Faiths Act

Soup often goes under the radar. That’s right, soup. Perhaps because of it's imposturous simplicity or because most of us buy it in a can, but whatever the reason its beauty and complexity are rarely acknowledged.

A close friend of mine would always make soup from scratch. She would stand in the kitchen as the eye of the storm. Around her flew gusts of herbs and spices finding their way into the pot only to collide with vibrantly colored vegetables. In the end, the flavours, textures, and colours would blend together in perfect harmony.

In many ways, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation's Faiths Act Fellowship reminds me of a good cup of soup.

The different components of the Faiths Act Fellowship are all causes that can stand by themselves. By itself, multifaith action is incredibly important. By itself, working towards accomplishing the Millennium Development Goals is a worthy task, and by itself raising awareness of malaria can help thousands of people live longer and healthier lives.

However, the Faiths Act Fellowship takes these individual herbs, spices, and vegetables to create something new. It creates a space for these components to enhance each other. In fact, it was the combination of these different components that drew me to it in the first place.

It also ensures that the role of faith to do good isn’t going under the radar. Too often, this is overlooked. Faith inspires individuals to make a positive difference yet the prevailing narrative of religion focuses more on its extremes then its everyday face. The Faiths Act Fellows work in interfaith pairs to change this narrative, not just through words, but by taking action.

I became a Tony Blair Faith Foundation Faiths Act Fellow because I wanted to show that it’s worth our time to combine multifaith action, malaria and the MDGs. To show our faiths can come together and accomplish a goal in harmony with each other.

After all, who can really say no to a good cup of soup?

Andrea Choi and Shazia Ali, Faiths Act Fellows