Page 37 - Ludlow Tower January 2023

YASMIN’S STORY
Half a million children in Somalia are at
risk of death within a year, starved by
drought and hounded by Al-Shabaab
extremists. Hunger makes children
vulnerable to measles and pneumonia;
they develop sores resembling burn
marks and their joints swell. One
graveyard saw 11 children buried in one
week. The Horn of Africa suffers while
the ‘first world’ wrestles with higher
costs and squeezed budgets.
The terrible impact
of the 2022 cut in
the UK foreign aid
budget from 0.7%
to 0.5% of GDP has
been compounded
by the
internationally
accepted practice of
taking the costs
associated with migration such as
administration, hotels and border forces
out of foreign aid budgets. In 2020 this
amounted to £898M, making the work
of Christian Aid and other agencies all
the more relevant and urgent.
The Autumn/Winter edition of the
Christian Aid magazine celebrates hope
(Injustice divides, Hope unites) with the
story of Yasmin who appears to be a
‘normal’ child, enjoying playing and
laughing. But Yasmin has seen things no
child should ever see. When she was
four years old, armed groups burnt
down her home and killed many in her
village in Myanmar. She and her mother
ran for their lives, two of 72,000 who
fled violence and persecution. They
now live in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, the
37
world's largest refugee camp where
children face many dangers – floods,
fires, sickness, violence, trafficking. But
Yasmin has not given up on her dreams.
She visits a safe space within the camp
which is supported by Christian Aid,
where she can play and sing, learn and
dream, talk in therapy sessions and feel
safe and protected. “I love to play with
my doll”, Yasmin says. "I love my mother
- she brought me here, so I can play".
This is just one
example of the
work of Christian
Aid giving as many
children as possible
the freedom to play,
make friends, build
happier memories -
and have hope in
the future.
Thank you to all who stood on street
corners with Christian Aid collecting
tins just before Christmas - and to
everyone who helped to fill them.
Next up will be Lent lunches. We are
grateful to the PCC for agreeing that we
can host two Lent lunches in St
Laurence’s this year (dates to be
announced). Please come and enjoy the
homemade soup in a friendly
atmosphere, while remembering Yasmin
and the millions of other children and
their families, who desperately need our
active support and our prayers.
Wishing you a very happy New Year,
with enormous thanks for your support
and generosity.
Claire Wilcox 01584 877199