Horn of Africa: 12 million affected by drought
11 Aug 201112 million people across the Horn of Africa are struggling from the worst drought in decades, with two regions in famine. At emergency talks between aid chiefs, charities and ministers last Monday discussions centred around ways to step up food supplies and deliver them to the epicentre of the famine in southern Somalia, much of which is under the control of Islamist militants. UN emergency official Cristina Amaral said the fact that children are dying of hunger is ‘immoral’, she has been warning about the crisis facing the drought-stricken region since November when the rainy season failed. Now she says it's not enough for donor countries to stump up some cash for immediate food aid - there needs to be long-term investment to help farmers resist droughts and international mediation to bring peace to war-torn Somalia. See http://www.canada.com/life/Famine+Somalia+immoral+ordinator/5151657/story.html
Pray: for herders killing livestock on which their lives depend before they die of starvation and for God’s wisdom to endow the authorities making decisions in the coming weeks. (Ps.123:2)
More: http://www.canada.com/news/famine+Somalis+flee+Mogadishu+UNHCR/5159452/story.html
Honduras: Rights lawyer killed at wedding
27 Sep 2012A human rights' group in Honduras says a prominent lawyer who represented peasants in disputes with large land owners has been killed. Antonio Trejo was shot dead by unknown gunmen after walking outside the church, where he was attending a wedding, to answer a phone call. Mr Trejo represented lands rights groups in the Bajo Aguan, a fertile palm-oil-producing region. Dozens of people have been killed in land conflicts there in recent years. A statement by the Peasants Movement of the Valley of Bajo Aguan, known by its Spanish acronym, Marca, says he was shot five times outside a church in Tocontin, in the outskirts of the capital, Tegucigalpa. He was taken to a nearby hospital but died of his wounds. Human rights' groups have called on the Central American government to investigate the deaths of dozens of peasants and campaigners in the Bajo Aguan area, in Honduras' northern Colon department.
Pray: for all those who offer their services to the peasants in their fight against greed and corruption. (1Jn.3:12)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19695587
Christians in the evangelical church in Honduras fear they are being deliberately targeted following the murder of several pastors in recent months. Pastor Carlos Roberto Marroquín, the founding pastor of the Pentecostal Church of God and a prominent figure in other Christian organisations was shot last week as he walked his dogs near to his home. The police are treating the pastor as a victim of robbery. Some in the church fear he was deliberately targeted as part of a wider attack on the work of the church. A pastor of Harvest Ministry called the authorities to launch a full investigation saying, ‘There are already six pastors who have died in Honduras in recent months. There must be a project, the authorities must investigate who is behind everything.’ Pray: for God to provide a canopy of protection over His evangelists in Honduras. (Mk,16:20)
A federal court has upheld Hawaii’s definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The court rejected a lawsuit that sought to tear down the state’s law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman and Hawaii’s constitutional amendment that gives the legislature the power to maintain the timeless definition. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys defended the law and the amendment on behalf of Hawaii Family Forum, which the court allowed to intervene in the case in April. ‘This ruling affirms that protecting and strengthening marriage as the union of one man and one woman is legitimate, reasonable, and good for society,’ says ADF legal counsel Dale Schowengerdt. ‘The people of Hawaii adopted a constitutional amendment to uphold marriage and the court rightly concluded that the democratic process shouldn’t be short-circuited by judicial decree.’
Pray: that the Hawaii Government will continue defending the current definition of marriage. (Ps.74:22)
More: http://www.charismanews.com/us/33936-federal-court-rules-on-traditional-marriage-in-hawaii
Haiti: Slow return to normality after earthquake
19 Jul 2010
Some Haitians feel as if it happened just days ago, the Rev. Kerwin Delicat, a priest based in the city of Léogâne, said as people prepared to mark six months since the January earthquake. Some progress is discernible and eventually there will be a return to normal life, but it's like something that just happened. Many residents still mourn loved ones. For some, trauma is less palpable than immediately after the quake, but others are still struggling to resume their lives. Christian Aid staff had to relocate after their offices were destroyed and they are impatient at the slow pace of some recovery efforts, saying they want the Haitian government to be more forthright in finding better and ultimately permanent, housing for the tens of thousands still in displacement camps and living in tents. It will take a long time for many families to restart a normal life because the consequences have been so huge. Pray: for the mercy of God to flow, for the kingdom of God to advance, and the powers of witchcraft and voodoo to be broken over the nation, so a new day for the Haitian people will arise. (Ps.28:2)
Haiti: Setbacks for rebuilding efforts
16 Mar 2012Prime Minister Garry Conille has resigned and existing reconstruction contracts will be honoured - but no new contracts can be signed. Only a tiny proportion of international donor money for Haiti Earthquake victims has gone to the government, largely because of corruption and unruliness; therefore 300,000 people still live in tent cities in Port-au-Prince. There has been a perverse incentive for some to remain in tents because of the high level of public services provided by international NGOs. These agencies provide basic sanitation, health and education services in the camps, but they are not set up to rebuild infrastructure for a major city. Providing public sanitation for example is the role of government. Christian Aid advocated international donors funding should go directly to the Haitian government and corruption could be allayed by careful monitoring.’
Pray: for political stability and discernment, for wise government management and distribution of donor funding. (Is.34:22)
Haiti: One year on
18 Jan 2011
One year on from the earthquake that devastated Haiti, the massive aid effort has yet to bring stability to the country as cholera, rape and despair take hold. Some $11bn (£7bn) worth of aid has been pledged to the country over the next 10 years, but much of that money has yet to arrive following concerns about government corruption and ongoing riots after November's disputed election. In the centre of Port-au-Prince, the presidential palace still lies in ruins. What was a large, green open space just beyond the palace grounds is nothing but a sea of tents. After all this time, the piles of rocks, wood and mangled metal that were once homes and offices still line the streets. Mountains of it fester between the homes that were spared, like rotten teeth. For many, the blame lies firmly at the door of the estimated 4,000 international aid agencies operating in the country. Pray: that the funding pledged by various nations and agencies be released. (Zec.7:9)
Haiti: Help still needed after three years
17 Jan 2013After the powerful earthquake that devastated much of Haiti, a priest has pleaded with people in the UK to remember the plight of Haitians. Saturday marked the three-year anniversary, but Father Francois Kawas says many thousands of people are still living in camps. Father Kawas is the founder of The Centre for Research, Reflection, Training and Social Action and was in the UK last week to meet representatives of the UK Government and partner aid agencies Christian Aid, Progressio and CAFOD. His latest visit was made to ‘help people in the UK not to forget Haiti’, he says. ‘Haiti still needs the solidarity of your people. It’s very important for us.’ Despite billions of dollars in donations to help get Haiti back on its feet, Father Kawas laments what he sees as the poor management and coordination of funds, and says that much of the money is not gettng into the hands of Haitians.
Pray: that the funds given will be released to meet the needs of those afflicted. Pray that corruption and poor management would not prevail. (Ps.10.14)
More: http://www.theway.co.uk/feature.php?id=9074&this=After_three_years_Haiti_still_needs_help