From Today’s First Reading:
‘Moses said to the people: “See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster.’
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
As we make this Lenten journey together, we will introduce you to a number of the refugees JRS accompanies. We invite you to share their moments of prosperity, and their moments of disaster.
Ibrahim’s Story
This week, we are journeying with Ibrahim, who today shares with us about his childhood in West Africa.
“My home is a small village near to the forest. My parents taught me and my sisters to farm the land and to garden. Daily life was a struggle. But we managed.”
Life wasn’t easy for Ibrahim and his family, but it was filled with joy and love. This happiness was shattered when a military coup led to civil war.
“The Leader of my country was an old man, he’d been in power for a long time. People wanted change.
“There was so much killing, so much bloodshed. People were against one another. You never felt safe. If you were walking down the street at night, if they see you they want to kill you. They want to destroy you.”
It was an impossible situation, and presented Ibrahim with an impossible choice: flee for his life and leave all he knew or remain and risk being caught up in the violence. Ibrahim made an incredibly difficult decision. He fled, caught a flight to the UK, and immediately claimed asylum.
An Invitation to Action
When we listen to the experiences of people like Ibrahim, the scale of the world’s suffering can seem paralysing, and we wonder how we can possibly make a difference. This feeling of paralysis and helplessness can in itself be an act of solidarity as we accompany refugees on their journey to prosperity.
Amidst this paralysis, it is worth remembering that many small things and simple actions can combine together to make society more compassionate towards refugees and those who live on the margins.
We invite you to make an extra effort this Lent to take some small and simple actions to help refugees and people seeking asylum to flourish.
Today’s simple act is an easy way raise money to help JRS UK support refugees. If you shop online, you could help JRS raise funds while you shop.
Give as you Live is an online fundraising platform allowing users to shop at over 4,200 online stores (including Amazon, eBay, Sainsbury’s John Lewis and Expedia) and raise funds for charity while you shop.
How does it work?
Sign up to Give as you Live and each time you make an online purchase a percentage of your shopping bill will be donated to us. Simple.
Sign up to give as you live today.
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