Why Faith Communities?

There are elements in every worldview or culture that are not life-affirming or beneficial for the poor. As a result, many migrants and urban poor live by cultural narratives that mar their identity and keep them from pursuing better lives. Overwhelmed and disempowered by the stresses of life in a fragile city environment, they are marked by despair, hopelessness, resignation, and fatalism. The identity and vocation of the poor become marred as they’re entangled in a web of lies, convincing themselves they can’t make a difference.

What is Urban Poverty?

It starts with the way we define poverty and think about ‘success’ in transformational development. This is not simply an academic exercise, for the way we define poverty and ‘success’ – either implicitly or explicitly – says a lot about our worldview framework and view of cultural change.