Quake Victims in Pakistan Wait for Help

Posted on by 施達基金會

[ePrayer – Pray for the quake victims in Pakistan]

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On 24 September, a 7.7 scale quake hit the mountainous south-western province of Baluchistan, Pakistan, causing more than 500 dead. A local partner of Tearfund UK, one of our long-term working partners is assessing aid needs. The quake flattened houses ‘as far as the eye can see’, according to one witness. Hundreds of people have been injured amid the collapse of buildings made from mud and bricks. Rescue efforts are underway but are being hampered by the remoteness of the affected region and disruption to transport links. A powerful 7.2-magnitude after-shock hit southwest Pakistan again on 28 Sep. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue teams are still searching for people trapped under their homes. Thousands of people have been made homeless as mud houses have collapsed and are sitting in the open waiting for help. Many villages in remote areas have still not been reached by the Pakistan’s army. [Tearfund UK]

Pray for the quake victims in Pakistan:

  • Please pray for those affected and that help gets to them as soon as possible;
  • Integral Alliance* has been watching the situation closely. Pray that God will make a way to provide the relief assistance.

* Integral is a global alliance of 18 Christian relief and development agencies, working together to present a more effective response to poverty worldwide. CEDAR is one of the member agencies.

Minorities Suffer Worse Health Outcomes

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[ePrayer – Pray for the health of minorities]

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Minority groups suffer worse health outcomes than the rest of the population, according to a new report published by Minority Rights Group International (MRG). They call for greater measures to combat disparities in global health outcomes between minority groups and majority communities. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have resulted in much that is good. But one of the fundamental flaws with them has been the lack of a right or equity perspective. Minority and indigenous communities often are marginalised from all aspects of life in their countries. For example, infant mortality among indigenous groups in China’s Yunnan Province was 7.8%, compared to 5.4% for non-indigenous groups in Yunnan and a national average of 2.6%. In Papua, Indonesia, HIV infection rates among minority groups are 15 times the national average. In Guatemala, indigenous children suffer approximately 20 percent higher malnutrition than majority communities. According to the report, lack of access to healthcare and systemic patterns of discrimination are major causal factors behind these figures. [IRIN]

Pray for the health of minorities:

  • Pray for sufficient and proper health care and assistance to the minorities;
  • Pray for an end on any kind of discrimination to minorities and indigenous groups.

Yemen in Push to Ban Child Brides

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[ePrayer – Pray for the child brides in Yemen]

First Phase Digital

Yemen’s rights minister will press for the minimum age of marriage to be raised to 18, after the reported death of a young girl on her wedding night. Rawan, aged eight, was said to have died earlier this month from internal bleeding after sexual intercourse, following her marriage to a man in his 40s. Activists have claimed the bill was shelved when ultra-conservative legislators from the Islamist Al-Islah party blocked it.

The local activist has been involved in a campaign against child brides in Yemen, a nation ravaged by years of strife and widespread poverty. Many impoverished families arranged their girls married in early age to relieve the financial burden and made the bride gift as a source of income. There is no clear definition in the country of what constitutes a child, making it difficult to battle the practice. It said that 14 per cent of girls in Yemen were married before the age of 15, and 52 per cent before 18, citing Yemeni and 2006 data from the UN. In some rural areas, girls as young as eight are sometimes given in marriage to much older men. [AFP]

Pray for the Child Brides in Yemen:

  • Pray that the government can address the problem by rising the legal minimum marriage age to 18 and implementing the law effectively. Pray for an end to the culture practice of Child Brides.
  • May God protect the girls in Yemen. Pray that their educational rights and holistic development will be secured, and they can live out the dignity and values granted by God.

Call to Prevent Illegal Killing of Elephants in Africa

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[ePrayer – Pray for illegal killing of animals]

First Phase Digital

Increased poaching and loss of habitats are threatening the survival of African elephant populations. The UN estimates that over 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in monitored sites in 2011 alone. Last year, in Bouba N’Djida National Park, northern Cameroon, up to 450 elephants were killed by rebel groups from Chad and Sudan. According to UNEP, the extent of the killings now far exceeds the natural population growth rates, putting elephants at risk of extinction, especially in Central and Western Africa. The illegal wildlife trade is threatening not only the survival of species such as elephants and rhinos but also the livelihoods and often the very lives of people across Africa and the developing world. UNEP calls ‘let’s stop the criminals and score some big wins for elephants, rhinos and threatened species everywhere’. Côte d’Ivoire national football team star and captain of Manchester City FC, Yaya Toure and footballers at a World Cup qualifier match made a strong statement against the illegal killings of elephants in Africa. Besides, some celebrities filmed an ad, mainly for China and Vietnam, to call for protection to the endangered species of animals and ban to ivory and rhino horns. [UNEP, WildAid]

Pray for illegal killing of animals:

  • Pray that the international societies will be united to prevent from illegal killing of animals and protect the species diversity. 
  • Pray that especially the Asian consumers will have more awareness of wildlife protection, stop purchasing shark fins, rhino horns and ivories and put an end to illegal trade of wild animals.

Number of Syrian Refugees Tops 2 Million

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[ePrayer – Pray for Syrian refugees]

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The number of Syrians forced to seek shelter abroad since civil war began in March 2011 passed the 2 million mark, which is a jump of almost 1.8 million from last year. There is an average of almost 5,000 Syrians fleeing into neighbouring countries every day. It is said that Syrian had become a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history. Some 52 per cent of this population are children aged 17 years or below and the number of Syrian child refugees had exceeded 1 million. A further 4.25 million people are displaced inside Syria. In view of the pressure the refugee exodus is placing on surrounding countries, including the worsening economic impact, ministers from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey will meet with UNHCR in Geneva in a bid to accelerate international support. [UNHCR]

Pray for Syrian refugees:

  • Pray for cease of civil war in Syrian and people are able to live in peace ;
  • Pray for humanitarian aid to alleviate people suffering and provide the required support to neighbouring countries;
  • Remember the refugees and displaced people that they can go back to their homeland soon and rebuild their homes

 

A Call for Greater International Cooperation on Water and Sanitation

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[ePrayer – Pray for water and sanitation in the world]

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Water and sanitation, which is fundamental to fighting disease and poverty, are included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Last year, it was said that the world had reached the target of access to improved sources of water, but water quality to a large degree still fails to meet basic UN World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Roughly 80 per cent of global wastewater from human settlements or industrial sources is discharged untreated, contaminating oceans, lakes and rivers. Sanitation is the most lagging of the MDGs. Meeting the target would involve reducing the proportion of people without access to sanitation from more than half, to 25 per cent by 2015. However, more than 2.5 billion people around the world still have no adequate sanitation and of these one billion practice open defecation. Poor sanitation also has a big impact on the safety and well-being of women and girls; the day-to-day humiliation and risks faced by women and girls without access to appropriate sanitation facilities have been demonstrated time and again. Therefore, renewed international cooperation on water management and access to adequate sanitation is needed. [UN News]

Pray for water and sanitation in the world :

  • Pray for greater international cooperation on working towards sustainable solutions and measures to improve water management and sanitation;
  • Remember the needs and situations of those without clean and safe water and adequate sanitation, especially vulnerable women and girls.