In the five-plus decades of my life, little has captured my attention on poverty as the research, personal accounts, and documented cases in the book, The Locust Effect.
The book painstakingly details the impact of violence on vulnerable people. Violence is like a swarm of locusts that devours the hope and incremental progress that families make. A child in school, a disease overcome, a thriving bread-making enterprise can all be destroyed in the blink of a violent act.
When I first read the Locust Effect, I processed on it for weeks. I wrote about it here and here and here. I’m that person who has not won a beauty pageant but still answers “World peace” when asked her dream for the world.
The founder and CEO of International Justice Mission recently did a TED talk on this subject. Take 22 minutes to watch. But, beware, It will change your understanding of global poverty…
Everyday violence of extortion, rape, assault, false imprisonment, and forced labor are realities for impoverished families. This violence negates the hard work and good intentions of building health clinics, digging water wells, and equipping unresourced schools.
How can we help? We need international attention to shore up justice systems and to make the final push to address extreme poverty across the globe.
The IJM website has more information and ways to get involved!
