The Anglican Church of Burundi is preparing to assist people displaced by violence and insecurity due to the ongoing political crisis in the country. Meanwhile, Anglican churches in neighbouring Tanzania and D.R.Congo are also responding with help for Burundian refugees crossing into their dioceses.
 

At the recent Lusophone meeting in Brazil, Rev Helen Van Koevering shared an account of the Anglican Church in Mozambique’s response to severe flooding that recently affected northern Mozambique, as well as Malawi.
 

Recent political tensions in Burundi have increased uncertainty and fear of violence, leading to displacement in the country, with over 100,000 people reported to have fled in recent days. The Church in Burundi is calling for prayers for peace, while it also responds to the needs of vulnerable people.

In addition to recent political tensions in Burundi, one part of the country has suffered greatly from natural disaster. Torrential rains last month caused landslides south of Bujumbura, the capital city, that have brought destruction and great suffering to people living close to Lake Tanganyika.

“A 7.9 scale earthquake hit Nepal, 80km North West of Kathmandu just before noon local time, and an aftershock of 6.6 hit an hour later and the effect of the quake was devastating,” wrote Rev Lewis Lew, Dean of Nepal Deanery, Diocese of Singapore. 

The Anglican Alliance is issuing a call to prayer for refugees and migrants who are risking their lives on a daily basis by crossing the Mediterranean Sea in unsafe and overcrowded vessels to reach Europe. In the latest boat disaster in the Mediterranean, which occurred on the night of 18-19 April, reports have estimated that only 28 survivors were able to be rescued off the coast of Libya from a vessel carrying more than 700 migrants and refugees.

More than 30 leaders from world religions and global faith-based organisations have come together to commit themselves to a collective action to end extreme poverty by 2030. This is a goal shared by the World Bank Group, which has convened this dialogue process with faith groups under the leadership of World Bank President Jim Kim. The declaration, Ending Extreme Poverty: A Moral and Spiritual Imperative,  sets out the vision for action: that humanity has both the responsibility and the capability to lift the last billion people out of extreme poverty in our generation. The Anglican Alliance participated in the roundtable hosted by the World Bank in February 2015, and has signed up to the declaration.

Today the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, spoke through a video message to the worldwide audience gathered for the Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day. The Archbishop highlighted the moral and faith imperative to end inequalities in our world, during an event seeking to inspire urgent and effective action on ending extreme poverty and addressing climate change.

The Anglican Diocese of Rumonge in Burundi has asked for prayer after heavy rains on 22 March and 5 April triggered landslides that have killed more than 14 people and caused significant property damage some 35km south of the capital Bujumbura.