Displaying items by tag: Africa

Five years ago, 230 girls were abducted in Chibok by Boko Haram. Parents whose daughters have not yet returned say it still feels like a ‘fresh wound’ but refuse to give up hope. Boko Haram set classrooms ablaze and told the girls they were under attack while they pretended to protect them. They herded them into trucks, drove into the forest and subjected them to rape, pregnancy, violence, and death. Those who did not obey militants or refused to renounce their Christian faith were punished severely; there are suggestions that some of them were forced to become Boko Haram fighters and commit murders for the group. 165 of the girls belonged to the Nigerian Church of the Brethren. Pray for parents like Yana, whose daughter has not returned. ‘Any time I speak about Rifkatu, I feel so much pain in my heart’, she said. ‘When she was kidnapped, laughter ceased in my house.’

After being invited to an unprecedented 24 hours of prayer and preaching in the Vatican, South Sudanese leaders appeared stunned as the 82-year-old pontiff, who suffers from chronic leg pain, was helped by aides to kneel and kiss the shoes of the two main opposing leaders. He appealed to President Salva Kiir, his former deputy turned rebel leader Riek Machar, and three other vice-presidents to respect an armistice they signed and commit to forming a unity government next month. ‘I am asking you as a brother to stay in peace. I am asking you with my heart, let us go forward. There will be many problems, but they will not overcome us’, the Pope said. His appeal was made more pressing as anxiety grew over the coup in neighbouring Sudan, which could risk the fragile peace deal that ended South Sudan’s brutal five-year civil war.

The fall of President Bashir has intensified a competition for influence in Sudan, one of Africa’s biggest countries. Talks between the new military rulers, who have now arrested two of his brothers, and protesters demanding a civilian government continue, as thousands remain camped outside Khartoum army headquarters. Omar al-Bashir is under tight guard in a maximum-security prison. Uganda said it would consider offering asylum if he applied, despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The generals now running Sudan said Bashir will not be transferred to the ICC but will be tried in Sudan. Meanwhile demonstrators have vowed to stay on the streets, pressing for women's rights and the handover of power to the people. Hundreds of doctors marched in Khartoum on 18 April to get rid of the regime.

Franciscan friar Peter Tabichi, a science teacher in Kenya, won this year's $1million Global Teacher Prize. Not only is Peter an excellent teacher, he also gives 80% of his earnings to deprived students living in a region of severe drought and famine. He teaches high-schoolers in a school with no library or laboratory, and only one computer with limited internet access. Many students are orphans or come from a single-parent home. Tabichi views his award as a big win for Africa and all teachers and students who struggle every day with so many challenges. He will not keep the money for himself, but will use it to improve his school and feed the poor. ‘I intend to give it back to society; I intend to come up with projects that will seek to solve the problems facing the school and the community.'

Dogon gunmen recently surrounded a community of Fulani herders in Mali and murdered over 130 men, women, and children with guns and machetes. The village was left in smouldering ruins. Ethnic and jihadist violence has spun out of control. In fact, UN ambassadors were in Mali to discuss the crisis when the massacre took place. Since a 2015 peace agreement, ethnic groups have continued to resort to violence to settle their differences. Islamic militants take advantage of the chaos, securing safe havens and new recruits. Hundreds of lives have been lost as the violence has escalated. Dogon hunters and semi-nomadic Fulani herders fight over access to land and water. The Dogon also accuse Fulanis of ties to jihadist groups. The Fulanis say Mali's military arms the hunters to attack them. Less than 10% of citizens have heard of Jesus. However no nation is a lost cause. See

With President Abdelaziz Bouteflika quitting, Al Qaeda terrorists could now fill the political vacuum. Bouteflika held office for 20 years, then the military told him to go following continuing street protests. In March, leading Al-Qaeda official Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi urged Muslims to unite to ensure Algeria is ruled by sharia law. Al-Anabi, designated a ‘terrorist’ by the US state department, called on citizens to reject any regional or tribal identities and unite as ‘sons of Islam’ to create an Islamic emirate. The speaker of the upper house of parliament has become the country’s 90-day caretaker president until elections are held. But one protest leader said that the street demonstrations will continue because ‘we do not accept the caretaker government’. Young Algerians are demanding jobs in a country where one in every four under the age of 30 is unemployed, in an economy dependent on oil and gas exports.

‘The regime has fallen, we won!’ was the cry outside the defence ministry as the three-decade reign of President al-Bashir came to an end on 11 April. President Omar al-Bashir has stepped down, and consultations are under way to set up a transitional military council to run Sudan. Bashir is under heavy guard at the presidential residence. Tens of thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in the centre of Khartoum in jubilation, dancing and chanting anti-Bashir slogans. Since 19 December 2018, Sudan has experienced persistent violent demonstrations sparked by the government’s attempt to raise the price of bread, and an economic crisis that has led to fuel and cash shortages.

Libya has been beset by chaos since Gaddafi’s overthrow in 2011. During the uprising, anyone with a gun commanded respect. An estimated 1,700 armed groups emerged. Only these armed militias really wield power: it is felt that they often hold to ransom the politicians they supposedly back. Also, many are concerned that IS now has a presence there. On 4 April warlord Khalifa Haftar began an attack on Tripoli to wrest it from the UN-backed prime minister. So far at least 56 people have been killed and 266 wounded, according to the WHO. It said it had sent emergency teams to assist frontline hospitals; thousands of people had fled their homes. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has called for a ceasefire to avoid what he described as a dramatic, bloody battle. Europe is split over how to respond: see

Due to the influx of roughly 10,000 Chinese-owned companies into Africa, up to one million Chinese are hearing the gospel from African Christians and bringing their newfound religion home. While new religion regulations are in place in China to ‘block extremism’, African churches are reaching out to Chinese workers by incorporating Mandarin into services; the Chinese have welcomed the sense of community and belonging that Christian churches offer. Also, missionaries from Taiwan are targeting Chinese nationals in Africa, preaching with a freedom they would never be allowed in the People's Republic. When evangelised Chinese Christians return home, they bring their new faith with them. There are an estimated 93 to 115 million Protestants currently in China. If current growth rates continue, the nation will soon have more Christians than any other country in the world.

Before Cyclone Idai devastated 1.7 million lives, Mozambique was known as the ‘Land of Smiles’. Now there is no electricity, no running water, homelessness, cholera and many still awaiting aid. But the greatest tragedy is that many of these souls were unprepared to face eternity that day. In fact, many in Mozambique have yet to even be reached with the Gospel of Jesus. In recent years spiritual responsiveness has increased, and many are turning to Jesus. But the urgency remains. Rampant disease, natural disasters, and widespread poverty were there before Idai. The time for people to hear about Jesus is now. Pray for true freedom for those in bondage to poverty, disease, witchcraft, and animism. Pray for the Church in Mozambique and neighbouring nations, for its leaders to grow in spiritual maturity and Biblical understanding. It is believed that 40% of the world’s unmined rubies are in this poverty-stricken country. Pray for honest investment into underdeveloped resources to strengthen the fragile economy.