Poor Day

So today I did a little more to be making poverty history.

I went to the rally in Darling Harbour where some people gathered to wear white, look at displays and talk about Millennium Development Goals. I was with Rob and some guys from the youth group. It was fun. I really like the positive vibe this whole campaign has. It's not one of hate and anger. It's about positive challenge to our governments to do something.

I'd like to have photos, but my job today was to be taking photos for other people. I called myself the official Tear Australia photographer, because it sounds impressive if you're the photographer for an international aid organisation. But I think I may have just been Ben's photographer seeing as he handed me his camera and told me to take some photos, but not to fill it up because he wanted some space left for his kid's second birthday party this afternoon.

Yesterday at the station one of David's friends from Save the Children came up to me and I wasn't in mood to talk to them (I'm never in the mood). He said "Hi how are you?"

To which I replied "Fine."

He said "Can you spare a minute?"

"Nope" I said and kept walking.

It was only after that I realised I was wearing my "Make Poverty History" t-shirt. I thought perhaps that may have looked a little dodgy.

My other thought while being in the City making poverty history is, what do you do with Sydney's beggars? They see all of us marching around talking about poverty, but we didn't seem to do anything for them.

A drunk guy came up to me today while in Darling Harbour (I was wearing the t-shirt again). He said "Have you got forty cents?"

I said "Probably" and pulled out my wallet.

He said "I need some money to buy a beer"

I laughed and said "You want to buy a beer?" He told me he did. I admired his honesty. He then had a conversation with me about poverty and he got angry at me for not listening. But in the end he decided he liked me again. I never gave him the 40 cents.

On the station I did give a guy a dollar, which began a short conversation between Rob and I about the ethics of giving to people who seem quite likely not to spend your money on what they tell you it's for (usually a ticket to Newcastle or food for the pregnant girlfriend, I've found). I haven't quite figured it out yet but I think it's better to give and not judge because if I needed money I hope that people would give it to me. And Jesus' words often come to me, I just haven't figured out how to best apply them in this context.