Displaying items by tag: poverty

Most British schools reopen on 2 September. During the holidays, three million children were at risk of hunger. One in five children faced food insecurity, one of the highest rates in Europe, because they were no longer receiving a daily school meal. Because of this, a variety of organisations and churches dotted across the nation have been providing free activities and hot and healthy meals to children and families who would otherwise have gone hungry. They have also been supporting and building relationships with the most vulnerable in our communities. Pray for these relationships to continue to grow after the ‘hunger clubs’ close down. Pray for the church volunteers who now have contact with some of the hidden ones in their communities to continue to give families the loving support that a compassionate church can give. Also, 37% of teachers spot malnutrition when children return to school after the holidays. Please pray for sensitive relationships to be built between families in poverty, teachers, social workers, councils, and other agencies able to support the vulnerable. See

More than 210,000 children are estimated to be homeless. The Children's Commissioner for England says that, as well as the 124,000 children officially classed as homeless, a further 90,000 are estimated to be ‘sofa-surfing’. Her report tells of families housed in repurposed shipping containers and office blocks, and whole families living in tiny spaces. Councils blamed a £159m funding gap. The report, entitled Bleak Houses, found office-block conversions in Harlow in which over 1,000 whole families live in single rooms barely bigger than a parking space, and shipping containers which are blisteringly hot in summer and freezing in the winter months being used in Bristol, Cardiff and London. The report warns that a further 375,000 children in England are in households that have fallen behind on rent or mortgage payments. This means that thousands more are at financial risk of becoming homeless in the future.

President Putin’s heavy-handed politics ahead of September elections have caused street protests for weeks. Russians are airing an array of grievances over economic stagnation and the Kremlin’s geopolitical isolation. Putin has turned Russia into a powerhouse to be reckoned with for foreign policy makers, but living standards have fallen five years in a row. The 50,000 protesters who converged a mile from the Kremlin recently proved that a movement that started with protests over candidates being refused to register for municipal elections has turned into a platform for a wide swathe of political concerns - local and national. Average Russians are experiencing poverty, consumer borrowing has increased almost 50%, and food chains have introduced consumer loans for shoppers, allowing families to put food on the table. Putin’s popularity is low, and social media have shown images of police beating generally peaceful protesters and detaining 2,000+ demonstrators. See

Far from seeing reform after Robert Mugabe was toppled, the country has fallen into deeper crisis as millions are ‘reduced to paupers’. Power cuts from dawn to long after dusk are causing families to cook on firewood in almost total darkness. Monthly earnings barely cover two weeks’ living expenses. With Mnangagwa things have gone from bad to worse with outlandish austerity measures causing 175% inflation. Multiple currencies replaced by another new Zimbabwe dollar, fuel subsidies cut, poor harvests, a cyclone and drought have compounded problems. The Zimbabwe Church is calling for the international community and the government to hear the cries of Zimbabwean families surviving on two meals a day and lacking life-saving medicine. UK aid agency CAFOD is asking for national dialogue, for all in authority to come together and address the current crisis as they do what they can to assist with food, clean water supplies, and seeds (70% of the population grow their own food).

Falafel is a cheap fast food usually snapped up quickly on the streets of Sudanese cities. But now Sadiya Seror sits with unsold trays of her chickpea patties. ‘These days people eat one meal a day; they forget the idea of three meals,’ Seror said, waiting for customers at her market stall. If you want to buy a meal for your family, it will cost around 175 Sudanese pounds. Before, the same amount would feed a family of five for three to five days.’ ‘Before’ is a reference to life prior to the pro-democracy protests that ended the 30-year corrupt regime of President Omar al-Bashir. A power-sharing deal is currently being negotiated between the military council and the civilian protesters, but what is proving harder to resolve, and dimming hopes for real change, is the impact of poverty and rising prices on a large and growing percentage of the population.

Donald Trump’s administration has proposed a rule to tighten food stamp restrictions that would cut about 3.1 million people from the programme. Currently 43 US states allow residents automatically to become eligible for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if they receive benefits from another programme, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - TANF. The proposal, which would save the government $2.5bn a year, requires people receiving TANF to pass an income and assets review to determine eligibility for SNAP. Trump said many Americans now using SNAP do not need it, given the strong economy and low unemployment, and should be removed to save taxpayers $15bn. At present SNAP provides free food to 40 million, 12% of the total population. Last year a Trump-backed effort to pass restrictions through a farm bill was blocked by Congress, following a month-long, partisan debate.

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.

The Trussell Trust has said that Philip Hammond has missed a chance to do the right thing by giving people on the lowest income financial support and certainty before Brexit. Our benefits system should ensure proper support is in place when help is most needed. But more people are struggling to make ends meet and face hunger. The trust said a record demand in foodbank use has resulted from benefits not covering the cost of essentials. ‘By failing to end the benefits freeze and the five-week wait for Universal Credit, thousands more people will become trapped in poverty and may be forced to a foodbank as a result.’ Financial experts said that Britain needs urgent spending reviews to address issues around benefits squeezes, education funding, and social care. The Chancellor promised to free up more money to help end austerity if there’s a smooth Brexit, and that a disorderly Brexit would deal a ‘significant’ blow to economic activity in the short term. See

Church buildings are both an asset and a liability. There are far more church buildings per capita in rural areas than in urban ones. But there are fewer people in them, and many struggle to stay open, well-maintained and (at this time of year) warm. Yet some rural congregations have found creative new ways to use their buildings to reach out to their communities. Pray that for a right attitude to rural church buildings, that they may be houses of joyful prayer for all. Also, DEFRA reports that 16% of rural households were in relative income poverty in 2017. Low-income households in rural areas struggle with poorer access to low-cost supermarkets, higher transport and heating costs, and low-paid seasonal employment. 28% of foodbanks are located in rural areas. Pray for policy-makers in national and local government as they seek to address these issues.

Lim II went to a construction site in Kuwait, where he worked day and night for five months, but was not paid. His salary was sent straight to Pyongyang. Over the years, an estimated 150,000 North Korean men and women have been recruited and sent abroad to work for the ruling Kim family. Toiling in factories and on construction sites around the world, they have generated billions of dollars for the pariah state. Reporters in a documentary met defectors who confirmed that the cash earned overseas was going directly to fund the development of the country’s nuclear missile programme. A former high-ranking official spoke of Office 39, which manages thousands of companies and factories overseas and provides half of the country's gross domestic product. ‘Our main goal was to make foreign cash, and this foreign cash business is a complete secret.’