Displaying items by tag: Sierra Leone

The information minister has declared that attacks on several locations in the capital, Freetown, were in fact a failed coup attempt led mainly by bodyguards of the previous president, Ernest Koroma. On 26 November they attacked a military barracks and a prison, freeing over 200 prisoners, but by the next day calm had been restored by the security forces, with most of the attackers killed or captured. President Bio remains unharmed. Sierra Leone, which is still recovering from a 1991-2002 civil war in which more than 50,000 were killed, has been tense since Bio was re-elected in June. The result was rejected by the main opposition candidate and questioned by international partners including the USA and the EU.

High on this new drug, young people are acting violently against others and themselves, even to the point of committing suicide. But this is only a heartbreaking symptom of a much deeper problem. Many recall the horrific civil war twenty years ago. Those too young to remember still suffer from a traumatised society and broken families. Sierra Leonians are reminded of the past when they see the many without arms or legs, a trademark of the rebels. Additionally, 10,000 child soldiers were used in this conflict. The nation is recovering, though unemployment is as high as 80%, and only 43% of the nation is literate. People are looking for something - anything - to cope with their pain. While many have heard the Gospel, only 11% are followers of Jesus. Although drugs may temporarily numb them, we can pray for the love of Christ to heal them.

Ebola caused a tremendous set-back for the New Generations ministry in Sierra Leone. They saw an average growth of 2,000 new churches annually, but in the epidemic this dropped to less than 200 annually. Fear of getting infected caused people to avoid personal contact. In disciple-making the Gospel spreads through natural social networks, by contacting people - in the same way as the virus. Church planting halted, so they decided to trust God and repurposed themselves to serve their communities, the government, the NGOs, and wherever the need was high. This made a strong and lasting impact in the predominantly Muslim communities. People who were quite closed before Ebola opened up to the Gospel because of the serving attitude of the church planters and their timely interventions. The enemy can use fear to bring the Church to a standstill, so the most important enemy to overcome is fear.

Koidu Town’s processing plants and surrounding earthworks create a rich diamond mine. Since the 1930s it has brought employment and prosperity to the region but it fell into the hands of South African mercenaries during the civil war and has been a private enterprise ever since. Koidu Limited took control of the mine in early 2000, evicting hundreds of residents from their homes leaving them destitute, to make way for the expanding diamond mine. Local leaders and land administrators did not uphold citizens’ land rights or protect their homes. The hundreds of millions of dollars generated by the extraction of diamonds continues to leave the community and the country with no benefits. Recently Transparency International has been working to expose the corporate corruption and bring justice to those evicted and living as refugees. Pray for the promises of running water, schools, clinics and recreation grounds to be honoured and the homeless to be compensated.

The annual monsoons in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sierra Leone have caused hundreds of deaths, while thousands have fled flash floods and mudslides. In Nepal’s southern plains, the home to much of its agriculture, huge swathes of land and 48,000 homes have been totally submerged by floods. Pray for those stranded on higher ground taking shelter in sheds, unable to move until the water recedes. Pray for the Bangladesh troops shoring up embankments, in places where such severe flooding has not been seen for thirty years. Authorities suggest the flooding is man-made, caused by the dams built on the India-Nepal border. Pray also for those grieving for the many hundreds who were killed by mudslides and floods in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. Many were buried alive as they slept. Pray for governments and NGOs as they work to support those who have lost not only homes but paddy fields, vegetable plantations, and fish farms. See: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/17/africa/sierra-leone-mudslide/index.html