If anyone is planning on donating shoeboxes of gifts for less priviledged children this christmas - please avoid the Operation Christmas Child scheme run by the charity Samaritans Purse. I dont think there is anything wrong with doing charity work and aid in the name of religion, but this particular charity is seriously discriminatory and bigoted - their president has described Islam as a very wicked and evil religion, and Hindus as being bound by Satans power. They use the shoebox project to encourage vulnerable children to convert to evangelical christianity by giving out booklets of bible stories along with the boxes, and offering the children the opportunity to take a course of bible study lessons. In one of the charities videos, a spokesperson said Its not just humanitarian aid. It is a tool for evangelism so thank you for helping us evangelize our people. Again, there is nothing wrong with encouraging people to join a particular faith - but targeting those in situations of poverty and hardship and offering gifts alongside a religious message is really problematic in my opinion. If you still want to send a shoebox please dont support a charity as intolerant and religiously-driven as Samaritans Purse - I did some research and there are other charities like Smile International (smileinternational.org/christmas-shoeboxes.aspx), who run a similar scheme that is non-descriminatory.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 20:23:01 +0000
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