Do not exact interest in
advance or accrued interest,
but out of fear of God let your
kindred live with you.
Everyone serves
something. Some serve gain, some serve pleasure, some serve others but the wise
person serves the Lord not out of servile fear but Holy fear; that is out of
love.
Can we say with Joshua, “As
for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Jos. 24:15) If we serve the
Lord our own house should be open to our kindred. If everyone did this would we have any who
are homeless? Search your hearts; do you have kindred who are in need? Sustain
them. Real charity is looking after widows and orphans.
In the summer of 2011, four Air Force officers deployed to
Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During their stay there,
they discovered beautiful hand-crafted artisan scarfs produced by a group of
local women. Over time, it was brought to light that all of these women had
tragically lost their husbands to the Taliban and now had the responsibility of
providing for their families – most of which was through the sales of their
handmade crafts. This fact brought a realization to the four Air Force Officers
that a vehicle of empowerment for the local population did not exist. Thus,
Flying Scarfs was officially founded, and with it, a business means through
which the local Afghani widows could continue to find financial stability.
Today, via their work with Flying Scarfs, these four social
entrepreneurs have reshaped the manner in which many Americans think about
social change. Through a lens of free market capitalism and micro-economic
development, Flying Scarfs is an enterprise dedicated to the
empowerment of the artisans not just in Afghanistan, but around the world. What
was once just a small goal of providing employment for the Afghan widows after
Americans had withdrawn from Afghanistan has now turned into a worldwide
mission to find and aid other individuals in similar situations.
Flying Scarfs is a not-for-profit team of military officers and
volunteers that seek to be an engine of change by building the necessary
bridges so that underdeveloped countries may one day flourish in a global
economy. Our goal is to promote microeconomic development around the
world in order to provide comprehensive networks of stability with a
concentration in providing opportunities for women to succeed.
In short, this means we buy from the “small guys” through localized
economies while promoting peace, both at home and abroad. We intend to
ultimately make a change by providing a "hand up" rather than a
"handout."[1]
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