Suppressed and Starving Christian children in Burma need your help
Eleven villages in Nyaunglebin District were attacked as villagers ran for their lives. When some people later returned to one village to retrieve some of their belongings, two men were shot and killed, including Saw Mya Kaw Htoo (48) who leaves a wife and six children.
This is the terrible plight that has repeatedly confronted so many Christians in Burma. Thousands of families have had to hide in the jungle without food or shelter after fleeing their villages. Countless children have witnessed their parents being dragged out of their houses, tortured, raped, shot dead or even burned alive in their homes.
These families have no shelter and no food; rice fields and crops have been destroyed.
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| Children praying in a refugee camp in Burma |
Barnabas Fund supports a ministry in Burma that provides shelter, food and education for families left homeless and children left orphaned by the anti-Christian violence. The Christians are provided with food (rice, noodles, pumpkins, cabbages and other vegetables) and items including pots, pans, blankets, mats, spoons, plates, dishes, cups, umbrellas, towels and Bibles. One bag of rice (45kg) costs 16 (US$25; 18). Currently, there is a group of approximately 100 children who are on the brink of starvation, and urgently need food supplies.
Below, we share stories of some of the children who are being helped through
the generosity of Barnabas Fund supporters. But there are many more who
desperately need your aid.
Sapehua is 15 years old. Her mother died of
malaria and her father was captured by Burmese soldiers. One night, the soldiers
came to her village and many girls were taken away. Sapehua was able to flee. It
took her a whole week to walk through the jungle to get to a shelter supported
by Barnabas Fund, where she has been for ten months.
See Wah, 14, lost his whole family when the army attacked his village. His father was tortured to death by the soldiers and his mother died while fleeing into the jungle. All the villagers ran off in different directions when the army descended on the village, and See Wah does not know if his siblings survived the attack.
Another child tells the following story: I came to the refugee camp three years ago. There was fighting in my village. I dont have parents. When I was seven years old, the Burmese army came to our village. They dragged my parents out of our house and killed them both. Often the army comes into the village shooting. I love living in this camp. I have friends and I can study. I want to go to my village but I cannot. Its not safe because the Burmese soldiers live there. I want to be a teacher one day. Im very happy because I can read Gods word since you gave me a Bible today. I have been a Christian for three years now. I was saved at this camp.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, says,
These children desperately need our help. The Christians of Burma have suffered intense persecution for decades. Many have had to flee their homes not just once but repeatedly. Please pray for our courageous brothers and sisters, who face the real possibility of martyrdom. Remember especially the children, and please give as you can.
For more information: www.barnabasfund.org