Tag Archives: Aid

Economic Justice

6,000 Children Die of Hunger Caused by Corona – Every Day

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About 6,000 children will die today due to food shortages caused by the pandemic.

They do not die from the virus. They die of starvation and malnutrition.

Just as many will die tomorrow. And as many the day after that.

The UN warned this spring that corona would cause a famine of biblical proportions. Now it’s here.

The number of people affected by food insecurity has risen by 120 million due to the pandemic and its economic effects.

That is why I am so happy that the World Food Programme (WFP) receives the Nobel Peace Prize this year. While the streak of Pentecostal Nobel peace prize winners is over, I couldn’t be happier of the choice of the Nobel committee. 

The media does not seem to think it is as exciting and controversial as if Donald “Fire and Fury” Trump had received it. But WFP is needed more than ever.

They do an incredibly good job of identifying hunger crises before they break out and fighting for as many as possible to survive.
The problem is that, like most UN programs, they are underfunded.

Feel free to give a gift to WFP here! you can also download the Share the meal app and get reminded every day as you eat your lunch that a child somewhere else can enjoy the same for less than a dollar.

Micael Grenholm is a Swedish pastor, author and editor for PCPJ.

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Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice is a multicultural, gender inclusive, and ecumenical organization that promotes peace, justice, and reconciliation work among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians around the world. If you like what we do, please become a member!

Creation Care

Heidi Baker Calls for Help as Mozambique is Devastated by Cyclones

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Mozambique needs our help. Iris Global, the ministry led by missionaries Heidi and Rolland Baker, is calling for support as the country has been hit by two devastating cyclones. Rolland wrote earlier this month after Cyclone Idai had put millions of lives at risk:

We heard stories. One old blind man lived in a shabby hut with his wife who fed and took care of him. But the storm destroyed their house, and his wife was killed by flying debris. Afterward neighbors came by and built him a simple lean-to shelter with scattered pieces of wood so he could sit out of the rain. But now his wife is no more and he is truly alone.

What is his future? Untold others died in the storm, probably thousands. Bodies are floating in the floodwaters. Crops are washed away. An entire harvest is gone. Roads are impassable. Clean water cannot be found.

Large areas are twenty and even thirty feet under water. The devastation stretches for hundreds of kilometers across three provinces and also Zimbabwe and Malawi.

This is the worst weather-related disaster ever to hit the southern hemisphere. The United Nations has never had to coordinate such a massive relief effort before. 1.8 million people were already facing critical food shortage before the cyclone. Now their meager supplies and possessions are wiped out.

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This weekend, Cyclone Kenneth arrived and made the situation even worse. Heidi reports on Facebook:

Please keep praying! Reports from the north show Cyclone Kenneth wiped out entire coastal villages and now the continuous heavy rains are causing flash flooding, landslides, and homes to collapse. Rescue operations are slow-going because roads are either underwater or washed out. Through it all, we keep our eyes on Jesus!

Please donate to Iris Relief here.

Economic Justice, Reviews

Is Pentecostalism Doing More for Africa’s Poor than International NGOs?

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Review originally published at the LSE Africa Blog. Reposted with permission.

Gregory Deacon of Oxford University says that the book Pentecostalism and Development: Churches, NGOs and Social Change in Africa (edited by Dena Freeman) provides some compelling answers regarding Pentecostalism and development.

With its noisy churches and high profile media presence, Pentecostalism is religion writ large and exciting. Dramatic claims are made – for example that it is ‘redrawing the religious map of the world’.[1] Dena Freeman’s edited volume tackles head on whether this is good or bad for development. This is done in the context of 30 years of neoliberalism and an explosion in numbers of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as Pentecostal churches. The role of both in alleviating poverty and improving living conditions for Africans is considered.

Over the past three decades, Pentecostal Christianity has exploded across Africa. At the same time many secular development agencies, including the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), have been struggling to incorporate religion and faith based organisations into their policies and processes. As a research fellow at the University of Oxford looking at religion and development, I have similarly found Pentecostalism impossible to ignore. Continue reading Is Pentecostalism Doing More for Africa’s Poor than International NGOs? →