Enabling People to...
Nida is one of the countless mothers having to watch her children grow up in the slums of Pakistan, amid rubbish. The staff at Pak Mission, one of Tearfund’s partners are hoping to employ Nida in their project to manage the waste in the slums – giving her a way to provide for her family.
Pakistan generates a massive 20 million tonnes of rubbish every year, up to half of which is uncollected. Due to this desperate lack of waste collection, rubbish builds up on the streets. Often it blocks up waterways, getting washed into the ocean. Children play among it, suffering cuts and burns. People set fire to the rubbish in an effort to clear the streets, but this results in fumes that pollute the air and are harmful to breathe.
Pak Mission is setting up recycling centres called Haryali Hubs. The word ‘haryali’ means ‘green’ in the local language. This is being funded by Tearfund’s Lent Appeal and the gifts of supporters will be doubled by the UK government.
Our donations not only mean a new start for Nida and her children but will also enable people like Mumtaz, who works as a waste collector for the project to transform their community. www.tearfund.org/enough
Access to electricity makes an enormous difference for people in poverty. It means children have light to study in the evening, parents can work to provide for their families, and hospitals can store vaccines in fridges. But one billion people worldwide still lack access to electricity. Tearfund is working to see this situation transformed through the ‘Lighting up the Darkness’ campaign.
In Nepal Dhanmaya* is determined to do well at school. She wants to be a social worker and help vulnerable children. In the past, she struggled to complete her homework, as she had to stop studying when it got dark at 6pm. But today, thanks to a micro-hydro electricity project set up by Tearfund’s partner, her house is well lit. ‘We can turn on the light whenever we want to study,’ says Dhanmaya, whose grades have gone up considerably!
In rural Tanzania brothers Amos* (10) and John* (7) love school – it’s their chance to progress and build a good life free from poverty. But, until recently, they had no electricity, and it was just too dark to practice their reading and writing after school.
Through the self-help group started by Tearfund’s local partner, Amos and John’s parents were given a loan to buy a solar panel for the house. This has made a huge difference to the family, especially the boys!
‘Before we had solar, we couldn’t study in the house in the evenings because the light was gone. Now we have light, life is getting better,’ says Amos. ‘I want to be a doctor. Having solar light will help me to fulfil my dreams.’
Amos and John’s parents are benefiting too. Their mum, Rachel, can now sew in the evenings, making clothes to sell in their village. This has almost doubled the family’s income.
?With more than 1 billion people worldwide lacking access to electricity, Tearfund are calling on the World Bank to invest more in off-grid renewable energy sources like solar and micro-hydro to benefit the world’s poorest people.
Not only will this enable more children like Dhanmaya, Amos and John to study, and parents like Rachel to provide for their families; it will help farmers produce bigger harvests, make streets and communities safer at night, and increase the productivity of small businesses.
Dear God, You are the God of light, the God of love, the God of all goodness. Today we think of those people around the world who have no light; people who are suffering under the darkness of injustice, oppression and poverty. Help us Lord, as your church, to spread your light around the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you take away people’s purpose they often feel lost. Many men in Jordanian refugee camps are feeling weakened as they are unable to work. Pray for the work of Tearfund’s partners as they aim to bring hope among the men using physical exercise and life skill programmes, addressing chronic illness and sexual and gender-based violence.
The projects that Tearfund’s partners initiates are wide and various; working to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised in our world, but all have God’s love at their core.
Mandy McIntosh
*names have been altered to protect identity