Poverty in Ghana: Theological Reflection on the Response of Some Churches in Kumasi Metropolitan Area

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2012-08-20
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Poverty is inimical to human development and it is a threat to the well being and survival of any individual. It has the capacity to dehumanise a person by depriving the individual the basic needs such as food and shelter which are essential for human survival. The effects of poverty make it important for all to be concerned about the increasing rate in the country. Due to the effects of poverty, there is the need for a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of which the church has a critical part to play as it calls people into the saving knowledge of Christ. Some churches in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area have made some effort to assist the poor in diverse ways to ensure their well being aimed at poverty reduction. Some of these initiatives are building of schools, hospitals and provision of other social services for some communities. Scholarships are offered to needy children to support their education. In some communities the church had provided bore-holes all aimed at improving the condition of the poor. Other churches support widows and street children with material resources to improve their living condition. The church trains people to acquire skills for self- employment. The poor are also given financial assistance to engage in private business which brings improvement in their economic life. In spite of all these efforts by the churches, a lot need to be done for majority of Ghanaians who still live in poverty to have a sense of belonging and hope in life. For such people until there is a conscious effort to break the existing economic and social injustice prevailing in the nation which deny majority of people a meaningful life , they will continue to live in desperation and suffer from poverty.
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A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of Master of Philosophy in Religious Studies,
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