Jake Doleschal sews his own clothes. Far from trying to fit in with the trendy handmade craft movement, Jake’s impetus to whip out the sewing machine is a question of social equality, not social status. Jake is trying to fight poverty and reduce his reliance on consumption to stop “contributing to the cycle of supply and demand.”

The Bible college student and kids ministry leader at his Baptist church says it’s his faith in Jesus that gives him a passion for the poor.

“I see faith as not being just spirit or justice centred, but having to engage both. My faith is really entangled in meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the world.”

20-year-old Jake grew up in a Christian family, but says he wasn’t a Christian himself until he was gripped by the gospel in high school.

“I started asking questions: what does my identity look like, and what would it look like for me to actually be a follower of Jesus?”

For Jake this meant thinking more about the billions in poverty around the world, seeking to live in a way which minimises his impact on the environment and which demonstrates his concern for the poor. To this end he has a veggie patch and worm farm, cycles a lot and is involved in lobbying his local MP about issues of justice.

While many would see his lifestyle as extreme, Jake says anyone can take a step in the direction of helping to alleviate poverty and advocate for the poor.

“It’s not as daunting as it looks. Often we think about poverty and it looks like this massive issue we could never change, but it’s about small steps and small wins.”

“It could be as easy as only purchasing clothing or food produced ethically. Or it could be as big as studying it and changing your career path,” he says.

Living on the pristine Mornington Peninsula south-east of Melbourne, Jake is a community leader with the global anti-poverty movement Micah Challenge, which aims to encourage Australia to meet its Millennium Development Goals.

As part of his involvement with Micah Challenge, Jake visits schools and churches, trying to empower people to take action against poverty andinjustice, including contacting their local MP.

As for those who may be disappointed by the Federal Government delaying its increase to the foreign aid budget, or to the re-allocation of aid money to the immigration budget, Jake says it’s important to keep the conversation alive.

“That was a blow and people are feeling a bit disappointed, but it doesn’t change the fact that being an election year, the politicians are eager to hear what we think. MPs are still always interested in what we care about. So don’t lose hope.”

Advocating for the poor is a gruelling task in a culture plagued with apathy. Jake says there are times when he suffers injustice, injustice, activist fatigue and needs to refocus on why he’s doing what he’s doing.

“It can be daunting just seeing how much need there is. I went to Calcutta earlier this year and I came back feeling overwhelmed with how much need there is and how much the world needs us to to take action and how little politicians and people in general care or know about the issues.”

But he says his recent trip to India to help out at Mother Theresa’s Home for the Destitute and Dying, and a special encounter with a local woman on the way provided motivation to keep doinghis bit towards alleviating the inequalities in the world.

“I got a bit lost trying to find the place. Less than a kilometre away from the building, I walked past a Landrover car yard, some massive five star hotels and fast food takeaway joints—massive, multinational businesses where people are armed with machine guns to stop poor people getting in.”

“Then I made my way to the Mother Theresa Centre. And there was this little old lady; she would’ve been about 60 or 70, and she didn’t speak any English.

“But she came really close to me and she wanted to show us something. She came so close and then she took out this little container and inside she had a single four rupee coin. In other words, she had two cents with her, and this was her only item, her only possession.”

Jake says the encounter left him bewildered by the inequalities he’d witnessed and even more passionate about fighting poverty. It’s inspired him to enrol in a Bachelor of International Studies, with the hope of having more of an impact through his career. He starts his course next semester.