When Helping Hurts

When Helping Hurts
by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
Moody Press, 2009

This is a book that I was asked to read before travelling on a service trip with Worldwide Christian Schools. This book is a great primer on development work, beginning with the Biblical themes of creation, fall, and redemption. It introduces the notion of shalom in human relationships and defines poverty in terms of how the fall has effected these relationships. It uses this as a starting point for talking about poverty alleviation and the role that worldview plays. It then introduces the different approaches of relief, rehabilitation, and development, each of which are appropriate in different contexts. It warns against paternalism and "blueprint" approaches to development work and argues for a participatory approach. It discusses issues of cross-cultural work and some of the pitfalls that accompany short-term missions projects. It ends with some suggestions for North Americans looking to do development work in the majority world.  The book has numerous discussion questions throughout and as such would be well-suited for group study and discussions.