When Helping Hurts: The Small Group Experience: An Online Video-Based Study on Alleviating Poverty

This is a GREAT read - not just for "missionaries" and churches - our COUNTRY needs to understand these principles. Hand-outs demean and crush people's spirit - they say "you can't handle it" and "you need ME!" to just manage to live. Better - understand poverty in all it's variations and address the foundation - broken relationships. (and get GOVERNMENT out of the poverty alleviation biz! ...all it is is hand outs!).

I've often been skeptical about giving someone on a street corner holding an I AM HUNGRY sign cash, so I switched to McDonald's gift cards that I carry in my car. However, this book and group study have shown me how I'm not helping -- I'm actually hurting someone truly in need or being conned by someone who's just lazy. There are other ways to truly help a person who needs a big dose of dignity and support, and this study will show how it's done most effectively. Caution: It's gonna change you so that you'll want to get involved!

This is an excellent resource to use with small groups and leadership teams. We recently took our mobilization leadership and summer mission teams through the study. They have included links to videos online that you can stream for your sessions, and they are well worth watching. The questions are smart and insightful, and the study provides an impressively full and holistic view of poverty alleviation in such a short timeframe. Highly recommended, as well as the full text.

I read the first "When Helping Hurts," but this is much better with the small groups and for folks who don't have a lot of time to read. The videos are helpful too!

Video does really well in showing the real truth as to when and where to help.

Interesting and eye-opening information about how helping can sometimes exacerbate or prolong problems of the poor. It challenges our (American) way of thinking of the poor and how we can respond. Thought provoking, initiates discussion and rethinking of our efforts to make a difference

Good book. Well worth the read. When coupled with When Helping Hurts they compliment each other. Book is short but contains good information to help organize and execute a short term mission or other project. Does have a lot of repeated information from their original book but still good.

Great read

This book and its companion books are invaluable. If you are going to do ANY kind of cross cultural mission (including domestic missions) this is a must read.

To fundamentalist for me. Ron