My Nonprofit Reviews

I learned of Plant with Purpose through Matthew Sleeth, a Christian environmentalist and author of Reforesting Faith. When Sleeth came to our church last fall to preach and participate in a community tree-planting project, he invited a representative of PWP, Dave Luebkeman, to join us. Over lunch I learned about PWP's work and found myself committing to make a gift larger than I had ever before made to a single nonprofit (besides my own church). Why? It seems PWP has cracked the code on a problem that had troubled me since I'd spent 3 and a half years as a foreign service spouse in SubSaharan Africa: the hopelessness of poverty in a region of the world where tribalism, combined with strongman politics, suppressed individual ambition and agency. Those who worked hard to try to get ahead were subject to continual requests from poorer relatives and friends. There was a social imperative to give to “brothers” who asked for help. This undermined ambition in ordinary people; while in those with political ambitions, it fueled corruption, graft, and bribery. A big man needed lots of money simply to satisfy the incessant demands of those who called him chief. He would siphon money out of the local economy in order to redistribute it to dependent supporters.

I saw many relief efforts being made by NGOs, but the only efforts that ever seemed to do any good were those with a Christian connection. I wasn’t sure why. It seemed to have something to do with the selflessness of the Christian volunteers and with the ability of Christianity to inspire hope. Not being an active Christian at the time, I remained mystified.

In the years since then, I joined a church and learned something about what Christian groups can accomplish—often tackling problems that government cannot solve. But I’ve never encountered a Christian group with such a comprehensive, integrated approach as Plant With Purpose. They combine the Christian message that all individuals have value in God’s eyes with the Christian approach of community action (sounds like an oxymoron, but in Christian life it isn’t). They’ve connected this to education in good land restoration practices, sustainable agriculture, and financial savings and reinvestments.

Scott Sabin made sense of it all for me when he told a story about the “gift of work.” He explicated the parable of the talents. Why is the poor man condemned for fearfully burying his one talent? Sabin said the story points to the vulnerability of the poor to feelings of worthlessness. The hopelessness of their situation causes the little hope that remains to shrink. They become dependent on the good grace of the powerful. But when people are made to feel they have talents to share and a purpose in God’s larger plan, they are energized. Instead of merely asking for help, they offer it to others. Every person wants to feel valued in that way—because of what he or she can contribute.

I didn’t explain that too clearly, so go to this link to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVpS_OmmQBU&list=PLkcI-JABdvGg4YmDhBvrHACECGuotBu13&index=9.