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RSSLenten Cycle of Prayer
Day 1 – Afghanistan
Day 2 – Africa Region
Day 3 – Angola
Day 4 – Bangladesh
Day 5 – Belize
Day 6 – Brazil
Day 7 – Burma/Myanmar
Day 8 – Burundi
Day 9 – China
Day 10 – Congo
Day 11 – Dominican Republic
Day 12 – El Salvador
Day 13 – Melanesia/Solomon Islands/Vanuatu
Day 14 – Guatemala
Day 15 – Haiti
Day 16 – Honduras
Day 17 – India
Day 18 – Jerusalem/West Bank/Gaza
Day 19 – Jordan
Day 20 – Kenya
Day 21 – Korea
Day 22 – Malawi
Day 23 – Ghana
Day 24 – Mexico
Day 25 – Mozambique
Day 26 – Namibia
Day 27 – Nicaragua
Day 28 – Pakistan
Day 29 – Peru
Day 30 – Sierra Leone
Day 31 – South Africa
Day 32 – Sri Lanka
Day 33 – Sudan
Day 34 – Tanzania
Day 35 – Thailand
Day 36 – The Philippines
Day 37 – United States
Day 38 – Uruguay
Day 39 – Zambia
Day 40 – Zimbabwe
Day 1 Afghanistan
Afghans4Tomorrow – Community Rehabilitation Program
We pray today for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partner, Afghans4Tomorrow, which promotes education for girls in Afghanistan. In 2009 the program supported the education of young girls in Kabul at the Chelsetoon Primary School, as well as a new health post serving 2000 residents in the village of Sheik Yassin. The School has educated 210 girls from grades one through nine. With God’s help and Episcopal Relief & Development, the school will continue to provide education and vocational training for girls up to grade 12. Lord God, send your grace on the Chelsetoon Primary School, that these young girls may find hope through knowledge, and faith in a better future through understanding. Bless also the new health post, which offers much-needed medical help to marginalized women in Afghanistan.
Day 2 Africa Region
Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) Peace Building Program
We pray for the CAPA Peace Building Program in Burundi where, in 2010, national elections will be held. Tensions exist following years of civil war and mass killings, and the CAPA Peace Building Program is working to promote a culture supportive of political pluralism and democracy, leading towards a peaceful election. God of peace and justice, please work through the CAPA Peace Building Program to touch the lives of all people in Burundi, that the process of the 2010 elections may begin to transfer power to the powerless in a peaceful, just way.
Day 3 Angola
Child Survival Uige Program
Let us pray today for the Child Survival Uige Program, which strives to combat malaria, malnutrition and emotional deprivation for infants and young children in the Uige province of Angola. This is effected through the NetsforLife® malaria prevention program, along with a targeted child survival program. Communities are taught about causes and prevention of childhood diseases, maternal health, hygiene and nutrition. Divine Healer, grant these children health and well-being and grant their mothers awareness of basic hygiene, nutrition and disease prevention, which will promote the health of their children.
Day 4 Bangladesh
Thanarbaid Healthcare Project
Today, we pray for the Thanarbaid Clinic, which serves the population of four districts in an arid, poverty-stricken part of Bangladesh. It is the only accessible health program for more than 100,000 people. The Thanarbaid Clinic trains local residents to serve as paramedics in the clinic. Almighty God, we ask you to look favorably on those in the clinic and to bring your healing upon them, showing your mercy on those who suffer.
Day 5 Belize
BEST – Micro Credit for Small Business
We hold up our prayers for the Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology (BEST) micro-credit program. BEST is dedicated to reducing poverty and empowering people in Belize through providing small loans for low-income farmers and very small enterprises, as well as business management skills to encourage the success of the enterprise. Lord of Life, please help the BEST program to flourish and enable its participants to lift themselves and their loved ones up to a better life.
Day 6 Brazil
Diocese of Rio de Janeiro
We pray for the Diocese of Rio de Janeiro - Promote Health and Strengthen Communities in Brazil. This holistic health education program exists in Cidade de Deus (City of God), a sprawling favela/shantytown of 37,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. It provides the community with the tools to maintain wellness in an environment that includes lack of sanitation, prevalence of STDs, and tragic gang and drug-related violence. Lord God, empower those who strive to bring safety, health and hope to the suffering through the Promote Health and Strengthen Communities in Brazil program and heal those in any kind of need in Cidade de Deus, by your grace.
