Antonia DeBoer

Summer 2008 Fellow, Children's Defense Fund

A Child Advocate, Who Me??

Entering this summer internship with Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) I was not quite sure what to expect. A seminary student with an interest in poverty and theology, I was hoping to develop my skill set and increase my knowledge about non-profit work and advocacy. Working specifically in the Religious Action department I was looking forward to learning more about the intersection of faith and the call to justice. While I can honestly say that these expectations were met, I learned much more. In some ways my idyllic ivory tower was taken to task and brought back down to earth. In other ways my idealism was been encouraged as I continue to believe that change is both necessary and (dare I say it?) possible. However the lesson that I will take with me is that this change cannot begin “out there” with “them”. No, the lesson that I have learned is that change begins with us, you and I. And it begins with the small, day-to-day choices that we make.

To try and dissect the root causes of poverty leads one into a web of interrelated causes and systems. It has to do with power struggles, inequality, exclusion, scarcity and much more. However in all of our discussion surrounding poverty it is easy for the causes and forces to become abstract and removed from our day-to-day interactions and relationships. During my Fellowship at CDF I learned many statistics and facts about the harsh realities that many children (and their families) in America face in a daily struggle to survive. However my passion for child advocacy did not increase solely out of numbers and figures; rather it grew out of the people I met and the stories that were shared. I think of the boy being pulled around the bus stop near the office by a man who used him as a pawn for empathy while begging for money. I think of the intern I met who was learning to tell her story having grown up in a neighborhood worlds apart from mine. I remember the look on a woman’s face when she shared what her church had done to make a difference in their community. It is these moments and many more which have challenged me to consider what my response shall be. And I believe that my faith has something to say about poverty and injustice. I believe that theology is written in our response to the world in which we live.

We must not be too quick to judge “those” people or “that” neighborhood for we are all members of households and neighborhoods and this universal community which we call humankind. Therefore anything for which we condemn others must also fall on our shoulders. It cannot be solely your problem or my problem, it is our problem. It cannot be your pain alone it is ours together. For this brokenness of relationship cannot be fixed by legislation alone. It cannot be solved by resources and services alone. These are all essential pieces of the puzzle but they are interconnected by the human relationships of which they are composed. If the brokenness between you and I is not addressed than I fear that the end of poverty will never come. We are all in this together. It is for this reason that I call myself a child advocate.

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