Fantastic anti-corruption summit
‘It’s hard to tell where Africa’s wealth goes when there’s a lack of accountability and public scrutiny – and corruption is shrouded in secrecy. That’s why the best way of tackling it is to maximize transparency.’
Bishop Munga from Tearfund partner the Christian Council of Tanzania
The Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, took place at Lancaster House, London on Thursday 12 May. The summit aims to step up global action to expose, punish and drive out corruption across the globe.
It was the first summit of its kind, bringing together leaders from across the world. The meeting was preceded by a conference on Wednesday for civil society, business and government leaders championing the fight against corruption. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari delivered a keynote address at the conference, ‘Why we must tackle corruption together’.
Tearfund’s lobbying and anti-corruption campaigns Secret’s Out and Unearth the Truth (2010 – 2013) led to new legislation in the UK and EU. Now, all European mining, gas and oil companies listed on European stock exchanges have to publish what they pay to the governments of countries where they operate.
Making this information public gives communities the information they need to hold their local and national governments to account for the way this money is spent. So it can fund vital services such as clean water, health and education, rather than being lost to corruption.
Please join in this prayer for justice and truth...
- Father God, the source of all justice and truth, help us to proclaim your justice and shine your light of truth into our broken world. Equip us to challenge corruption and its destructive impact.
- Jesus, you are the light of the world, a world of abundance. We pray that these abundant resources will be shared fairly, allowing all people to fulfil their God-given potential.
- Holy Spirit, convict our hearts when we implicitly support corruption that hurts poor people. Help us to hear the cries of the oppressed, and give us the wisdom and courage to respond. God, we pray for the success of the anti-corruption summit, that it will promote greater transparency. Protect our brothers and sisters standing up to corruption, and strengthen us all to defend justice and truth.
Killers or peacemakers – what future for Syria’s children?
Syria, 2012: Brothers Ahmad and Abed watch from their window as a child is shot and killed in the street. Their family flee to Lebanon, where the brothers attend a school for Syrian refugee children that Tearfund has been supporting.
The teachers find Ahmad and Abed aggressive and forgetful. ‘I knew something was wrong,’ says Miss Hala, a teacher at the school. ‘I told them they were very special to me. As a Christian, I try to be faithful in the smallest details.’
Ahmad started to open up. ‘During Arabic classes he’d ask to talk,’ says Miss Hala. Ahmad became more calm, and his school work improved. Now aged 13, Ahmad is a thoughtful child who wants to be an engineer to help rebuild his country.
His younger brother Abed took longer to respond. ‘While everyone was playing, Abed sat by himself,’ says Miss Hala. ‘I encouraged his mum, Zahraa, to give him love and attention. Day after day, as we both did this, Abed started getting better.’
Zahraa is delighted by the change in her son. ‘He was arguing with a friend and about to push him to the floor,’ says Pastor Wissam, who co-runs the school. ‘Then he remembered that Miss Hala encouraged them to care for each other and forgive people when they hurt you.’
Christ’s love expressed through the school has helped Ahmad and Abed overcome the trauma of the past and find hope for the future. Of his teachers Abed says, ‘I love them and they love me.’
- Praise God for the transformation in Ahmad and Abed’s lives and ask that they will continue to experience the love of Jesus expressed through the Christian school.
- Give thanks for the amazing hospitality of the Lebanese, which is being stretched to its limits as the tiny, fragile country is now hosting 1.7 million Syrian refugees.
- Pray for the fragile truce that has recently faltered after ten weeks, which the US and Russia are negotiating to reinstate.
Ahmad and Abed’s full story features in Tear Times, Tearfund’s magazine – the latest edition of which is out this week. You can subscribe for free here.
Katrin: child of the cyclone
In March 2015, winds of up to 180 mph hit the 65 islands that make up the Vanuatu archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean – destroying homes, roads and bridges. Rosaline was late in her pregnancy when the cyclone hit – destroying the home she shared with her husband, Samuel, and two children in the village of Lownamilo – on the island of Tanna in southern Vanuatu.
‘After the cyclone, we lost all hope,’ Rosaline says. ‘Homes, gardens everything was gone in seconds. Three months later things started to look up for us. We managed to rebuild our garden with the help of Nasi Tuan (Tearfund NZ’s partner) and other organisations. We also built a temporary home.
‘I gave birth to a baby girl, Katrin. Every day I thank God for the delivery of a beautiful, healthy baby.’
Tearfund’s partners have been carrying out long-term recovery work with thousands of families who lost homes, crops and livelihoods.
Nasi Tuan has been helping families like Rosaline’s who rely on cash crops – such as coffee and peanuts – to better prepare for the future. As well as distributing planting materials, tools and training the community to plant cash crops, they also support families to be more resilient to future disasters by promoting new food-preservation techniques.
- Give thanks for the life of baby Katrin and for the joy that she continues to bring to Rosaline and Samuel who are church pastors in their village.
- Pray for their garden to be successful, that it would yield a good harvest and provide for Rosaline, Samuel and their three children.
- Lift up the islands of Vanuatu, this year’s El Niño weather phenomenon has brought higher temperatures and less rain, which has hampered crop growth in the north.
1
13 May 2016 One Voice weekly prayer email
tearfund.org/praying