10th December:

In the global fight against poverty, there is some terrific work being done by charities and NGOs all over the world. Unfortunately, however, there is also a great deal of money being wasted by certain organisations who see fit to offer charitable aid with one hand on the condition that the bible in the other hand is taken as well.

When women living in the Third World are educated they have an annoying habit of taking control of their reproductive rights and deciding not to have quite as many children as the Catholic church might like them to. It’s apparently not quite as important to them to keep up the number of sinners. Certain charitable foundations therefore target their aid in specific ways to ensure that people get fed and watered but also get churches rather than schools. Free word of God with every sack of corn.

This is, in the eyes of your congenial host, a disgraceful practice. If someone has been knocked down by a car, do we deny that person medical treatment on the basis of their religious beliefs or lack thereof? Of course not. Why then, do certain organisations feel it is appropriate to apply conditions to the delivery of aid and use their wealth (vs. people’s poverty) as a bargaining tool to further their own religious school of thought?

Here endeth the lesson.