Day 7 Burma/Myanmar
Let us pray together for the Cyclone Nargis Rehabilitation Program, established following the devastation caused by Nargis, a category 4 cyclone that hit Myanmar in May 2008. The parish of St. Andrews in Kyun Chaung, in the Delta, experienced complete destruction of homes and livelihoods. Long-term rehabilitation for the entire community continues today, such as building houses and latrines and providing mobile health services. In addition, livelihood recovery efforts include supplying boats and nets to fishermen and tillers to farmers, as well as initiating the planting of more than 850,000 income-generating trees in three village clusters. Creator and Redeemer, we ask for your life-giving spirit to move among and sustain those who labor to relieve the suffering caused by winds and waters. Grant hope to the survivors and faith to the weary as the work of recovery continues.
Day 8 Burundi
Burundi Development Program
Our prayers are offered today for the Burundi Development Program. Burundi is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world, due to the now-ended civil war, corruption, lack of access to education and HIV/AIDS. The integrated development program aims to strengthen livelihoods and rehabilitate 6000 homes for the poorest rural households, as well as create opportunities through micro-loans, particularly to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. By diversifying the sources of income for farmers, the Burundi Development Programs seeks to give them new supplies of food. Lord, we ask your help in feeding the hungry, but more importantly, we pray that the hungry will learn to feed themselves and loved ones through the contributions of the Burundi Development Program.
Day 9 China
Zhangfeng Community Development and HIV/AIDS Prevention Fund
Today we pray for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partnership with the Amity Foundation, which is working to empower communities for people-centered, sustainable development. We pray specifically for the joint Zhangfeng Community Development and HIV/AIDS Prevention Fund. Through a combination of basic health treatment and education, especially in HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention, this program improves basic health and well-being. In addition, it provides micro-loans and training in improved and expanded farming techniques to residents. O God of life, shine your light on the work of the Amity Foundation and Episcopal Relief & Development, that it may flourish and lovingly affect the lives of the people reached.
Day 10 Congo
Diocese of Boga – Integrated Community Development Program
Join us as we pray for the Diocese of Boga’s integrated development program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this country, close to four million people have died from war and conflict and tens of thousands of women and girls have been raped, sexually assaulted, attacked and abducted in the past 10 years. To begin rebuilding lives, the Diocese of Boga is implementing a women’s microfinance program that serves the mothers and children most affected by the ongoing conflict. Because women are so often excluded from income-generating practices and left dependent on their husbands or family in order to survive, the program aims to empower women in particular by improving their food supply and offering HIV/AIDS prevention education.
Day 11 Dominican Republic
Clinica Esperanza y Caridad (Hope and Charity Clinic)
We ask for your prayers today for the Clinica Esperanza y Caridad, which provides health education and prevention activities to the barrios of San Pedro de Macoris. Much of the clinic’s focus is on the health of children under five, due to the extremely high child mortality rate. The clinic also empowers people to take control of basic hygiene in their lives by training local community volunteers to conduct health education and basic medical evaluations where needed – one neighbor to another. Lord, your son, Jesus taught us to love one another. Grant the people who serve you at Clinica Esperanza y Caridad in Dominican Republic the grace to do your will, with healing and compassion and power.
Day 12 El Salvador
Diocese of El Salvador and Asociacion Mangle
Pray today for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partner in El Salvador, Asociacion Mangle, a strong community organizer. The organization’s current project focuses on helping a number of displaced families with annual incomes of less than $800 US who previously lived in cardboard homes in the rural community of Salinas del Potrero. The three-year program is facilitating the construction of 20 new homes, 23 latrines, 20 smokeless stoves, and three community buildings to improve individual and communal health. God in heaven and on earth, build up this community of people and shelter them through the efforts of Asociacion Mangle and the Diocese of El Salvador and of those who sacrifice time and energy for the betterment of all.
