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Why Christians give Goats, Cows and Toilets for Christmas

4:31pm Saturday, 19th November 2011  

Steve Bradbury

What was it that prompted TEAR to launch the “World’s Most Useful Gift Catalogue” upon an unsuspecting world? Little did we realise at the time that it would prove to be such an exceptional tool for encouraging people to respond to the needs of poor and vulnerable communities; so exceptional, in fact, that it has been cloned by many organisations around the world.
Strange as it may seem to some, it did not arise out of internal brainstorming about fundraising or marketing. Thank God the catalogue and its multitude of imitators have generated many hundreds of millions of extra new dollars for development in poor communities. But where did it come from?
Back in the days before I was chronologically qualified to be a grumpy old man, I was already experiencing on an annual basis disturbing symptoms of this well-documented disorder. Those close me to would undoubtedly protest that such symptoms presented more than once a year, but I am referring specifically to my 12-monthly reaction to Mammon’s contamination of Christmas. It seemed to me that in our largely post-Christian society, Christmas celebrations had deteriorated into over-the-top, materialistic pig-outs, and that this was something we in the church ought to creatively resist. What we needed was hearty, unambiguous rejoicing that reflected the character and passions of Jesus, and not our culture’s obsession with stuff. What would Jesus like for his birthday? What kind of gifts would bring him great pleasure? You can see how such questions provided one of the two sparks that led me to develop the first catalogue, especially if you keep in mind that Jesus has already provided clear directions. I’m referring, of course, to his story about the sheep and the goats.
Jesus is saying to me and to all of us that one way he wants us to express our love for him is to give practical gifts to those who are in need. The giving of those gifts, when we have the capacity to provide in this way, is a vital and necessary accompaniment to our verbal expressions of love to God. If only we could all remember God’s yearning to receive such gifts whenever we say or sing our prayers of love to him.   
In my years at TEAR, I often heard people expressing sadness and even frustration about not being in the position to give much. Yet I had seen, over and over again, as I visited TEAR-funded projects in some of the world’s poorest communities, that even a small amount of money wisely spent could make a real and sustainable difference. This was the second spark, as the gift catalogue would demonstrate this reality. The items in our catalogue, and their prices, would be selected from the plans and budgets of specific projects.
Several years after we first started producing our gift catalogue, I was reminded of its worth in a very lovely way. Some Ugandan colleagues had taken me to visit three widows in one of the local communities. It was early evening, and after a hot and sticky day the 40-minute walk in the coolness of the setting sun, meandering through a countryside of crops and patches of bush, was bliss. The women weren’t expecting us, but as soon as they heard I was from TEAR they welcomed me with real warmth, and proceeded to tell me that because of TEAR’s help they could “live normal lives”.  The reason: a few years earlier each had been given a cow, and as a result they now had a small herd, which provided them not only with milk, but also enabled them to plough their lands and grow more crops. Their families now enjoyed increased income and food security. I think of them every time I see a cow in a TEAR gift catalogue. Oh yes, before I forget, they asked me to make sure that I passed on their thanks to the Australians who had responded to their need.
Steve Bradbury was the National Director of TEAR Australia for 25 years, from 1984 to 2008.
Tree seedlings, clean water, and primary education - some items in the Gift Catalogue have remained year after year.

This originally appeared in TEAR Australia’s 40th Anniversary Edition of Target magazine, 2011.
It is reproduced with the permission of Steve Bradbury and TEAR Australia.