1.5 billion people are still waiting for the Bible in a language that speaks to them best. Over 7,000 ethnic groups are still unreached without any knowledge of there even being a gospel. Pray for avenues and inroads into diverse cultures so that unreached people hear and read the gospel in a familiar language and culture. Pray for God’s anointing on anthropologists, researchers, and those with linguistic skills to analyse a language and devise an alphabet for the people they are studying. Pray for trained literacy workers assisting communities to read and write in their own language and for those making audio recordings or videos pointing people to Jesus. May accurately translated scriptures change lives and communities.

A Japanese ship ran aground on a reef off Mauritius two weeks ago and has been leaking oil into the Indian Ocean. Although the oil spill has stopped, the prime minister said the nation must still prepare for ‘a worst-case scenario’ as at some point the ship will fall apart. The amount of spillage is relatively low compared to global spills in the past, but the damage it will do is huge and long-lasting; it took place near two environmentally protected marine ecosystems and a marine park reserve wetland of international importance. Conservationists are finding dead fish and seabirds covered in oil, despite a massive local clean-up operation. Pressure is mounting on the government to explain why more was not done in the two weeks since the vessel ran aground: see

Since January there have been constant murders, looting, rape and abductions of Christians in Southern Kaduna. On 9 August a series of short videos entitled ‘Stop the Killings in Southern Kaduna’ was released as part of a campaign calling for an end to targeting Christian communities. The videos feature high-profile celebrities, actors, comedians, music artists and business executives. The president of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union said, ‘There is no greater lie than the narrative that the killings in southern Kaduna are between farmers and herders. 75% of the victims were women and children’. CSW has called for effective action to address the situation and echoes the Nigerian entertainment industry which has spoken out about the relentless loss of life. CSW says, ‘We continue to call for urgent international interventions, including the convening of a special session of the UN human rights council, with particular focus on the current crisis in southern Kaduna and Plateau State.’

Farming used to be a key source of income in Burkina Faso, but the climate crisis has made the weather unpredictable, crops fail, and families have few other opportunities to earn money to survive. 80% of the population is dependent on agriculture to earn an income. When crops fail, families go hungry, and they are forced to make hard decisions so that they can survive. Parents are now sending their children to work in the gold mines. It is dangerous and no place for a child, nevertheless thousands of children now work there. They work instead of going to school, and miss out on being children, playing with their friends, learning, and dreaming. However, Tearfund’s local partner CREDO is working with farmers to help restore the soil and provide training on new farming techniques and harvesting climate-resistant crops.