Day 13 Melanesia/Solomon Islands/Vanuatu
Church of the Province of Melanesia
Pray today for the Church of Melanesia and its Mothers Union literacy program. The Church has been present in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu for over 150 years and its members comprise between 70 to 80% of the population. Melanesia is economically very challenged, with literacy rates at around 75%. The Mothers Union, with 16,000 members in all eight dioceses of the Church of Melanesia, has become one of the main providers of teaching across the country, all on a voluntary basis. The Mothers Union is strengthening its literacy courses by enhancing teaching methods and developing new resources and materials for both the Diocesan coordinators and teachers. Lord, we thank you for the Mothers Union and its work with those in need of education. Thank you for giving them the tools to build up their own lives through reading and writing.
Day 14 Guatemala
Diocese of Guatemala
We pray today for the Diocese of Guatemala. Episcopal Relief & Development has been especially active in Guatemala since Hurricane Stan hit in 2005, first with emergency relief aid and then in rebuilding houses destroyed by the severe rains and winds. Since that time, the Diocese of Guatemala’s comprehensive approach to the nation’s development needs has been evolving and a development office has been established to implement and monitor future projects. The focus now is on building grassroots leadership in the communities and providing the training needed to implement new initiatives. Almighty Father, inspire and raise up the new leaders needed to guide the work of the Diocese of Guatemala. Call them by name and fill their hearts with your spirit that they may listen and answer “Yes!”
Day 15 Haiti
The Diocese of Haiti/ The Diocese of the Dominican Republic/The Comprehensive Development Project
As Haiti continues recovering from the devastating January earthquake, we pray for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partners, the Episcopal Dioceses of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The dioceses have been working with other organizations in ministering tirelessly to those affected. Lord God, bless Bishop Duracin, Bishop Holguin and the dioceses as they aid the people of Haiti in rebuilding their country. More than ever, it is also essential that development efforts continue to strengthen Haiti’s economy and people. We pray for the ongoing work of the Comprehensive Development Project (CODEP) and other Episcopal groups who are assisting people in lifting themselves out of poverty. CODEP helps subsistence farmers increase their food supply by providing training in reforestation, mountain terracing and home gardening. The program employs local farmers to train others in preventing soil erosion. CODEP has planted close to one million trees, established 140 miles of planted terraces, built 17 potable water cisterns, and dug 12 fish ponds. Jesus, bless the living trees and refreshing waters, the farmers and the ministry of CODEP. Let the land flourish and the people of Haiti rise above the challenges. Lift up the weary, give hope to the hopeless and fill all with the spirit of compassionate love.
Day 16 Honduras
El Hogar
Let us pray today for Episcopal Relief & Development in Honduras and especially for El Hogar and its work with homeless boys. Boys who otherwise would be out on the street receive a solid academic and technical education at El Hogar's three residential centers. The graduating young men are becoming well-equipped to support families, live productive Christ-centered lives and contribute to the future of their communities and of Honduras. Currently, over 200 boys are being housed, fed, educated and nurtured through El Hogar. Students share their newfound agricultural knowledge with family and rural neighbors, enhancing crop production throughout their communities. Almighty and steadfast God, watch over the boys in El Hogar and those who minister to them, that they may grow ever closer to you through their lives of action in the world.
Day 17 India
Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR)
Let us pray today for our partner in India, the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, run by refugees for refugees. OfERR’s main objective is to assist and render relief to Tamil refugees from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) who have taken refuge in India. There are presently 76,000 such refugees sheltered in 117 government-run camps. The programs of OfERR provide refugees and their families with education and training skills focusing especially on young women and men, with health and nutrition services, and with counseling. They foster the recognition of individual human rights, democratic values and non-violence. Father in heaven, please grant power to the powerless. Work through OfERR and its staff, that hope and relief can be made real in the lives of so many in Sri Lanka and the refugee camps.
Day 18 Jerusalem/West Bank/Gaza
Diocese of Jerusalem
Please pray for the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, a small and vital part of the tiny Christian presence in the Holy Land. Its presence is noted principally through the ministry of social services provided through 32 institutions including schools, hospitals and churches. The diocese also works to spread a message of mutual respect and cooperation to members of all faiths in this conflict-torn region. Episcopal Relief & Development supports three of these institutions: Jofeh center in Jordan, Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, and St. Luke’s Hospital in Nablus. Lord God, your Son died in Jerusalem so that others might live in Him: show your mercy on these critical institutions in the Holy Land and the people who guide them, that Your love might be visible through their efforts.
