South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda
In July 2011, South Sudan
gained independence from Sudan as a result of a 2005 peace agreement that ended
Africa’s longest-running civil war. Two years later, fighting broke out between
government forces loyal to the president and rebel factions loyal to his
deposed deputy. The conflict has killed thousands of people and forced more
than 800,000 to leave their homes. Disagreements with Sudan over vast oil
reserves in South Sudan is contributing to border disputes between the two
countries. There are also several other complex, on-going disputes that
contribute to the volatility of South Sudan’s border regions. One involves a
cattle-raiding feud between rival ethnic groups in Jonglei State where hundreds
of people have been killed and an estimated 100,000 have been displaced in the
past three years. The African Soul, American Heart’s (ASAH) Boarding School for
Orphan Girls is located in this state. http://tinyurl.com/n79ntwy
·
Please keep close
in prayer the girls who fled ASAH’s boarding school when Sudanese rebels
attacked and ransacked their school compound last month. Thanks be to God the
villagers and the school’s students and staff had advance warning of the attack
and were able to seek safety. And give God thanks the ASAH staff have been able
to locate most of the students who fled the attack and transfer them to Juba,
South Sudan’s capital city. Pray for the safe return of the remaining girls. http://tinyurl.com/momyt4m http://africansoulamericanheart.org/
·
Pray for the
staff and volunteers with ASAH as they set up a new home in the Moyo District
of Uganda for the orphaned girls. Pray God will provide the resources needed
for the new facility as the rebels took everything they could from the
compound, including mattresses and pots and pans.
·
Please pray for
the girls as they adjust to a new home and school in Uganda. Pray for those
who’ve been traumatized by the violence in their home country.
·
Pray the ASAH
staff will be able to continue their work of protecting orphaned girls from
forced marriage when they reach puberty; educating them in school subjects and
life skills; and empowering them to be leaders and give back to their
communities.
·
Please keep all
the children of South Sudan and Sudan close in prayer during this time of unrest
and conflict. Pray they might have the opportunity to attend school and help
their communities develop and sustain peace.
·
Pray for peace
and reconciliation between Sudan and South Sudan.
United States
One-quarter of the United
States’ American Indian and Alaskan Native children live in poverty. Native
American children also experience two times the rate of abuse and neglect as
non-native American children. They are twice as likely as any other race in the
U.S. to die before they reach the age of 24. And they are more than three times
as likely as the national average to take their own lives and up to 10 times
more likely on certain reservations. The root cause of the struggles of today’s
Native American children is likely connected to the historical trauma
experienced by their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. In the
1870s, the federal government began sending American Indian children to
off-reservation boarding schools in an effort to control hostile Native
nations. The objective was to “erase and replace” Indian culture—students in
federal boarding schools were forbidden to express any facet of their culture.
In many instances, boarding schools were centers of sexual, physical, and
emotional abuse. The practice of transplanting Native American children
continued for almost a hundred years until it was phased out. http://tinyurl.com/oonzmzr http://tinyurl.com/deyoyf
·
Pray for Native
American youth and children affected by the abuse inflicted upon their parents,
grandparents, and great-grandparents in off-reservation boarding schools. Pray
for those who suffer abuse as a result of the aftermath of this century-long
attempt to assimilate Native American children.
·
Pray for Native
American children and youth who experience hopelessness and despair to such a
degree they believe suicide is their only option. Pray for those who don’t have
access to mental health care, counseling services, or family support.
·
Please pray for
girls who are victims of repeated sexual and domestic violence. Pray they are
able to access support services for survivors. Pray for God’s healing presence in
their lives.
·
Pray the high
incidence of youth suicides in Native American populations will be drastically
reduced. Pray young people in these communities will be able to see a future
for themselves and not give up hope.
Faces of Children
- Please keep in prayer Faces of Children intercessor John as he recovers from recent back surgery. Pray for God’s healing touch upon this faithful prayer partner and for a complete recovery.
