What's So Blessed About Being Poor?: Seeking the Gospel in the Slums of Kenya

by L. Susan Slavin, Coralis Salvador

An inspiring exploration of how happiness and holiness can exist in the midst of poverty and illness.

Two lay women who have chosen to live among the poor in East Africa, one a Maryknoll lay mission, and the other, a New York attorney who left her law practice to become a lay mission with the Franciscans minister to the poor in Kenya.

Slavin first met Salvador when she was volunteering as a lawyer working in a justice and peace program in Kenya. Slavin was intrigued by the well-known phrase Blessed are the poor. After approaching this seeming paradox through unrewarding library research, she decided that she would join Salvador in her ministry to AIDS orphans to try to understand how the poor can be blessed. This account tells of their experiences as they worked together with the poor, primarily AIDS orphans, in the slums of Kenya. Photos will be included.

Genres: Nonfiction

161 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2012

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

My eyes were opened!

[Elise Holcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humbling and inspiring

[Cynthia Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

UMW book

[Sue Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book as part of a reading program. I thought it's be interesting to read about the two women who worked in Kenya with orphans. I have mixed feelings about this book. There is no doubt in my mind that both Susan Slavin & Coralis Salvador were blessed and inspired by living with AIDS orphans. There are many stories of extremely poor people they helped by providing health care, education, and a shoulder to lean on.

Although their stay their was faith based, the book says they learned to be present to the events and people and respect them. I believe that they attempted to follow their beliefs that they truly walked the walk and just didn't talk the talk by helping the poor. The idea of devoting their lives to helping others and accepting them regardless of their faith is remarkable. I have to admire their willingness to get involved.

Unfortunately, I felt that there was a disconnect between what they were living and what was written. Many of they stories seemed to be written in an effort to promote their cause. Still others they actually asked what "blessed are the poor" meant to them. That's the problem with this book. I felt that, although the story is good and the people interesting, they searched for stories to match the title. It would have been far better to tell the stories without trying to make it seem that the poor felt "blessed"

[Elyse Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the impetus behind this book, i.e., to ask is it really blessed to be poor? Lay missioners Slavin and Salvador ask AIDS victims and orphans this question in the slums of Kenya. They also sprinkle a few excellent quotes from spiritual writers and theologians throughout the text. I found it moving, inspiring, and arresting. The book is written in a casual and somewhat disjointed style. But the authors' enthusiasm and passion outweigh that, and ultimately the subject matter is what keeps your attention.