If anyone understands how to make a Better World for All, she does.
Because of Jesus
Melissa Lipsett CEO Baptist World Aid
