In 2008, 9.2 million children died before their 5th Birthday, most from easily preventable causes. 22% of these children died from diarrhoea and 21% from pneumonia. MDG 4 aims to cut infant and child deaths by two-thirds by 2015 from 1990 levels. In the Asia-Pacific region 18 of 29 developing countries are not on track to achieve this target.

Micah Challenge wants to see a ‘Survive Past Five’ 5th Birthday Party held in every electorate in 2010. This will show our leaders that communities around New Zealand want our Government to meet our commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to halve global poverty by 2015.

We want to meet with at least 1,000 politicians in over 20 countries

Read on for lots of ideas to make Micah 2010 a campaign of spiritual and political impact! If your church is using the Prayer and the Promise resources then here is how to move that spiritual impact into action in the political arena. If you have made the hand-print banners in the Promise activity, then we want to hand those banners to New Zealand politicians to tell them of our commitment and invite them to be part of making the MDGs work.

Our dream is that 10 million people will actively promise to remember the poor.

10.10.10 is an opportunity to demonstrate that wherever we may be in the world we are all standing together as Christians recommitting ourselves to the pursuit of justice and encouraging action from our leaders. It’s a global moment which we hope means that a church in rural France, a mega church in Nairobi and a suburban church in Lima are all crying out with one voice.

2010 marks 10 years since nations of the world promised to meet the Millennium Development Goals – we have only 5 years to go to make the eight goals a reality. The task is urgent and we encourage all Christians to take part in the Promise as a solemn personal covenant so that the impact is lasting – not just for one day.

The Promise is simple to organise: the words are given in the box below and the action asks people to raise their hands in promise, then make a special handprint. Hands mean worship, hands pledge support and we use our hands to demonstrate God’s love. The action of using our handprint to confirm our promise is a symbol of faith and action coming together. It can be done by children and adults of all ages and by people who cannot read or write. The five fingers on our hand represent 5 years to go till 2015 and remind us that the task is urgent.

“Poverty Hurts Your Soul” is the title of a new paper published by the Conference of European Churches. They say “In Christian understanding, poverty and social exclusion are understood as a failure to uphold basic human rights (cf. Amos 2:6f; 4:1). The alleviation of poverty was from the beginning an essential part of the proclamation of the Gospel “to preach good news to the poor …, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, …” (Luke 4:18). Over the centuries churches therefore engaged in combating poverty and social exclusion.”

It is easy for us living in the wealth of New Zealand to consider the damaging effects of the daily struggle with grinding poverty, and to agree with a shudder that yes, poverty must be harmful to their souls. It would be harmful to my soul if I had to live like that!