Gang violence, malnutrition, and loss of educational services and infrastructure feed into each other, forming a “polycrisis” that threatens Haiti’s Next Generation.

(Photo courtesy of Zach Vessels via Unsplash)

A lack of schooling makes kids especially vulnerable to danger. Even when people flee to areas where there are schools, “They don’t have the money, because all they took with them is the clothes on their backs,” For Haiti With Love’s Roseline DeHart explains.

“Surviving is a priority.”

Many displaced families and kids live on the streets. “This is also a problem,” De Hart says, “because anybody can give those kids money to go do any trouble – anything they want them to do – just for survival.”

For Haiti With Love points the people they serve to God and to hope in Him for their future. When they have the budget, they give food, build homes, and offer a school support program.

“We always tell them that God doesn’t want them to live like that. Even though the country is the way it is, it’s not God’s plan,” De Hart says.

“They’re the future of Haiti. They can go to school and make it better, and God has a plan for them.”

Pray for God’s mercy on Haiti and consider giving financially to For Haiti With Love. “We just keep doing all we can, and we ask for support so we can continue to do it,” De Hart says.

Header image depicts Haitian children circa 2014. Photo credit MNN/Katey Hearth. 

This led to a vote on Friday by the United Nations Security Council on a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. But like several previous resolutions, this one failed to pass in the fifteen-member council.

Food isn’t the only thing scarce in Gaza. Darrel Templeton with MegaVoice says their audio Bibles ministry has had to stop, despite their many years of partnerships in the region.

(Photo of audio Bible unit courtesy of MegaVoice)

“Right now, even though the requests are coming in, we just have not been able to provide the audio Bibles that are requested — because of the war, because of the blockades, because nothing is getting in or out,” he says. 

“As soon as those doors open, we pray that we will have enough to be able to provide for the Palestinian believers and the Palestinian seekers.”

As the situation in Gaza becomes even more grim, you can do something that will touch all those suffering. 

“The Scripture teaches us to pray for the peace of Israel, and so that is first and foremost what we need to do is pray for the peace of the land,” Templeton says, referring to Psalm 122:6.

“Real and full peace only comes with the Prince of Peace. So that is the ultimate answer for the Palestinian people, as well as the Jewish people as well as anyone around the world.”

See last week’s two-part story on the war from the perspective of Christians in Palestine and Christians in Israel. 

Header photo: U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules conducts an airdrop of humanitarian assistance over Gaza, Mar. 2, 2024. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Is it a famine?

Photo courtesy of Peter Caton for World Concern.

Still, the government has not yet declared famine officially. Cathy Herholdt with World Concern explains why. “Things need to reach a certain level for an official famine to be declared. And those things are this: at least 20 percent of the population is facing extreme food shortages, at least 30 percent of children are suffering from acute malnutrition, and at least two people out of every 10,000 are dying each day due to starvation or a combination of severe hunger and illness.”

These things are happening in pockets of Somalia but not the whole country. Several humanitarian groups issued a joint statement, saying global aid can’t wait until the famine is officially declared.

Herholdt concurs. She says, “I spoke with our country director recently. He said they had gone out to a village to assess the situation. As soon as they pulled in, there was a mother who just ran up to the vehicle with her child in her arms, and the child was just on the brink of death.”

“They put them both in the vehicle and tried to make it to a health clinic 50 kilometers away. And unfortunately, the child passed away in the car on the way there.”

You can support World Concern as they give food and water in Jesus’ name.

This work in a couple of ways. First, Herholdt says the ministry is distributing Nutripackets. “These are emergency nutrition supplements for children ages six months to about two or three years. And they’re just little peanut butter paste packets fortified with protein, minerals, and all the healthy fats that a child needs to recover quickly.”

They also truck in water to the hardest hit areas. Herholdt says, “We give people vouchers because they can receive a limited amount of water daily. We also do cash transfers so that they can purchase whatever their family needs, whether that’s medicine, seeing a doctor, or food.”

You can support this work here.

The header photo shows dead carcasses of drought-stricken animals in Somaliland. (Photo courtesy of Peter Caton for World Concern) 

Guatemala has the largest economy in Central America. Even so, chronic childhood malnutrition and food insecurity have plagued the nation. The onset of COVID-19 made things worse, slashing Guatemala’s GDP by 1.8 percent – which translates into lowered personal incomes, retail sales, and industrial production.

