JourneyOnline
Margaret Adsett, from St Andrew's Uniting Church in Brisbane CBD, can tell you how many choices of biscuit there are in the average supermarket aisle.
"There are over 200 choices of biscuit alone, and they say there are 35 000 items in total in your average supermarket," says Ms Adsett. "Imagine that! Compare that to places where people have no choice at all, about anything. They don't even have access to clean water."
Ms Adsett is passionate about making a difference to people who live in poverty.
She doesn't want to change the world; she just wants to make a difference where she can.
It's what prompted her to challenge her church community to get involved in the UnitingWorld Lent Event program.
Lent Event changes lives both at home and abroad.
It involves giving up an item from everyday life and donating the cost toward life-giving projects such as health clinics in Timor Leste, education in North India, water harvesting in Zimbabwe and peace building in Papua New Guinea.
Last year, St Andrew's donated $7500 for a range of projects. "Our congregation has so much to give," says Ms Adsett.
"I stood up each week and told the personal stories of people who are living with the kind of challenges that are so foreign to us in our iPod, laptop, mobile owning world.
"And people were generous. People will give if their hearts are moved."
After participating in Lent Event, congregation member Ian Chaseling signed up for a volunteer experience placement in Kiribati with UnitingWorld.
As a teacher in a school on the tiny island, he was staggered to realise how many students didn't have access to something as simple as a pen.
After sending his news home to St Andrew's in Brisbane, the congregation responded by sharing their resources with those in Kiribati.
Person by person, change takes place.
For more information about Lent Event, contact Fiona at UnitingWorld on (02) 8267 4449 or visit lentevent.com. To find out about volunteer experience placement contact Laura on (02) 8267 4411.
Photo : Simple items like pens can help support overseas partners such as these students at the Tangintebu Theological College in Kiribati. Photo: UnitingWorld
