Gordon and Sharon Skopnik have been serving South Sudanese refugees for 21 years and have seen for themselves that helping can end up hurting.

When they first began serving in South Sudan, they built orphanages and schools. With over 50 years of civil war and tribal conflict raging throughout the country, the need for shelter and care for the most vulnerable was evident. The intent was noble, the finances for the project were properly used, and God’s call for Christians to care for the orphans and destitute was being carried out.

“Yet, I came to realize that our model was not working,” Gord says, “especially in that context. I would come back to visit and they would say, ‘Gordon, your school is broken.’ I’d ask what’s wrong. ‘Well, your roof is leaking.’ I would say it’s not my school, it’s your school. Their response was, ‘Well, you built it.’”

It was a gift with strings attached. Each brick laid was also unintentionally building dependency on foreigners. It was clear there was a need for humanitarian aid, but not at the expense of a people’s ability to labour and proudly reap their reward.

“So, we changed what we did. We poured our resources into human beings: human resources. We taught them how to sustain themselves: how to build their own schools, how to farm and do business, and plant churches.”

A new motto came into being: Never do for the poor what the poor can do for themselves.

“If the poor can paint, they should paint. If they can build, they should build. Whatever they can do and have access to do, they should be able to do it. And that reduces dependence on the West.”

Does this human resource model actually work?

Even within the refugee camps of Uganda, the answer is an emphatic yes! In these countries riddled with hand-out dependency and extreme poverty, there are teams of South Sudanese and Ugandans who tirelessly do ministry and teach others, as volunteers!

“Normally when people do something here, they expect to be paid, especially when living in extreme poverty, so that’s pretty significant not to be paid,” says Gord. “But it’s because the material we use is investing in people’s lives … they so strongly believe in the impact [of furthering the kingdom of God] that they themselves are willing to do the work without payment.”

An example of this is education about the biblical principles of work. Generally, work in South Sudanese culture is seen negatively. On the contrary, the Bible teaches about the work of God’s hands, the profit of honest labour, and the consequences of idleness. Educating on these principles has been transformative.

God has transformed lives through training and there has been a mindset change. The people now realize that “they can do something.” They have started small businesses—and families, and even the new churches, have benefitted. There are no longer requests from the ministry to help build a church or purchase a sound system; instead a new congregation will slowly and very simply fund and construct their church on their own. Many students are excited about what they have learned and put into practice, so they pass it on and train others!

Sometimes we hurt people by trying to do things for them; a change in how we help can break the cycle of dependency. When you teach and empower someone, rather than just giving a handout, they regain their dignity and can move forward toward self-sustainability with the Lord’s help, no matter how small their steps might be.