Guatemalan flag (Photo courtesy of Shalom de Leon via Unsplash)

So it’s no surprise that churches in Guatemala have also been impacted.

Byron Aguilar, the director of Crossroads Prison Ministries Guatemala, says, “Our churches have been closed during the whole pandemic time. Many of the members of churches here, especially in Latin America, lost their jobs and also lost their businesses.

“In our church, for example, we weren’t able to pay rent. So we do not have a location right now – a physical location for our church.”

Even without a physical building, Aguilar’s church is still being the Church.

“More of our budget is allocated for food for the members of our church that are in need,” Aguilar says. “And there’s many more now needing food than before.”

The church members are also financially supporting Crossroads Bible Studies in El Boquerón Prison, one of three maximum-security prisons in Guatemala.

(Logo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

Now, Aguilar says, “We are planning another activity with the prisoners inside El Boquerón Prison. The prison is now allowing relatives of the prisoners to visit. We’re going to help process the necessary applications to get the necessary permissions with the prison authorities so that we could have a family visitation day and bring the children and relatives in and have a snack with the prisoners and their kids and their families, and also bring in additional Crossroads lessons!”

Please boldly pray for this faithful church in Guatemala! Ask the Lord to provide a physical building for the congregation. Pray for spiritual encouragement as they support the hungry and needy in their communities and the prison system.

And most of all, pray for many lost and searching souls in Guatemala to find hope in Jesus Christ!

“The best is yet to come,” Aguilar says. “The pandemic was not able to stop the advancement of the Gospel.”

Click here to learn more about Crossroads Prison Ministries!

Header photo representational, courtesy of Ronald Cuyan via Unsplash.

World Concern’s Joshua Bundi says the help couldn’t have come at a better time. South Sudan is on the brink of famine thanks to the fallout of several compounded crises. “The last three years have been very difficult,” Bundi says.

“We’ve had the worst flooding in [modern] history; the closest they came was in [the] 60’s. The rain stopped in November, but still we have places we cannot access because it’s flooded.”

The problems don’t end there. “[There is] the issue of insecurity; people are destabilized,” Bundi says, describing South Sudan’s 1.6 million people displaced by ongoing conflict and strife.

“Of course, that got compounded by the issues [of] COVID.”

Along with a nutrition market, World Concern provides dry season training to local farmers.
(Photo credit: Harrison Macharia, World Concern)

Today, more than eight million South Sudanese need humanitarian aid to survive another day; half of them are kids. Thankfully, hope reigns triumphant in South Sudan, Bundi says.

“The Church is not only preaching the Gospel but also meeting the needs of the people that we are serving.”

Click here to send help through World Concern.

“Whatever gift they’re able to give [enables us] to provide a meal, some clean water; children are able to get worming tablets, food supplements,” Bundi says, describing components of World’s Concern’s Hunger Survival Kit.

“[In] the coming months, the situation – especially for the children – [will be] really critical.”

Most importantly, pray. Pray for strength and encouragement as believers continue meeting critical needs. Pray South Sudanese will come to know Christ through this outreach. Ask the Lord to bring good out of this extremely difficult season.

Header image depicts World Concern’s nutrition market, where beneficiaries receive vouchers to purchase eggs, vegetables, and meat each week for 12 weeks.  (Photo credit: Harrison Macharia, World Concern)

Experts say South Sudan is on the brink of famine, facing the highest food insecurity and malnutrition levels in a decade. If nothing changes, the World Health Organization reports, acute malnutrition will be the leading cause of death for children under five.

“About 1.4 million children under five years [old] are likely to [be malnourished], which is the highest number since 2013. It’s quite worrying because this [is] a very high number.”

The United Nations is already preparing food aid for the upcoming rainy season. “[The] rainy season begins around June [and lasts] to October when they do harvest,” Bundi explains.

Mary harvests and shows the vegetables she has harvested from seeds originally provided by WC. She is able to eat and sell the vegetables and replant seeds grown by the plants in Aluelweng Village.
(Photo by Daryl Finley)

Local churches are readying their supplies and response plan with support from World Concern.

“Our desire is to minister the love of Christ within those particular areas where people are neglected [and] very few people are able to reach them. Not only to give them food, but also help them get reconciled to Christ,” Bundi says.

“Pray for the South Sudan people; they are some of the most resilient people I have met. Besides praying, we can also give whatever the Lord has blessed us with to support the people,” he continues.

