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Hello, I’m Rachel Hobson.
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And I’m Ruby Jones. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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The man smiles quietly as he tells his story. But there do not seem to be many reasons for him to smile. The man’s name is Chomno In. Chomno lives in Cambodia. He experienced one of the hardest times in his country’s history - the rule of the dictator, Pol Pot. Pol Pot’s soldiers separated Chomno from his parents. And they forced him into hard labour, working on a farm. Some years later, soldiers from Vietnam entered Cambodia. They defeated Pol Pot’s government. During this time, Chomno escaped from the farm and ran away to a refugee camp. He lived there for seven years. There, many things happened to Chomno. He trained as a medical assistant. He learned to speak English. He met his wife. And, he became a follower of Jesus Christ - a Christian.
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Chomno now leads a Christian aid group called the Cambodian Hope Organization, or CHO. “Cho” means ‘to stand’ in the main Cambodian language. And that is exactly what Chomno wants to help people to do - to stand on their own two feet - to be independent in life. To do this, people need to have good health and be able to earn money to live. And that is where the Cambodian Hope Organization can help.
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CHO started in 2004. It started working in Northern Cambodia. The aim was to help people in country communities. These people were very poor. And they had little to hope for in life. Today, over fifty [50] CHO workers are involved in several areas of development. They dig wells and build schools. They provide training in education and farming. They advise on health matters and small business management. And, they meet and pray with children who have escaped from the sex trade.
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Chomno and other CHO workers sometimes go back to the refugee camp - the same camp that Chomno had fled to years before. Why does he go back? Chomno explains:
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“CHO has projects there. We have dug a well and built a school and cleared the landmines... When I got there I felt a pain inside. But I saw children suffering. God planned for me to help people there.”
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Chomno’s organization works in co-operation with Tearfund. Tearfund is an international Christian aid group. It works with many community organizations like CHO around the world. Both Tearfund and these organizations believe that the local church should be a centre of change. They believe that dealing with problems of poverty and injustice is part of communicating Christian belief about a God who loves and saves people. Local church leaders within the countries also share this opinion. Pastor Cuthbert Gondwe leads a church in Malawi, West Africa. This church works with Tearfund. Pastor Cuthbert explains the importance of the local church in development:
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“You really have to go to the local level to find the very poorest people. These people have no voice. Local churches work with everyone. They know the poorest people in the village, because the church people live there too.”
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Fighting poverty is at the heart of Tearfund’s work around the world. In 2007, Tearfund decided to set a target for its work. Its aim is to see fifty million [50,000,000] people freed from poverty over the next ten years. But this does not just mean physical poverty or lack of money. Tearfund believes that people can be poor in other ways - that they can lack other things, such as love. They are concerned that some people do not know about God’s love for them. They have never heard that God wants to be a part of their lives - that he can help in even the hardest situations. Tearfund workers believe that they must work with local churches to ease both kinds of poverty - that they can work together to bring change.
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Tearfund believes that one way of bringing change is by praying! As Christians, they believe that God loves to hear the prayers of his people - and that he will act because of them. So, they have decided to organize a special week of prayer for global poverty. They are encouraging individuals and churches around the world to pray particularly during the second week of November. This is what they are asking people to pray about. And they also suggest different ways of remembering how to pray:
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Monday the twelfth of November - HIV. Tearfund works in many countries fighting HIV. It wants to stop the spread of it completely by the year 2015. This requires a lot of resources - human and financial. Tearfund is asking people to pray for this goal and for people with HIV every time they see a red object.
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Tuesday the thirteenth of November - climate change. Weather changes cause food shortages and suffering. Tearfund is working to stop this. They suggest that people pray about this when they eat a meal, or hear a weather report.
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Wednesday the fourteenth of November - tragic natural events. More than ninety percent of people who die in these situations live in poor countries. Tearfund suggests that people pray if they hear the sound of an emergency vehicle.
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Thursday the fifteenth of November - trade justice. Current trade rules are unjust. Many poorer countries do not have the chance to trade their goods fairly in the global market. Tearfund aims to give a voice to people who are directly affected by this. They suggest that when people touch or use money on that day they could pray. They can remember people who not receive fair pay for the work that they do.
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Friday the sixteenth of November - water and public health. Tearfund aims to provide a clean water supply where communities need one. They suggest that when people drink water, they think of those who do not have a safe water supply.
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So, will such a week of prayer result in any real change? Tearfund workers and other Christians believe that it will. They believe that their prayers will help people in need - and more. As people pray for others in need, so their own lives can change too. They become more thankful for all that they have. And they start to think more about other people instead of themselves. Christians may think that prayer is hard work. But it seems that it is worth the effort!
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