Wheelchair services 'are failing'
29 Jul 2015
One of Great Britain's Paralympians has said that wheelchair services across England are failing on every level. There are 1.2 million wheelchair users across the UK. Some wait years for the right wheelchair (an ill-fitting chair causes hip dislocations and pressure sores, and may worsen disabilities). There are stories of people with life-limiting conditions, such as Motor Neurone Disease, dying before they get their wheelchair. Krystyn Jarvis, of the National Wheelchair Managers' Forum, said wheelchair services were not seen as an important part of the NHS. ‘We have been asking for change for 20+ years. We know the situation isn’t acceptable.’ NHS England agreed the whole system needed change. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has launched a national charter to improve wheelchair services across Britain. Pray that services, clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts will sign up to it.
Ministry of Defence
29 Jul 2015
In recent years, defence has fallen low on the list of national priorities. While other government departments have ring-fenced budgets, that of the MoD is completely unprotected. On Monday Lord Richards, a former chief of the Armed Forces, said, ‘Britain must accept that sooner or later ground troops and tanks will have to be sent into combat to overcome IS.’ He said that David Cameron needed to put the country on a ‘war footing’ and rethink its military strategy to extinguish the threat posed by Islamic State militants. See also: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11722780/By-not-spending-enough-on-defence-Britain-puts-the-West-at-risk.html
World Special Olympics begin
29 Jul 2015
On 25 July, the World Summer Games in Los Angeles kick off with 6,500 Special Olympians competing. Across the world people working with adults with special needs recognise the power of sport to inspire hope, build confidence and courage and change the lives of athletes with intellectual disabilities. On 19 June Pope Francis held an audience for Italy's 150 Special Olympics athletes who are travelling to Los Angeles to compete. Pope Francis reflected, ‘It is beautiful and meaningful that young people and adults of every ability find in sport and participation in competitions, including at an international level, an incentive to live their life fully.’ Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the German Special Olympics athletes and coaches at the Federal Chancellery before they left for Los Angeles and wished them good luck for their participation. Special Olympics Great Britain is sending 115 athletes to the games.
Yemen: First UN aid ship in four months in Aden
29 Jul 2015
Last week Prayer-Alert readers prayed for an end to the situation where Yemen was being blockaded by a Saudi-led military coalition that was preventing 21 million Yemenis receiving urgent humanitarian assistance in a deteriorating war situation. This week local fighters and army units took control of the last district of Aden still held by the Iran-allied Houthi militia and its allies. Assisted by Saudi-led air strikes, the local forces have now broken months of stalemate in Aden by seizing the airport and advancing into parts of the port city held by Houthis and forces loyal to the ex-president. On 21 July the first UN aid ship in four months docked in Yemen's devastated city of Aden, bringing desperately needed relief supplies. See also: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/20/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN0PU0M220150720
Christian leaders, including an 89-year-old bishop, took to the streets of eastern China protesting against an ‘evil’ campaign to remove crosses. They see it as a coordinated Communist party attack on their faith. Activists say more than 1,200 crosses have been stripped from churches in Zhejiang province since the government initiative began in late 2013. There has been a spike in such actions in recent weeks. Last Friday twenty Catholic clergy staged a rare public demonstration in Wenzhou (a city known as ‘the Jerusalem of the East’). A banner unfurled outside government offices by the group read, ‘Maintaining religious dignity and opposing the forced removal of crosses’. Chinese police monitored the two-hour protest but did not break it up. Authorities say they are attacking illegal building practices not religion. Meanwhile Christian Today reports, ‘Occult beliefs are on the rise among China's communist leaders.’ See: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/occult.beliefs.on.the.rise.among.chinas.communist.leaders/60412.htm
Burundi: Vulnerable refugees need our prayers
30 Jul 2015
Burundians living in refugee camps in neighbouring Rwanda are being recruited to join Rwandan rebel groups. Several people in Mahama refugee camp in Eastern Rwanda have reported being approached to join the group fighting the Burundi government. They said dozens of men had left the camp. Meanwhile in Tanzania, Burundi refugee facilities are at breaking point, and more refugees are expected to arrive as tensions spill over about the disputed presidential election. The UNHCR reported that 79,000+ Burundians have arrived in Tanzania since May. The UN estimates 500 Burundians fleeing unrest are now arriving in Tanzania every day. Médecins Sans Frontières reported that the Nyarugusu refugee camp is simply not coping with the number of new arrivals. Aid agencies are struggling to provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to those in need, with a promised second camp yet to be built. See also: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/burundi-refugees-lured-join-rebel-group-150724095201444.html
A heavy monsoon is affecting various parts of Pakistan. Medical check-ups and free drugs are being provided to flood-affected people at medical camps, and ration packs and tents are being distributed. The Army is rescuing people by boats and helicopters, and are setting up free medical camps to provide further medicine packs and ration packs. Medicines were provided to 1,000 people, and 150 ration packs distributed. A further 522 people were rescued in Muzaffargarh. Hundreds of thousands have had to flee their homes and tens of thousands are now completely homeless. Link roads and bridges have been swept away, leaving families stranded. Thousands of acres of crops ready to harvest have been destroyed, leaving farmers without a source of income and unable to feed their families. Christian Aid, Norwegian Church Aid, and Community World Service Asia are closely monitoring the situation. See also: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/areas-of-concern/monsoon-floods-hit-pakistan.aspx
Egypt: Christians still being persecuted
30 Jul 2015
Egyptian believers were asked, ‘Have the constitutional changes adopted in 2014 made any difference to you?’ The responses in Cairo were positive where a great deal of security is provided. However outside Cairo people told of attacks on their homes and businesses, with many families having to flee to safe havens. But even in ‘safe’ places they receive threatening messages and phone calls, and Christian girls are kidnapped for ransom. Religious extremism and Egypt's informal legal process of ‘reconciliation sessions’ can result in Christians being expelled from their communities as part of collective punishment when one person has been accused of wrongdoing. With a lack of government security or the support of religious figures, many fanatics push their agenda to cleanse whole villages and towns of Christians. Despite, or perhaps because of, persecution the Egyptian Church is growing. Pray for them as they unite and become a powerful witness to God’s love. See: http://www.wazala.org/