For three decades Somalia has lurched between disorder and anarchy. The government controls only bits of the country. The rest is in the hands of al-Shabab jihadists adept at blowing themselves up in crowded places. For many Somalis life is poor, brutish, and short. They live in the world’s fifth poorest and eighth most violent country. Their life expectancy is the sixth lowest. Droughts and floods add to the misery. In 2011 failed rains contributed to the worst famine of the 21st century: more than 250,000 people died, half of them children. A decade later history may repeat itself. The worst drought in four decades is wilting crops and killing livestock. On 5 September government officials said an even greater catastrophe could sweep the country within days or weeks unless more help arrives. Over 18 million people can’t find enough to eat; children are dying. Pray for hospitals to have enough nutritional supplements for children. See also

Thousands of children are trapped in slavery in Ghana. Families are deceived and children are being trafficked to work in the fishing industry on Lake Volta, living under violent abuse and the threat of drowning. Courage Hope spent five years of his childhood trapped in slavery until a friend, IJM and police brought him to safety. Today, he leads a network of survivors, advocating for an end to child trafficking. Although he still finds it difficult to talk about it, he wants his story to lead to change and is working on an appeal to help stop child trafficking. His experience is a sobering reminder of the reality of child trafficking. But we have a powerful God who is able to work in and through us to bring about miraculous change.

During October Silk Wave church-planting teams will visit Turkey, Greece, and Egypt to restore worship and plant God’s Word. 37 people will participate from two US Korean churches, with second-term young missionaries working in Istanbul with partners from Istanbul Mission Centre. They will visit gateway churches of the region to hear about the ministry and vision while seeking God’s guidance on how each local church can work together evangelising and church-planting. In Greece the evangelism and church-planting is being pioneered through refugee ministries. In Cairo they will see the ministry of refugee children’s schools and study how they can work together with the missions to the Islamic world which are working in Egypt. Silk Wave asks us to pray for all participants in the field to receive and obey Holy Spirit guidance in every event.

Iran’s exiled Queen Pahlavi called on military forces not to allow the authorities to use them as ‘tools of repression’. In an audio twitter message she addressed the police, army, Revolutionary Guard, paramilitary Basij forces, and plainclothes agents to imagine their own sisters, brothers, fathers and mothers before their eyes, urging them not to allow leaders to make them tools to suppress people. Describing the regime’s crackdown on popular protests after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody as ‘brutal and inhumane’, she said people from different walks of life and with different ideologies have risen up to eliminate the oppression. ‘You are also from this nation, so be with this nation,’ she said. Last month she released a similar message, lauding popular protests against ‘forces of darkness’ and decrying ‘harrowing savage crackdowns’ on nationwide rallies. Her son said, ‘Multiple reports indicate strikes spreading from cultural and educational sectors to the service and industry sectors. Nationwide strikes and protests will bring this regime to its knees.’