Praying for Children at Risk: Child Labor
Adapted from "Children at risk in the 10/40 Window," Global Prayer Digest, January 2001.
Child laborers
in India
"Jesus loves the
little children." Haven't we sung that theme since the earliest days of
Sunday school? "They are precious in His sight," the song goes on.
Yet, in some parts of the world, children are seen only as cut-rate labor.
According to the International Labor Organization, there are 250 million child laborers in the world. About 60 million of these are in India. Children from age seven to 14 are toiling endless hours in relentless heat, making fireworks, carpets, cigarettes, and countless other products for pennies a day. Children are cheaper, so they get the jobs. Their parents are out of work, and the children are out of school.
This treatment of children is only a symptom, not the disease. The sickness is in the spirit and reflects a dark and selfish heart. The only cure is Jesus, the one who loves us all, including the children.
Let us pray that God will loose His power in places where children are being exploited. Pray that the strangling hold of the evil one on innocent children will be broken in the holy name of Christ and that the light of His love and compassion will flood men's souls like a surging tide.-PE
Vestil Virgins
in Ghana
The seven-year-old Ghanian
girl and her family were excited! Her grandfather had stolen money from a family
member and she was given the great privilege to be the sacrifice for her grandfather's
sin. She would become the wife of the gods! They gave her gifts just like any
bride.
But she had no idea what awaited her. This precious little one would be destined to be overworked, beaten, and raped so that the gods would not punish her family for her grandfather's crime. And, because she was a virtual slave for a priest at the shrine, she could not go to school like other children.
This practice by some ethnic groups in West Africa is called Trokosi. Hundreds of little girls between the ages of 8 and 15 are given to the priests at the 51 major shrines in Ghana. This practice in Ghana dates back to the 17th century. There are thousands of Trokosi female slaves in Ghana, Benin, and Togo. Organizations trying to outlaw the practice face an uphill battle.
Pray for the grace of God to enable Ghanian Christians to stamp out this atrocious tradition. Pray for a conviction of sin among those in Ghana who hold to this practice.-MC
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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