Displaying items by tag: Drought

This is one of the hardest times Kenyans have experienced. Four rainy seasons in a row have failed. The government declared a national disaster after only two consecutive failed rainy seasons. Since then, the short rains and the long rains have both failed again. Water is hard to find; cattle are dying. Even camels struggle to survive. The World Food Programme says half a million Kenyans could starve. Prolonged hunger and malnutrition have made people prone to disease: their weakened bodies can’t resist infections. In Muslim-dominated areas, Christians are usually left out when government food relief is distributed. Families used to earn their living as casual labourers or through small businesses, but normal life has ended with the catastrophic drought and famine which followed a series of other disasters.

Many face extreme poverty as drought and food shortages are serious challenges in this one-party state. Christians in denominations not recognised by the government are persecuted; many are under house arrest, and over 3,000 are in prisons that are beyond description. Some are kept in metal, unsanitary, unventilated shipping containers in the desert - tin cells that are almost too hot to touch by day and freezing cold at night. They are beaten to get them to renounce their faith. The government has seized church assets. All denominations are drawn together in fellowship through decades of war, drought, and government oppression, but the intense suffering of the Church in Eritrea is one of the untold stories. Pray that Christians may remain fervent for Jesus amid hardship and make a significant impact on their nation and beyond. Evangelicals now operate through underground networks in homes. Around twenty or more networks are known, but numbers are impossible to ascertain.

New research raises the alarm for ecosystems and agriculture. Samples from 2015 to 2018 showed that summer droughts were the most severe Europe has seen in 2,110 years as climate change stokes punishing heat waves. Using data from tree rings in living and dead European oaks going back to the time of the Romans, scientists identified a long-term drying trend that suddenly intensified in 2015 beyond anything seen in two millennia. The researchers said that this cluster of abnormally dry summers was likely caused by human-driven climate warming and changes to the circulation of the jet stream. ‘Climate change does not mean that it will get drier everywhere. Some places may get wetter or colder, but extreme conditions will become more frequent, which could be devastating for agriculture, ecosystems and societies as a whole,’ said lead author Ulf Buntgen, professor of environmental systems analysis of Cambridge University.

In Cabo Delgado, most Internally Displaced People (IDPs) have lost access to their basic livelihoods due to years of conflict. Neighbouring areas that were previously classified as ‘stressed’ now face ‘crisis’ situations due to a rapid increase in IDPs. Conflict and even more IDPs has made many areas inaccessible for those distributing humanitarian aid. They are in ‘crisis’ situations. Some of the most affected families who have lost their homes and livelihoods face difficulty escaping to safe areas, and will face even worsening famine. Families in drought areas are consuming wild foods due to low income and exhausted food stocks. Unfortunately, poorly distributed rainfall through December limited planting in southern Mozambique. Please pray that food security will begin to improve in April 2021 with the start of the harvest. Pray also for the poorest households recovering from Cyclone Idai but contending with worsening economic shock due to Covid-19.

Somalia has declared a national emergency as desert locusts destroy vegetation. An average swarm containing 40 million insects can travel 150 km in 24 hours, devouring enough food to feed 34 million people in that time. The UN said it is a race against time to tackle this invasion amidst ongoing humanitarian challenges. A spokesman said, ‘We do have a chance to nip this problem in the bud, but that’s not what we’re doing at the moment.’ Kenya’s food security is threatened, particularly communities keeping livestock on endangered pastures. Swarms crossed into Uganda on 9 February, and Tanzania and South Sudan are now on the UN’s ‘watch list’. Also, insufficient rain means that over two million Somalis will need emergency food aid this year after the worst harvest in 25 years. 300,000 were displaced in eight months; many have headed for the capital, Mogadishu. Six million Kenyans are food-insecure, while seven million Zimbabweans need aid after successive droughts and an inflation rate of 300%. Urban families are feeling the pinch of soaring prices. See

From Queensland to New South Wales, successive droughts and the need for extra water to fight bushfires have caused unprecedented shortages. Regions face the prospect of taps running out within months. This is a portion of a national prayer for rain issued by Christian leaders: ‘We acknowledge that You are the Lord of the universe, the One who provides the rain to water the Earth so that crops, livestock and humans can flourish. We ask that in Your mercy You would send rain. We pray for physical rain and spiritual revival rain to flow through Australia. We thank You, Lord, for past revivals, and pray that the latter rain would be even greater than the former rain. Bless the work of our hands, especially the farmers on the land, and give us peace. We thank You for renewal of our land and renewal of our faith.’ See also

Farmers are struggling to afford to feed their animals in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, which is now officially declared 100% in drought. The area produces a quarter of Australia's agricultural output and farmers tell harrowing tales of failing crops, severe water shortages and inability to feed livestock; having to spend the equivalent of £5,768 per truckload of hay to feed animals, and the threat of large cullings.  Cattle farmer David Graham said he was resigned to waiting for rain, adding ‘In our community you support each other through the tough times.’ Mental health group Sane Australia has said that suicide rates in rural regions are 40% higher than urban areas.

Greetings in the name of our mighty Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we had blessed prayer meeting in House of Prayer. Yes, God is continuing His works in Nepal through His people.

Please pray for our newly formed central government and the 7 states of Nepal, very small country but more states.

Pray for rain in Nepal now very much dry allover the Nepal.

Please pray for sustainable country of Nepal and good government. 

Please pray for God's hand for prosperity and blessing upon our country.

We are so much thankful to your regular prayer and love for Nepal. We honor your heart for the Lord!

Thank you for loving us and praying for us and investing us for His Kingdom.

May the Lord bless you

Govinda and Sujita

Africa's Sahara desert is increasingly encroaching upon traditional farmlands. Muslim Fulani herdsmen, the largest nomadic tribe in Africa, are desperate for grazing land and water for their cattle, but farmers can't tolerate their crops being eaten, trampled, and destroyed by those cattle. This conflict for survival gives rise to violence. The mainly Christian Nigerian farmers have no defence against marauding herdsmen wielding guns and machetes. The central Christian area of Nigeria was once the main target, but with increasing desert encroachment, more areas are targeted. The Fulani are now even more of a threat than Boko Haram insurgents. Farmers are being slaughtered, and some are considering abandoning their farms. AK-47 assault rifles from the conflicts in neighbouring Libya and Mali come across porous borders. A recent anti-grazing law has failed to stop the Fulani. President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani, has ordered military crackdowns on them. Pray for God to destroy their sources and stockpile of weapons.

The food crisis in East Africa is escalating. Women and children are dying in South Sudan. The number of Kenyans needing emergency food has doubled in the past three months and could soon reach four million. Food prices are spiralling. Many people, weak with hunger, have to make long journeys just to find water. But the last months before the hoped-for harvest in June will be the hardest to bear. All food stocks were exhausted long ago. Most of the livestock are dead, and the crops are not yet fully grown. This is the period when people die. But a good harvest needs rainfall. The March-May rains in Kenya started late this year. In Uganda the rains started early but have been erratic - some areas getting too much and others too little. Mission agencies are giving support during this prolonged drought that has caused the death of livestock and people, but they need more help from the public as the crisis grows.