You are going to design your own charity project/campaign to help people to help themselves overcome poverty.
Check out the video link on the right.
- It could be in this country or abroad
- It must allow opportunities for people to help get themselves out of poverty.
- It may be work, learning a skill, a talent or making people more confident and helping them to build up their own self esteem
- You must include a religious teaching/ religious person’s view in support of your project. You must explain how your project will help individuals and the wider society Focus on including a religious point of view- Has the Langar inspired your project? What would a Christian say about your project? You could give a Christian, Sikh or Muslim opinion of the project.
- Or you could say how they would have endorsed it.
- You could write how they have inspired you to set up this project.
Your design
- You need to design a poster that shows what your project is all about.
- You need to have a piece of A4 paper that explains how your project works and what links it has with religion.
Success criteria
- Describe the different religious teachings we have looked at (Sikhism, Christianity and Islam) using key words.
- Describe what has influenced your project. This could be a religious teaching.
- You can ask detailed questions regarding beliefs about poverty. You can show that you understand things from a religious believer.
- You give basic explanations of your project and how it will help people to help themselves. (level 4)
- You can make links with your own experiences and give your views on the challenges of dealing with people in poverty.
- You explain the difference and similarities between your beliefs and the beliefs of religious and non-religious people.
- You give detailed explanations using key words to show how people can help themselves out of poverty and how this is linked to wider society. (level 5)
- You write a detailed, critical evaluation of people’s views on poverty.
- You show the strengths of your project in helping people out of poverty and the weakness of just giving money. (level 6)
Religious views on poverty to help with your project Use the following views and the work in your book to help you design your project. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time” Chinese Proverb 
Christianity Many Christians do not have a problem with being wealthy, but they do believe that wealth should be used appropriately. They also believe it is a Christian duty to help people less fortunate than themselves. “Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these”. Mark 12:30-31
Jesus told his followers that being wealthy is not easy. He said: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!”. Luke 18:25 “The love of money is the root of all evil” Jesus
Sikhism Sikhs believe that wealth is only acceptable if it is used for other people such as giving them work or food. It is the responsibility of the rich to look after the poor. “A place in God’s court can only be attained if we do service to others in this world”. Guru Granth Sahib Ji 26
One of the key ideas in Sikhism is Sewa or service. Sewa can be shown in: Tan (Physical services) Man (Mental services, such as studying to help others) or Dhan( material service, where you give money to help others)
The langar or free kitchen was started by Guru Nanak. It is designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people of the world, regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed, age, gender or social status. The langar expresses the ideas of sharing, community, inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind.
Islam Muslims believe in helping people in poverty. Zakat is the compulsory giving of a set amount of one’s wealth to 
charity. It is regarded as a type of worship. Zakat is the third Pillar of Islam. Zakat does not refer to charitable gifts given out of kindness or generosity, but to the giving of 2.5% of one’s wealth each year to benefit the poor.
‘If the debtor is in difficulty, grant him time to repay….your repayment would actually be greater if you cancelled the debt.” Surah 2:280
Islam teaches that wealth is a gift from God and is something that should be shared. Islam has always taught that people should provide for themselves and their families. They should do this in a way that is lawful and moral. Islam teaches that Muslims should avoid lending money with interest because it makes the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. The Qur’an says that “God has permitted trade and has forbidden riba (lending and borrowing at interest).” The Qur’an teaches that ‘Whoever saves the life of one, is as if he has saved the whole of mankind.’
You can look at the following Charity sites to help you with your task and to remind you of the issues that we are all facing around the world.
Student poverty website example