28th April

News is just immerging of events on Sunday in Nigeria's Adamawa state. At least 29 people were killed as gunmen with targeted young people gathered at a football pitch in the latest bout of deadly unrest in the region. One observer told reporters, that among the dead were “youths, including some ladies that were watching football”, The attackers  also burned places of worship, houses and motorcycles.  The Islamic State group (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack. A separate attack more than 100km away, was blamed on farmland disputes in several villages in the Lamurde area. Also at the weekend, 23 children and the wife of a school proprietor were abducted during an attack on an orphanage and school in central Nigeria’s Kogi state, Nigerian security forces have managed to rescued 15 pupils.  School kidnapping is thriving in most parts of Nigeria because security is weak and perpetrators demand ransom before they release their victims.

Mass kidnappings, despite repeated government pledges to prevent such incidents, continue to disrupt education, commerce and travel, leaving frustrated residents questioning the authorities’ effectiveness in addressing the threat.

Loving God, we bring to you the people of northern and east Nigeria living with the threat of abduction and violence. You are the God of Justice; the God of love and peace.  By the your power and might protect the vulnerable, strength resilience, enhance community and bring people to unity through their challenges.  Help carry the loads of people weighed down by, fear, uncertainty, grief, and by moral, economic and political problems. Bring your comfort to people oppressed. Guide the authorities in Nigerian and neighbouring Cameroon, and other nations in the region to  work co-operatively to bring law, order, peace and security. In the life of the people of Nigeria, may your will be done as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.

​Ciudad Juárez is in northern Mexico and has become a key migration transit point. The city has been marked by chronic violence for years - taking a toll on the health of its residents. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is shifting its response to serve the most vulnerable communities in Ciudad Juárez. MSF has opened a fixed point of care facility to provide specialised care to displaced people, deportees, and local communities at risk. They have also expanded our mobile clinic model to include assistance for survivors of any form of violence, including torture, extortion, and sexual violence. In the first three months of this year MSF teams provided 5,629 medical and mental health consultations, in which violence was identified as the main cause for health needs. Mental health has emerged as an urgent priority. MSF are working in partnership and strengthening alliances with other relevant actors, a vital strategy to reach people in need and guarantee access to specialised care. Structural changes in brain development can occur in people who have faced chronic violence since childhood affecting their ability to assess and respond to risk later in life. Ricardo Santiago MSF's project manager in Ciudad Juárez said, "We need to destigmatise mental health [care] and recognise it as a fundamental human right."

You can find out more about MSF's work here.

Glory to you Father God,

creator of all things and giver of life.

We thank you for bringing Jesus back from the dead

and crowing him with glory and honour.

Glory to you God the Son,

who lived our life, died and rose again for us.

We thank you that you now sit

at the right hand of God to plea for us

and that you will come again to make all things new.

Glory be to you God the Holy Spirit,

who lives within us to guide us, admonish us,

and equip us for service in the Kingdom.

Praise and glory, majesty and might

one holy and eternal God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.