April 17, 2019
In South Sudan, nearly 6.1 million were severely food insecure in 2018, with 1.7 million people living on the edge of famine. Civil war has been raging there since 2013, destroying homes, lives and livelihoods. As people have had to flee their homes to escape violence, they have also had to abandon their fields and farming activities.
South Sudanese women are typically in charge of securing food for the household. As women are obliged to travel further and further into remote locations in search of food and firewood for the family, they often encounter gender-based violence on their journey. And some women have no other choice but to trade sex for food. Sixty-five percent of South Sudanese women and girls experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.
Eileen Schuhmann, Mission Specialist for International Hunger Concerns, Presbyterian Hunger Program
Today’s Focus: International Day of Farmers’ Struggles
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Vaughn Ratliff, ASG
Rebecca Rayner, ASG
Let us pray:
Gracious God, we pray for those who put their bodies on the line to feed themselves, their families and their communities. We give you thanks for the reunification of your people with the land and the tools necessary for their nourishment. We ask that you continue to strengthen the bodies and souls of those who farm as they struggle for peace and dignity. We pray also that you give us the courage to stand in solidarity with them in their struggles. Amen.
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Wednesday, April 17, 2019, the Wednesday of Holy Week (Year C)
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.