Day 19 Jordan
Diocese of Jerusalem
We hold up in prayer today the Jofeh Outreach Center, one of Episcopal Relief & Development’s partners, located in the town of Jofeh in the Dead Sea Valley. An outreach program of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, the Jofeh Center trains disabled beneficiaries in sewing, weaving, and paper making. The center then sells the resulting items at the gift shop, with proceeds supporting the center’s costs as well as the beneficiaries themselves, giving them a means of independence and empowerment. Heavenly Father, we ask that you bless the work of the Jofeh Center, that those who are called “outsiders” are brought into community so that none are excluded from the bounty of your loving care.
Day 20 Kenya
Inter Diocesan Christian Community Services Limited (IDCCS Ltd)
We pray today for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partner in Kenya, the Inter Diocesan Christian Community Services, a development and relief arm of the Anglican Church of Kenya. IDCCS is focused in Nyanza Province, which has the highest poverty rate (56%) and the highest HIV rate in the country. The past five years have seen both continual drought and occasional, subsequent flooding, resulting in extreme food shortages. To fight hunger, IDCCS works with local farmers through improving access to markets and use of drought-resistant seeds, as well as education on drought farming techniques. The program integrates HIV/AIDS education with the NetsforLife malaria control program to improve the lives of those reached. Lord, guide the IDCCS in Kenya as it seeks to give farmers knowledge and seeds, skills and tools. Let us remember that each life helped is reason to rejoice.
Day 21 Korea
Anglican Church in Korea
Pray today for Towards Peace in Korea (TOPIK), a program of the Anglican Church of Korea. Episcopal Relief & Development has supported TOPIK through the provision of food supplies and emergency fuel for heat and cooking in North Korea. Their present focus is now on maternal child health through Nampo maternity hospital, located in Nampo city. In a country where the church and Western ideology are profoundly suspect, having an internal partner such as TOPIK is valuable and rare. Our God, protect the Anglican Church in Korea and the Towards Peace in Korea program, that it may aid those in greatest need – mothers, infants, children, refugees, and the helpless.
Day 22 Malawi
Diocese of Southern Malawi
Our prayers today are offered for Love’s Harvest and the Kitchen Garden programs in the Diocese of Southern Malawi. The Republic of Malawi in south-central Africa is one of the poorest nations in the world. Malaria is widespread, HIV/AIDS is pandemic and half of Malawi’s twelve million people live in extreme poverty. Founded in 2007, the Love’s Harvest program is helping Malawi’s rural poor grow the food they need by teaching innovative agricultural and animal husbandry methods and asking beneficiaries to share their learning with others community members. The Kitchen Garden Project, a component of the agricultural training, is run by the Mothers Union, which focuses on women’s empowerment. These kitchen gardens enable women to diversify their food supply and have access to important nutrients. Through NetsforLife®, the program is working to ensure a reduction of HIV/AIDS infection and malnutrition in vulnerable persons and to decrease the prevalence of malaria. God who is both Father and Mother, build up the Love’s Harvest and Kitchen Garden projects, so that the mouths of children, elders, mothers, fathers, and all the hungry may be fed, with food for the body first and then the soul.
Day 23 Ghana
Diocese of Tamale/ADDRO (Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization)
Today we pray for Episcopal Relief & Development and its partner the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization. Located in Northern Ghana where poverty rates are highest, ADDRO has comprehensive programs that address improving the food supply, gender and reproductive health, malaria, disability rehabilitation and water and sanitation. One of the agency’s many initiatives is the community disability rehabilitation program, which assists those who are blind and mentally or physically handicapped with skills training such as weaving and farming. Community and family members are involved in the rehabilitation process in order to decrease the stigmas associated with disabilities. Lord of outcasts and the forgotten, have mercy on ADDRO and its work with the disabled. Help them to break barriers that prevent those outside the community access to livelihoods and encourage reintegration of the “other.”