“People need assistance if they’re going to make it.”

Connect with World Concern here to send help in Christ’s name.

Header image courtesy of World Concern.

Poverty and Education in Niger

“Malnutrition is one of the biggest issues in Niger, and it’s simply due to poverty and lack of education. So, those two are the main reasons why many children suffer and die from hunger,” Christian Aid Mission’s Sarah Simba shares.

According to a World Atlas report from December 2017, Niger is the fifth most impoverished nation in the world. This is largely due to the droughts and climate change which affect the economy. And, according to Index Mundi, only about 19.1 percent of the entire population can read.

(Photo courtesy of Christian Aid Mission via Facebook)

The poverty and the lack of education are creating unhealthy lifestyles that affect the longevity of life for Nigeriens.

Index Mundi reports the life expectancy in Niger is about 55.9 years of age. This is a large increase from the year 2000, which estimated people’s life expectancy at 41.27 years of age. However, this is still far lower than the life expectancy in the United States, which is 80 years of age.

Simba says many families don’t have enough money to feed their children a proper diet, but also, “the people just don’t know what a proper diet looks like, what the proper food to feed the proper children, especially children under the age of five. They can’t just survive on a diet of rice, rice, and rice. So, just educating families on what does a proper diet look like is very key to fight malnutrition.”

Responding to Poverty and Malnutrition

A national partner with Christian Aid has been helping impoverished villagers in remote areas for years.

“The ministry we assist responds to the major famine that happened in Niger in 2005. This ministry opened their doors to malnourished children, and these were children below the age of five,” Simba says.

The ministry has expanded their work to help families and orphans as well. They’re educating villagers on a proper diet and offer medical care in certain areas.

In one remote village, the ministry visits once a month.

“They go regularly. They bring support and visit every month with nutrition supplements. And because they are [in] very, very remote areas, people do not have access to water and to food.”

(Photo courtesy of Christian Aid Mission)

Seeing the need, the ministry began a goat project. They give goats to impoverished families and orphans, which has helped provide milk and nutrition daily.

“This has proven to be the best way for them to prevent malnutrition and fight in reducing poverty in that part of Niger,” Simba shares.

“It give[s] them an income, and it’s an ongoing income, it’s sustainable, and it’s a one-time gift, but they are able to develop it, sustain it, and most of the recipients, they end up having their own herd of goats, which is a pride for them and really, a heart of thankfulness [grows] within them, and they see the community being changed, and that’s why the impact of this ministry is very appreciated even by the local authorities.”

Seventy-five families have been touched by this project and their herds are growing. Christian Aid shares that as the herds grow, the families give the first goat back to the ministry so it can be given to another family.

This project has established lasting relationships, which has created opportunities to share the Gospel.

You can be a testimony of God’s provision and faithfulness too by providing a goat. Help provide sustainable incomes and nutrition through Christian Aid Mission.

“Statistics show that every woman in Niger has 7.5 children, and that is between 40 and 50 percent of the children in Niger, and these children are under the age of five. And all the children are pretty much malnourished, like severely malnourished,” Christian Aid Mission’s Sarah Simba says.

Of the 18 million people in the nation, the World Food Programme (WFP) says more than 1.5 million people were affected by food insecurity last year and millions more experience food shortage during every lean season. Between 20 and 30 percent of people cannot meet their food needs depending on rainfall, agricultural production, and other contributing factors.

Medical Clinic

Seeing the need for proper nutrition and health practices, a Christian Aid ministry partner established a medical clinic to help children. They later expanded their program to include maternity services.

(Photo courtesy of Christian Aid Mission via Facebook)

“Both malnourishment and improved maternal care have been very, very… successfully managed in Niger,” Simba says. “Their vision was to establish an oasis of hope for mothers and children by providing to them holistic health services… education, health education in many, many, many community [outreaches].”

Their work is reaching eleven villages and providing nutrition and immunizations. In each center, there are trained nurses running the programs.

Overall, around 450,000 people are reached through their medical ministry work.

“This is a very strategic ministry because this project was just a launching pad for three major projects. So, the first one is the major outreach to different villages that they have right now [in] eleven villages. And the second project they use is a solar-irrigation, which is currently being implemented next to the clinic to provide food and other help to the patients.”

The third major project conducted by the ministry is sharing the hope of Christ and planting churches.

Ministry through Medicine

“The ministry we assist in Niger, they use their clinic vision to minister to all poor people. But, they don’t only target the people that are just poor, but every person that comes in contact with them,” Simba says.

(Photo courtesy of Christian Aid Mission)

Only about one percent of the Niger population is Christian. The dominant religion is Muslim. In fact, 80 percent of the people follow Islam.

Yet, addressing the people’s physical needs opens doors to minister. As the people see how loving and kind the ministry workers are, they listen to the Gospel truth and are told how much Jesus loves them.

“A [ministry] leader in Niger has shared with us how it’s an awesome task to be called both in the U.S. and in Africa and throughout the world to be ambassadors in Christ, and He said in all times, in all situations, as ambassadors, we are presenting the Kingdom of God,” Simba shares. “And he said, this is our challenge today, this is our privilege, and this is our passion.”

Simba encourages you to pray for courage, boldness, and unity of the believers in Niger so they will be strong witnesses in the name of Christ. She also encourages you to pray for authorities as they make decisions to increase sustainable development in the nation.

To financially come alongside Christian Aid’s national ministry partner, visit ChristianAid.org and enter 511CME.

Is this something you’re passionate about, too? Do you have a desire to share the love of Jesus with others? Are you a student? Then you might want to consider checking out Orphan’s Heart internship program.

Deanna Berkes of Orphan’s Heart says, “We’re looking for young individuals between the ages of 18 and about 29 to travel with us for an extended short-term mission during their summer time. So we have opportunities in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Uganda, and Latvia this year. We’re really excited about that.”

(Photo and header photo courtesy of Orphan’s Heart)

The internships are about five weeks long. They require more leadership and responsibility than a typical short-term mission trip with Orphan’s Heart. Interns will also be the go-to people for mission trip participants who are there for a shorter period of time.

“They do get to do the typical regular duties of helping children and working hand-in-hand with our ministry partners,” Berkes says. “But sometimes there’s a little bit more to kind of add those tools to their tool belt that most people are looking for with an internship.”

A heart to serve the vulnerable

If you’re wondering if this internship could be a good fit for you, ask yourself if the following mission is something you are excited about.

“Our main goal, obviously, is to further the Kingdom and to share the Gospel in everything we do. We always want to help one more child. That’s Orphan’s Heart and the Florida Baptist’s overall mission is to assist one more child in everything that we do.”

What it looks like to assist a child is different depending on where you are. In Guatemala, for instance, you’ll be helping children facing malnutrition. In the Dominican Republic, however, you’ll be involved in community development. The other countries have their own specific focuses, too.

“The first step is going to be deciding where you want to go. And once you’ve made that decision and you’ve prayed about it, you’ll fill out your application,” Berkes says.

With the application, you’ll need three written recommendations and an explanation of why you think an internship with Orphan’s Heart is a good fit for you. Following the application, you’ll go through an interview process and, if found to be a good fit, training.

Berkes says it’s truly a great opportunity to make a real difference.

“For those who are considering internships—folks ask, ‘Why spend money to travel for such a short period of time when you can give that money and help out more?’ But I would say, internships are really about the relationship. ‘Why give?’ we would say. ‘Go!’”

Maybe you’re not ready to commit to the internship program just yet. Consider going on a short-term mission trip this summer to see what it’s all about. Berkes says many people who go on these trips have decided to come back for an internship. To learn more, click here.

And check back in with us in the new year and we’ll preview some of the trips coming up.

(Image courtesy GAiN)

Malawi (MNN) — As one of the world’s least-developed nations, Malawi’s needs are great. Low agricultural production means a nationwide food shortage and higher food prices. All of that leads to constant hunger and malnutrition.

It’s hard to focus on the life-saving message of the Gospel when you haven’t eaten in days. But Global Aid Network (GAiN) and their local partners recently used a food delivery to make the Gospel tangible.

By addressing physical hunger, doors opened for workers to share the only solution to spiritual hunger: Jesus Christ.

(Image courtesy GAiN)

“Imagine the effect this has on Malawians when they hear their local pastor say, ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,'” GAiN stated on their Facebook page.

Pray that villagers will give new attention to the Gospel. Pray for changed lives as local partners do follow-up work.

According to the UN, Malawi’s underdevelopment rate is 47%, primarily due to malnutrition. Globally, hunger results in the deaths of 6.5 million kids under the age of five each year. GAiN’s Food Program provides children and their families with lifesaving food aid in North and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Find ways to come alongside GAIN’s food program here.