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According to one of the measures in StatsNZ, 1 in 8 children are affected by material hardship in this country.
Christians Against Poverty(CAP) is an organisation that provides free financial coaching to those in debt and poverty.
The first instance I heard about CAP, I was excited to know that there was a system out there for people to gain an understanding of financial literacy.
Furthermore, their debt coaches also have the role of missionaries. They take the initiative to share the gospel to those their clients. And they say about 1 in 10 families whom they share the gospel with come to faith.
A friend of mine has been working as a Client Rights Advocate in CAP. He is responsible for seeking fair resolutions for clients that are affected by illegal, irresponsible and unethical lending practices. From what they observe, they then report systemic issues that occur in the lending industry. What they do is amazing.
Car loans seemed to be one of the more common issues he had to face. Clients would contact CAP to see if they can help with the unfair loans they’ve signed onto (high interest rates for low credit scores).
CAP would then take cases against these loan providers so that the systems that cause poverty will cease.
CAP is highly strategic about the way they tackle the issues with poverty, as they don’t only focus on the individual’s money management, CAP also looks at which organisations could be conducting illegal practices that can cause financial ruin and aims to stop injustice right at the roots.
You can check out their stories here.