Somalia
- Continue to pray for the children of Somalia who are dying at a far greater rate than others in this country. The famine recently spread to a sixth area of Somalia and has claimed tens of thousands of lives, mostly children. Pray for an end to this food crisis, caused by a combination of drought, war, restrictions on humanitarian aid organizations, increased food prices, lower agriculture production, and years of conflict and turmoil. http://tinyurl.com/3e2gxy7
- Pray for severely malnourished children whose compromised immune systems have caused them to become ill with diarrhea and diseases like measles, malaria, and meningitis. Pray God will provide the resources needed for children and their families to survive this devastating drought. Pray they will receive quality medical care, food aid, and clean water soon.
- Please pray that food and medical aid will get through to the children and people in greatest need and won’t be stolen by militants or organized gangs.
- Pray for the political leaders of Somalia—that they will work together to help the children and people of their country. Pray for the leaders of al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group that controls much of southern Somalia. Please pray they will allow humanitarian aid organizations safe access to regions in their control.
Nepal
- Give thanks to God for the work of the staff and volunteers with Next Generation Nepal (NGN) in helping reconnect trafficked children with their parents and communities. During the Maoist occupation of a remote region of Nepal, many parents sold all they had to send their children away in order to prevent them from being recruited as child soldiers. http://www.nextgenerationnepal.org/
- Pray for parents who were tricked into sending their children to large, urban areas, believing the traffickers’ promises that these sons and daughters would be given housing, education, and protection. Pray for children who were sold by traffickers into domestic slavery, prostitution, or to orphanages for illegal overseas adoptions.
- Thanks be to God for the rescue of so many trafficked children by nongovernment organizations in Nepal. And praise God for the NGN transitional homes that offer safety and security for children who’ve been trafficked.
- Pray that all trafficked children may be reconnected with their parents and eventually reunited with them. Pray local communities may be strengthened to support the safe reunification of children with their families.
- Please pray for improved educational opportunities for children, as this serves as an incentive for parents to keep their children safe at home in their communities. Pray for improved economic and health access in rural villages so families won’t be vulnerable to traffickers promising a better life for their children in overcrowded urban centers. Pray for a heightened awareness about child trafficking in these impoverished, rural communities.
United States
- Please keep in prayer children who are sexually abused and exploited in the production of child pornography. Pray for children whose images are repeatedly distributed around the internet by pedophiles and predators. Pray for freedom from this exploitation—every time a child’s image is viewed by a predator, that child is victimized again.
- Please pray for law enforcement officers and legal personnel who have to view hundreds of images of exploited and abused children to build cases against the predators. Pray God will provide them with protection against the unspeakable acts against children they witness in their work day after day. http://www.asacp.org/whitepaper/ASACP-whitepaper-9-10-2010.pdf
- And pray for predators, especially those in positions of trust, who possess, distribute, and/or manufacture child pornography. Pray for healing and the redemption of those who prey on and seduce vulnerable children. Pray that God will provide justice for all children who have been exploited or abused sexually. http://tinyurl.com/4yvelhv
Faces of Children
- Give God thanks for the health of newborn Reis and her mother. Baby Reis, the great niece of a Faces of Children prayer partner, was born in the family car before they could get to the hospital. http://tinyurl.com/3c2glmb
- Please continue to pray that more churches and individuals will join with the ministry of Faces of Children in spreading awareness about children in crisis and inviting more people to pray for children at risk.
