Why Christians are good at fighting poverty

Sir: In Nigeria, Egypt, and sundry similar places, Christians face extreme adversity each passing day. Yet in the midst of this denial Christians have found ways not to always come up short, all to the chagrin of their tormentors.

In Egypt, the Islamists have called Christians the “favoured class” and in Nigeria, Christians have been unwholesomely persecuted by anti-graft agencies as “corrupt.” How could a minority be “favoured” in an overwhelming Muslim country like Egypt and how could a “corrupt” region be the centre point of Muslim migration in a place like Nigeria is seemingly beyond the comprehension of everyone.

Christians have always not come short because of the influence of the “Kirk Space” in their lives; irrespective of denomination. Kirk Space is the church environment that serves as a place for social interaction and personal rejuvenation whence the church brotherhood look out for one another, teach skills, preach commonsense, and engage in community service.

Preaching commonsense means that a man must plan his family size according to his income, feed his children, clothe his children, educate his children, and ultimately strive to leave something behind for them when the man passes on. When one home is thus enlightened in this fashion, there is a great certainty that other homes have been positively affected too. The long-term domino knock-on effect is to keep poverty at bay.

Sunday Adole Jonah is of the Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna.