A reflection by Guvna B gospel rap artist, composer and Tearfund ambassador

Transcription

1 1 LET S CHOOSE CHANGE A reflection by Guvna B gospel rap artist, composer and Tearfund ambassador In my first year of university, my car had an engine problem and I was quoted about 800 to fix it. It was an unexpected expense, I had about 800 to my name at the time, and I wasn t going to be paid for another ten days, but I didn t have much of a choice as I relied on the car heavily for work purposes. I paid the painful fee for the car repair, and lived on baked beans and toast for a week. It was pretty tough, but nowhere near as challenging as Tearfund s Mean Bean Challenge, which I took part in this March. The Mean Bean Challenge means plain rice and plain beans for five days straight, water to drink and nothing else. (You re also allowed to have plain porridge made with water, but I can only think of a few things worse!) I took part in the challenge because one of my New Year s resolutions was to do more to help others. I formed a team of 40 incredible people, and we raised over 7,000, enough to provide 120 families around the world with life-transforming skills and resources to overcome hunger. Taking part in the Mean Bean Challenge made me feel two things (other than hungry): empathetic, and overwhelmed... Empathetic I consider myself to be a fairly compassionate person. I care about issues that affect society and I care about making a difference; but taking on a diet similar to people who are living in poverty made me feel a heightened sense of empathy. Yes, I want to see poverty disappear, but just how much do I want that? A whole lot more since I took this challenge. My heart breaks for those who are forced to face challenges much worse than this as part of daily life. Overwhelmed I felt overwhelmed, because hunger is just one issue. Now I ve gone five days without the choice to eat what I need and want, I m passionate about doing all I can to combat hunger. But there are so many issues, it s easy to become overwhelmed and fatigued. Can we possibly do anything to make giant waves, rather than just tiny splashes in the ocean? Well, in short, I think we can. My team s 40 tiny splashes through the Mean Bean Challenge made a giant wave of 7,000. Imagine how much we could do if more of us came together to face the problems of this world.

2 2 Let s pray. Lord, thank you for the privilege of choice. You yourself provided us with free will because you know choice is important. We re privileged to have choices such as what we eat, but I ask you to help us find ways to help those who don t. Help us to not just use the choices we are afforded for our own benefit, but use them to create the ability of choice for other people. Amen To find out more about the Mean Bean Challenge, go to A NOTE FROM 'Scripture tells us that when one part of Christ's body hurts, we all hurt. At the same time, when we are united in purpose and prayer, amazing things can happen. Let's take time to join our hearts with people around the world who are suffering because of poverty and hunger.' Jo Mummery, Community Fundraising FIFTY YEARS, FIFTY COUNTRIES: LIBERIA To mark 50 years of Tearfund, we re sharing about 50 countries where we ve worked, celebrating God s provision and power to transform, and praying for each of these nations. This week we re in Liberia. Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with some of the worst levels of water hygiene and sanitation. This makes communities vulnerable to the spread of disease. The Ebola epidemic of 2014/15, which claimed 11,300 lives across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, was a horrific example of this. Following the outbreak, Tearfund responded in Liberia and Sierra Leone by helping the most vulnerable people to recover. A crucial role to play We have two partners in Liberia, both of whom we have worked with since 1996, and they facilitated the response. One of the great challenges was educating people about the disease; and it was found that faith leaders played a vital role as voices that could be trusted. Church meetings were one of the few public gatherings still allowed and were crucial spaces for sharing information. Not only was there work to do during the epidemic, but also in the years after as it left many livelihoods ruined and family social support networks shattered. Recognising this, the programmes combined a number of responses to try to maximise benefit of the activities. Teaching good hygiene practices was critical, but this was enhanced by developing soap-making in communities to increase infection control and create income opportunities. Helping (clean) hands Togba* (19) suffered the loss of both his parents during the Ebola crisis and had to take on the care of his four younger siblings.

