Displaying items by tag: poverty

Foodbanks are appealing for more food than normal; the school holidays have started. For many parents, the summer holidays bring fresh challenges for meagre budgets. The Trussell Trust handed out 4,412 more three-day emergency food parcels for children last July and August than during the previous two months. Almost half go to primary school pupils, and 27% to children, including babies, under the age of four. School holidays financially stretch families struggling to get by. Without free school meals, and with extra childcare costs, families who just about stay afloat risk going under. There is a food poverty crisis in the UK, and the government is starved of ideas. In 2016 teachers reported children returning to school in September sluggish and visibly thinner. Pray for the parents skipping meals, or working out the smallest number of calories they can get by on, or only eating what is left on their children’s plates.

Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, civil wars, and oppressive dictatorships all play a part in the story of Nicaragua. This nation of only 6.3 million people is physically the largest of the Central American republics. As it continues to face unending obstacles, leaving it one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, it also suffers from the ongoing conflict and violence associated with drug trafficking. There is poverty, there are broken families; but the suffering of many Nicaraguans has softened their hearts toward God. They are asking spiritual questions. Evangelicals have grown forty-fold in fifty years! Believers are growing in considerable influence, even in the government, but deep-seated poverty has also opened doors for false teachings such as liberation theology and prosperity gospel. Pray for seekers to be wise and discerning and for false teaching to be revealed for what it is - fake news, not good news.

A recent wave of terror has brought fear to people in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Many are fearful of exposing their families to danger. Tourism is in decline as many people cancel holidays, causing negative effects on the Israeli economy. This damages small businesses and the families they support. The attacks, which many have called the ‘third intifada,’ have worsened a major ongoing problem. Recent reports show that almost one third of Israeli families live below the poverty line. Thousands of babies frequently miss meals or have their feed portions diluted, causing an increased likelihood of experiencing significant problems in their physical and mental growth. If this continues, one-third of Israel’s population will enter adulthood under these circumstances. Pray for underprivileged families to receive enough support from government programmes and NGOs to enable them to manage their basic living expenses. May the children and babies receive the food, clothing and education they need.

One in eight young people seeking asylum in the UK are from the impoverished Balkan state of Albania. There is little to do in Skenderbeu, a remote town in the mountains where jobs are few and poverty rife. Edison sees only one way out: ‘I want to go to England for a better life. I’ll do any work. My brother and my friends have already gone. I’m jealous. This is my dream.’ His brother left the town four years ago, one of hundreds of boys from this region - some as young as thirteen - whose families pay thousands of pounds to people-smugglers to take them to Britain. Every family seems to have at least one relative in London, many of whom end up working illegally on building sites or in car washes. The little town survives on money sent from Britain. Officials estimate youth unemployment in Albania could be as high at 80%.

Egyptian Christians, as security worsens, are fleeing the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula, some with just the clothes on their backs, after several killings and explicit calls by IS to target them. The displacement has reached a scale rarely seen outside natural disasters. Pray for God’s comfort and strength for all experiencing continued death threats, and for those who have fled from their homes and communities. Ex-president Hosni Mubarak was freed last week after six years in custody. His release comes amid an economic crisis after years of political tumult and worsening security. Egyptians complain of empty pockets and rumbling bellies as inflation exceeds 30% and the government tightens its belt in return for loans from the International Monetary Fund. A politician said that the economic crisis and high prices, plus the fear of terrorism, take priority over everything, including politics. See

The Equality Trust reports, ‘The richest 10% of households spend more on eating out (£58.40) than the poorest 10% of households spend on housing, fuel and power combined (£44.50). They spend £34.50 per week on furniture and furnishings, that’s more than the weekly food shop of the poorest 10% (£30.40).’ The list also covers alcohol, clothing and pets, revealing a massive gap between the richest and poorest households and huge inequality in our society. We often criticise the poor for being wasteful, but the richest are spending more on their pets than the poorest are on clothing their families. Many people are working, budgeting, and making difficult choices about which necessities to go without. Millions more are in danger of falling into debt and poverty. UK income inequality is among the highest in the developed world and evidence shows that this results in poorer mental and physical health, higher violent crime, poorer educational outcomes and lower levels of trust.

Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has revealed that two years ago 19 million people in the UK, nearly one in three, were living on less than the Minimum Income Standard (MIS). The problem is that household costs are rising, while incomes have stagnated. The Government has already said it is taking action to raise incomes, after Theresa May identified those ‘just about managing’. The MIS is based on what members of the public think is a reasonable income to live on. A single person renting a flat outside London is said to need to earn at least £17,300 a year to reach the MIS, and for a working couple with two children, living in social housing, each of the individuals need to earn £18,900 a year. The figures include six million children - 45% of all children in Britain. There are also 1.8 million pensioners, 14.6% of the age group. The figures are up from 15 million, or 25% of the population, six years previously. The report warns that many families which are just about managing are in danger of falling into poverty. That is despite record levels of employment.

Mexico is regularly mentioned in the news these days, but the stories rarely say much about the Mexican people. The daily realities for many in Mexico are dire. 60% of the people live in poverty. Police corruption empowers organised crime. 35,000 people have died in drug-related violence since 2006. 800,000 children either live on the streets or are homeless, and 11 million children are child labourers. Kidnappings in Mexico are among the most frequent in the world. These desperate situations lead many on a life-threatening quest for refuge, freedom, and opportunity. However, praise God: increasing numbers of Mexicans are putting their trust and hope in Jesus Christ! Many are realising that only He can transform this nation and bring eternal peace to its people. Together let's watch and pray for mission agencies working amongst the vulnerable, for the members of the police force who have not succumbed to corruption and for the families who have lost loved ones to drugs and violence.