Celebrating the dignity of work
Labour Day reminds us that meaningful employment gives our lives structure and purpose
Labour Day has different meanings for people.
For some, it’s the last lazy summer weekend before a busy fall. For others, it is a time to pause and be grateful for the rhythm of the seasons, for God’s provision of time to work and time to enjoy Sabbath rest.
This year, spend a few minutes to consider what life would be like without the opportunity to work.
God’s intention for people to have meaningful work is evident right from the Creation account in the Old Testament of the Bible.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it,” Genesis 2:15 says.
Work gives our lives structure and purpose. It gives us dignity and the ability to provide for our needs and those of our families as well.
Sadly, many don’t have this opportunity. In developing countries, hundreds of millions of people go without the means to earn a livelihood.
Natural disasters, armed conflict and lack of basic infrastructure (including access to capital and market systems) all contribute to this problem.
People who flee from their homelands to foreign refugee camps are often forbidden from working by the laws of their host nation.
Addressing these issues is not just a moral imperative for people of faith.
Lack of opportunity can be the spark that lights conflict in many unstable regions. Youth who feel they have nothing to lose take up weapons and accept whatever they can get from militias and plunder.
Members of the British Parliament have referred to youth unemployment as a “ticking time bomb,” which needs the same attention as efforts to wipe out disease or natural disasters.
In Tunisia, close to half of the hundreds of thousands of unemployed people are highly educated. The British Commons international development committee suggested 600 million youth in the developing world will compete for 200 million positions in coming years.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) is a Christian-based international development organization that works to create business solutions to poverty. It aims to unleash people’s Godgiven potential to earn a livelihood, regardless of their race or religion.
MEDA focuses on efforts that are sustainable, scalable and replicable, helping millions of families to change their lives. The organization is currently working with 327 partners in 62 countries, investing alongside subsistence farmers and micro-businesses, helping them access best-practices training, investment capital, and broader markets.
That approach has found favour with institutional partners such as the Canadian and U.S. governments and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Donor contributions of over $8.1 million last year were multiplied seven times on average by institutional supporters. That allowed MEDA to partner with 909,000 lead firms, farmers and entrepreneurs, resulting in a positive impact on the lives of 92.6 million families.
Creating opportunities and jobs for families often requires building infrastructure.
Sometimes that comes through access to better seeds or tools. Other times it involves access to money.
Here are some examples of our work.
• MEDA provides technical expertise and equity investment for companies such as Zoona. Zoona is an African financial services firm that provides electronic money transfer services, vouchers and payment services through mobile phones to reach rural communities and people who don’t have access to financial services. When Zoona started, 80 per cent of Zambia’s population didn’t have banking accounts or formal financial services. In cash economies, it is difficult for businesses to buy goods, ship materials or pay staff at remote locations. Zoona now operates in three African nations, processing hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions, and empowering young women as part of its agent entrepreneur network.
• In Myanmar, MEDA assists women in Shan and Kayin States to grasp new economic opportunities, primarily in agricultural markets. A five-year project aims to increase the income of 25,000 women farmers and increase their decision-making status within their communities. Those efforts will accelerate this year and in 2019, as partnerships with private firms kick in.
• In Managua, Nicaragua, loans from MiCredito, a MEDA-backed provider of financial services, allowed Ricky Nelson Lopez to complete his business degree studies. A subsequent loan allowed Lopez to start and grow a shave ice business. He plans to hire employees and operate in more locations. Without MiCredito’s assistance, Ricky could have been one of the hundreds of millions of unemployed young adults the British committee cited as a looming social catastrophe.
MEDA supporter Daniel Bigham, a young software developer in Waterloo, notes that the Bible gives several dimensions to God’s mission for us. Besides sharing our faith, “very close up behind that is the notion of loving other people as self.
“I think that MEDA really can be a foundational pillar for a whole segment of the gospel.”