Day 24 Mexico
Diocese of Southeast Mexico
Pray today for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partnership with the Diocese of Southeast Mexico. The diocese has focused efforts on Arroyo Zacate, home to 1000 inhabitants in the state of Veracruz. Most people are of indigenous origin, speak their local language and are unemployed. The Diocese of Southeast Mexico has established a cattle breeding cooperative in Arroyo Zacate to generate work and income for the community. The people are trained in the breeding, cultivation, health care, and harvesting of the animals. Profits from the cooperative will be reinvested into the co-op and other social projects for the community. Merciful God our Father, show your compassion on the people of Arroyo Zacate and on the development of the cattle cooperative. May you bless this initiative and its positive effects on the lives of the community members.
Day 25 Mozambique
Diocese of Niasa
Pray today for the Diocese of Niasa and its Sal, Luz, Saude (Salt, Light, Health) project. The diocese focuses its development work in Lago District, which is situated in the far north of Mozambique. Access to healthcare in Mozambique is difficult; nearly 50% of the population lives very far from a health clinic. HIV/AIDS has a high prevalence while malaria is epidemic. The focus of the Sal, Luz, Saude project is on helping people receive the curative care they need when sick with malaria, HIV/AIDS, parasites and other diseases. We pray for the health and well-being of all the people in this area. We pray that in the long term, many will learn more about health issues and that their changed attitudes will lead to healthier behaviors, preventing the diseases so common there.
Day 26 Namibia
Diocese of Namibia
Join us today as we pray for the Anglican Diocese of Namibia and its health programs. Namibia is one of the top six HIV and AIDS-affected countries in the world, but malaria is so prevalent in five of Namibia's northern regions that it outstrips HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death. The Anglican AIDS Program of the Diocese of Namibia is working to reduce the stigma and discrimination attached to HIV/AIDS. The program works through local parishes to meetthe needs of the communities in which they serve, providing HIV/AIDS care, prevention instruction, voluntary counseling and testing, and address the issues of death and dying. The program also works to ensure a decrease in prevalence of malaria through the NetsforLife® malaria control Program. Father in Heaven, we pray that you will work through the AIDS and NetsforLife® programs so that life-giving health and well-being will be possible today and in the future for the people of Namibia.
Day 27 Nicaragua
El Porvenir
Pray today for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partner El Porvenir in Nicaragua. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with 90% of the population lacking access to clean water. Many people contract deadly, preventable diseases from contaminated water and lack of sanitation. El Porvenir is seeking to facilitate community construction of four hand-dug wells, one water system, 50 latrines and 15 smokeless stoves, and to reforest a large area in order to protect watersheds in rural central Nicaragua. Villagers are trained in proper hygiene and well upkeep and will then, in turn, train their neighbors. Lord God, source of living waters, bestow on El Porvenir’s staff the guidance to provide clean water to those who lack it and to share the knowledge of its value for life and health.
Day 28 Pakistan
Diocese of Peshawar
Pray today for the Diocese of Peshawar in Pakistan, which is responding to the vast humanitarian needs of civilians displaced by the battles against the Taliban. More than 2.4 million people have left their homes - the vast majority staying with friends and families, but roughly 200,000 living in refugee camps. The Diocese established two relief camps, assisting both Muslims and Christians in equal number. The Diocesan Mission Hospital in Peshawar is providing medical support through two mobile clinics. In addition to providing shelter in church buildings such as a vocational school in Mardan, the aid includes food and the costs of providing water and electricity for displaced families. God of all, look with compassion on those who have left their homes. Fill with grace those who minister to the displaced through the Diocese of Peshawar’s clinics, food, water and other aid.
Day 29 Peru
Ecumenical Church Loan Fund
Pray today for our partner the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF), a micro-finance organization focused on supporting human development and building sustainable communities. The work is based in Ayacucho—one of the poorest areas in Peru where many people, especially men, were killed by terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s. Because women were left with no means of support, this project seeks to create opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs. ECLOF begins with workshops on leadership, self esteem, and conflict resolution. The organization then creates community credit circles, with all members being mutually responsible for financial loans and repayment. The formula builds success and encouragement for responsible business practices.
