Each year at this time we celebrate the strength and courage of refugees and displaced people who with immense stamina rebuild their lives in another country, including Aotearoa.

Many of us perhaps have stories of our own families crossing the world to make a new life here. Please make this a special time to pray for all people who seek refuge from harm and to share what we can with refugees who need food, shelter and care today. 

In the same week that 600 who’d come in an overloaded fishing boat from Libya were drowned off the coast of Greece, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released alarming new figures stating that 108.4 million people were displaced in 2022. The smuggling industry thrives on the desperation of people trying to escape rape, torture, kidnapping, murder and persecution, and anxious to find safety, loved ones and new opportunities.

You can support Christian World Service’s Operation Refugee supporting refugees from Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria and Ukraine here. https://cws.org.nz/donate-operation-refugee/