3 3 Dealing with this responsibility together with his own grief was compounded by the rejection of the community there was a great deal of stigma attached to the disease. He was relying on small handouts from relatives but could see no way out. But when Tearfund partner EQUIP began work in the village, Togba found much-needed support. The EQUIP team first of all gave him room to deal with some of the trauma through counselling and they encouraged him that there was hope. Then they helped him improve his situation by training him in soap production. Togba was given training in managing a business and is now selling the soap to the community, as well as teaching others how to make soap for themselves. This has enabled him to provide for his siblings and they are able to continue their schooling. I have hope for the future because now as I see myself, he says. I am a man with skills, and with the skills I have people are in need of me, so I am useful to society. Please pray: Pray that the small signs of improvement in Liberia s economy would continue and that employment opportunities would be created, particularly for young people. Pray for all those, like Togba, whose lives were shattered by the Ebola crisis. Pray that they would continue to find support and encouragement in rebuilding their lives. Over 60 per cent of Liberians in rural areas don t have access to safe drinking water. Please pray for the vital sanitation and hygiene work our partners are involved with. * Name changed to protect identity VENEZUELA S CHILDREN DREAM ONLY OF THEIR NEXT MEAL When the teachers in Caracas asked the children to draw what they dreamed of, the results were surprising. They would draw food, because they don t have money for food, Ana* says as she recalls her experience of visiting Venezuela. Even those who can still go to school can t grasp what they re learning, because of hunger. I was crying a lot. Ana, who works for Tearfund in Latin America, has just returned from Venezuela to learn about the refugee crisis, and how Tearfund and our partners are helping those who ve fled to neighbouring Colombia and Brazil. The exodus is expected to increase with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro being re-elected for another six-year term. The election (20 May) was marred by a boycott from the opposition and claims of vote-rigging. According to Ana, There is no real democracy. There is a deep economic crisis. There is not enough food or medicines the hospitals are lacking. There is food to buy, but people don t have the money to buy it if you earn $1 a month, how can you pay $5 for cooking oil?

4 4 A rapidly changing crisis Ongoing political and socio-economic developments have led to as many as 1.5 million Venezuelans fleeing the country in the past 18 months. This includes 35,000 people crossing the border into Colombia on a daily basis to stock up on food and other basics. Others have fled to Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Brazil. Annual inflation could reach upwards of 300,000 per cent by the end of the year. The majority of the population do not have access to essential medicines and over 8 million Venezuelans don t have enough food. The exodus has placed public services in neighbouring countries under strain, especially in the health sector. Border areas in Colombia are providing emergency healthcare, providing emergency food to children, and vaccinations for Venezuelans. One clinic in Cúcuta reported they are vaccinating up to 300 Venezuelan babies weekly because vaccinations have run out in Venezuela. Meeting needs Between February and May 2018, Tearfund partner CORSOC provided 228 Venezuelan refugee families in Barranquilla, Colombia, with food vouchers, and trained 100 families in how to generate an income. Ana says her dream is that Tearfund can work in Venezuela, particularly to help the children. Parents are leaving the country to try and earn money to buy food. Why? Because there are no jobs, and people are desperate to help their children. Some children were left behind in Venezuela, when their parents moved. We would love to be able to help them. They are now living with grandparents for example, aunts or neighbours. Some are even living on the streets. The local church, a national hope Ana visited several local churches in Venezuela. She says, I loved hearing about projects to care for these children, for example giving them a meal every day. Even so, it s proving to be an uphill struggle for these Christian communities. One pastor told me, a year ago, we had 200 people at this church. But in the last three months alone, 80 people have moved to other countries. It means there are fewer people in the church, and less money and fewer resources. It s hard for churches to keep going, but even so, they are doing what they can. One of my prayers is that the political situation will change. Maybe the rest of the world will see what is happening in Venezuela, and take action. My prayer for the church is that it can stand up in this situation, and understand that God needs it to act at this moment. I pray that the church can be the hand of God at this time. Please join with Ana and her team as they pray for the people of Venezuela, particularly the children.

5 5 Prayer focus: Pray for the children who are hungry and are dreaming only of food. Pray for their provision and health. Ask God to be with the church and its leaders at this uncertain time, that their faith will be strengthened by the hope of Jesus. Ask for God to open the doors for Tearfund to be able to work in Venezuela so they can help to address the needs of the people. *Name changed for security reasons PRAYER POINTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Next week The Climate Coalition of which Tearfund is a part is holding a week of action and lobbying on climate change. Please pray for people meeting their MPs that they'll have good conversations about how we can tackle climate change and help the people it's impacting most. Please lift up the people of Deraa, Syria. Please pray that aid will reach the 750,000 people trapped in the conflict there, and for the situation to de-escalate to prevent a humanitarian disaster. Pray for the safety of those who have already fled and are trying to find refuge in neighbouring countries. (Please don't share this online) Violence between nomadic herders and farming communities has claimed 215 lives in central Nigeria, where Tearfund's office is based. Please pray for those who have lost loved ones; for the safety of our staff and partners; and for Tearfund's peace-building efforts to be effective in the coming months while Nigeria prepares for presidential elections.