Day 30 Sierra Leone
Diocese of Bo
Pray today for the Diocese of Bo and the Moringa tree nursery. The Diocese of Bo is located in southeastern Sierra Leone (West Africa), one of the most impoverished areas of the country where infant mortality rates are among the world’s highest. As Sierra Leone works to heal after years of civil war, the Diocese of Bo is focusing on fostering resettlement by improving the food supply and sources of income. They have established a Moringa tree nursery that is both a source of food and of traditional medicine. Moringa is a drought-resistant tropical tree. Its fast growing leaves are used as food for people, in preventing malnutrition and vitamin deficiency, and for livestock. The communities are trained to cultivate the trees as well as in the business aspects of running the nursery. Lord of hope and of life, you created the Garden of Eden. By your grace, bless the Moringa tree nursery and the other efforts of the Diocese of Bo, that they may give life and health and income to those where the nursery is established.
Day 31 South Africa
HOPE Africa, Dioceses of Lebombo and Swaziland
Pray today for HOPE Africa and Episcopal Relief & Development’s renewed capacity-building partnership with them. Both organizations have focused on expanding their work more broadly within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, specifically in the Diocese of Swaziland and the Diocese of Lebombo in the southern half of Mozambique. Among numerous programs, the College of Transfiguration (COT) was created to build a dedicated group of professional clergy who will serve the people spiritually and practically as an interface with development programs. Lord God, whose priests have always looked to love and serve you in all things, bless the College of Transfiguration, its leaders, and HOPE Africa. We pray that the newly educated priests will allow you to work through them, and by their vocation, minister to those in poverty and need around them. May they learn to speak truth to power.
Day 32 Sri Lanka
Centre for Environmental Justice
Pray today for the Centre for Environmental Justice in Sri Lanka. Following the cataclysmic 2004 tsunami, Episcopal Relief & Development was introduced to CEJ, whose work is oriented towards issues of environmental governance and justice. CEJ’s main activity has been the restoration of the coastal belt, because environmental experts have determined that the destruction was much less in areas where mangroves and other coastal vegetation existed. Along the tsunami-affected coastline, eight communities are working to establish plant nurseries. These nurseries will in turn provide 10,000 indigenous plants to reestablish the coastal belt. Entire communities will be mobilized through religious groups and nongovernmental organizations to accomplish the reforestation. Heavenly Father, cultivate in our hearts a recognition of our reliance on you first and then on one another. Bless the work of the CEJ and especially of the nurseries along the coastline. May these efforts protect the environment and those who live there, furthering justice and peace among the people.
Day 33 Sudan
Episcopal Church of Sudan
Pray today for the Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS), its agricultural projects and the establishment of an agricultural office and staff. The ECS includes the entire country of Sudan but is mostly concentrated in the predominantly Christian south. There is widespread poverty and extreme hunger in Sudan due to more than 20 years of war that plagued the country until a ceasefire in 2005. Many people have lost their agricultural knowledge, or never learned how to farm. Since agriculture projects are critical in addressing the root causes of hunger, the current program provides workshops on agricultural training and tools. Most dioceses have small gardens that can be improved through training, as well as the purchase of more seeds and tools. Episcopal Relief & Development is also supporting the establishment of an agricultural office through the hiring and training of staff. Inspire through your Holy Spirit the work of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and its agricultural projects. Plant small miracles of hope from the seeds, tools and understanding given to the Sudanese people. May they grow and flourish and nourish more and more.
Day 34 Tanzania
Diocese of Central Tanganyika
Pray today for the Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT), in the Province of the Anglican Church of Tanzania. Together with the Diocese of New York, DCT is partnering to support the Carpenter’s Kids, an effort to educate orphans and other vulnerable children. Primary school children are given a school uniform, shoes, school supplies and breakfast every morning to better nourish them and enable them to learn. In a country where more than 2.5 million children have lost at least one parent to the HIV/AIDs epidemic, such nourishment and access to primary education can be a life-saving opportunity. Let us pray for the Carpenter’s Kids program, that more children will live to grow, be educated and see the possibility of a future.
Day 35 Thailand
Thailand Burma Border Consortium
Pray today for Episcopal Relief & Development’s partner, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC). TBBC is a charity consortium of 11 nongovernmental organizations from nine countries that provides food, shelter and management support to more than 150,000 Burmese refugees and displaced persons living in nine camps along the Thailand-Burma border. This partnership includes training in appropriate gardening, education on indigenous crops and nutrition, and seed distributions as part of a capacity-building component. Malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women, tuberculosis and HIV patients, and patients with chronic conditions receive therapeutic and nutritionally supplemented food. Pray today for those in the refugee camps and for all that the TBBC is doing to feed the sick, the hungry, and mothers and children.
