Mauritania, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Qatar, India, Pakistan,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Syria, Central African Republic, China, Russia,
Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand
·
Please remember
in prayer the estimated 35.8 million children, young people, and adults around
the world who are living as slaves. Modern-day slavery is most prevalent per
head of population in Mauritania, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Qatar, and India, but has
a strong foothold in ten other countries and can be found in every country in
the world. http://tinyurl.com/nofnucr http://tinyurl.com/pshe8cz
·
Pray for children
born into servitude, trafficked into the sex trade, trapped in debt bondage, exploited
for forced labor, or abducted to serve in wars. Pray for those who are denied
an education because they’ve been forced to work or marry at a young age. Pray
for children who are exploited as unpaid, abused domestic workers.
·
Please pray for a
change of attitude and practice in Mauritania where hereditary slavery is
deeply entrenched. Four percent of this West African country’s population of
3.9 million is estimated to be enslaved.
o
Pray for children
who are forced to herd camels, cows, and goats, or who are forced to work in
the fields.
o
Pray for girl children
who are forced to do domestic chores like hauling water, gathering firewood,
preparing food, or caring for their master’s children.
·
Keep in prayer
the 1.2 million children and adults who are trapped in slave labor in
Uzbekistan—many of whom are forced to participate in the annual cotton harvest.
Pray for children who are expected to “volunteer” to help with the cotton
harvest and are exposed to hazardous working conditions and long hours in the
fields.
o
Pray for children
whose education or health is negatively impacted by this enforced labor
practice. Teachers, doctors, and health care workers are expected to work the
annual cotton harvest leaving schools, clinics, and hospitals woefully
understaffed. http://tinyurl.com/ljeduru
o
Give thanks to
God the number of children working in the cotton fields has declined in the
last year as authorities have made tentative progress in moving to eliminate
the worst forms of child labor.
·
Continue to pray
for the children of Haiti who are restaveks (children from poor backgrounds who
are sent to work for wealthier relatives or family friends). Pray for restavek
children who face forced labor and physical, sexual, and verbal abuse in their
work places.
·
Pray for those
enslaved in Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup, as large numbers of migrant
workers help to build the massive projects for this event. Pray for those who
are forced to work long hours, and for those who endure physical and sexual
abuse from employers.
o
Pray for the
children of these migrant workers (predominately from South and Southeast Asian
countries) as they are often left in the care of relatives or friends while
their parents are overseas.
·
Please keep the
14.3 million enslaved children and adults in India close in prayer. India has
more people in slavery than any other country in the world and most of those
are from lower castes and tribes, religious minorities, and migrant populations.
o
Pray for families
that have been enslaved for generations in the practice of bonded labor.
o
Pray for children
forced to work in brick kilns; carpet weaving, embroidery, and other textile
manufacturing businesses; prostitution; mining; agriculture; domestic
servitude; and begging rings.
·
Keep in prayer
the 10 million child workers of Pakistan—3.8 million of them are five to 14
years old. Pray for those trapped in bonded labor in brick making, farming and
carpet weaving. Pray for those exploited in the commercial sex trade.
·
Pray for the
children of the Democratic Republic of Congo who are often abducted and coerced
into joining armed groups. Pray for girl children who are forced into marriage
or subjected to rape as a weapon of war.
·
Please remember
in prayer the children of Sudan who are exploited for domestic work, commercial
sexual exploitation, and forced marriages.
·
Keep in prayer
the children of Syria who have been recruited as soldiers by government forces
and rebel groups. Pray for girl children who’ve been sold as child brides, or forced
into marriage or commercial sexual exploitation. Pray for refugee children who
have dropped out of school to labor with their families, harvesting potatoes,
olives, and bananas in neighboring countries.
·
And please keep
close in prayer the children of Central African Republic (CAR) who are forced
into sexual slavery, marriage, or made to labor in the country’s gold and
diamond mines. Pray for the estimated 6,000 children being used as soldiers in the
current conflict in the CAR.
·
Please pray all
children trapped in modern day slavery situations will find freedom. Pray for
God’s comfort and peace for all enslaved children.