Day 36 The Philippines
Diocese of Northern Philippines
Pray today for the Diocese of Northern Philippines. The Episcopal Church in the Philippines works in the poorer, marginalized communities to empower people towards self-reliance. The Baknad Tramline and Farm Mechanization program seeks to facilitate delivery of crops from the fertile fields to the markets—a process thatcurrently takes hours on foot, with farmers carrying their produce on their heads or shoulders. The project aims to first establish a community cooperative to make decisions on mutual needs, and ultimately to build a cargo tramline to mechanize the transport of agricultural produce across the valley. Time saved in transporting will be used to cultivate more diverse crops on abandoned lands. Pray today for the Baknad Tramline and Farm Mechanization program, that it may provide physical and financial relief to the farmers and their families and in so doing, improve their lives and those of people in surrounding communities.
Day 37 United States
Diocese of Mississippi
Let us pray today for the Hallelujah Housing project and the three partners working together on it. Project Hallelujah Housing is a joint endeavor of the Diocese of Mississippi, ECD Hope, and the Unity Homes Project. The program’s major goal is to bridge the funding gap between FEMA rebuilding grants and insurance payments on one hand, and the actual cost of rebuilding on the other. This gap is a large one for many living well below the median income along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, post–Hurricane Katrina. Hallelujah Housing works to address the affordable housing crisis as well as promoting "green building" in the affordable housing market. Pray today that the Diocese, Hallelujah Housing and those who are part of this movement are successful in their goal of building 70 new homes in three coastal counties.
Day 38 Uruguay
Diocese of Uruguay
Pray today for the Anglican Diocese of Uruguay and the El Sembrador program. The Anglican Diocese of Uruguay has been working with the community of Villa Felicidad for the past three years through "El Sembrador" (“Sower of Seeds”). This project teaches vegetable gardening so families can produce food for themselves, improving nutrition and allowing them to use their severely limited income on other needs. In addition, people learn how to cook the fresh vegetables grown, sell the excess, make their own gardening tools, and compost organic household waste. Pray today for the gardens of Villa Felicidad and for those who tend them, that both the gardens and the people may grow strong, becoming productive and healthy.
Day 39 Zambia
Zambian Anglican Council
Pray today for the Zambian Anglican Council and its humanitarian work. The Zambian Anglican Council (ZAC) works to coordinate the programs and resources of the Anglican Church in Zambia. Episcopal Relief & Development and ZAC have created a national development office to oversee its far-reaching, diverse programs. Projects aim to improve healthcare, increase food supply, provide access to basic education and improve business opportunities for vulnerable populations. Let us pray for all the vital work of the Zambian Anglican Council in addressing the root causes of poverty in Zambia. Especially pray for the health care initiatives, which care for those who are sick from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, often in their homes, and also educate people in their communities about the causes and prevention of these deadly, preventable diseases.
Day 40 Zimbabwe
Diocese of Masvingo
Pray today for the Diocese of Masvingo, Episcopal Relief & Development’s partner in the western part of Zimbabwe, central Africa. Soil is poor, the climate is arid, and the political situation has exacerbated the extremely difficult conditions for the majority of rural subsistence farmers. Unemployment is close to 80% and hyperinflation adds to the humanitarian crisis. Among Zimbabwe’s rural communities, diseases such as cholera, malaria and HIV/AIDS; poor nutrition; and high rates of poverty present major social problems. The Diocese of Masvingo seeks to improve the living standards of those in both urban and rural areas by imparting skills training to disadvantaged women in four centers. These trainings include dressmaking, raising pigs, chicken rearing and peanut butter making. Additionally, an integrated primary health program has been established to improve health through information, education and communication. In a country where people have lost hope and faith in a future, let us pray for the Diocese of Masvingo and its important work, especially in providing training and business opportunities for the forgotten poor.
Written by Jane Appleyard Roel, member of Trinity Church, Northport, New York
